The Twin Thieves: How Great Leaders Build Great Teams

by Lucas Jadin

INSIDE THE BOOK

Tired of underperforming in the biggest moments, the Westlake Aviators football team realizes their greatest challenge isn’t beating an opponent but rather rising above the Twin the Fear of Failure and the Fear of Judgment. Through a journey of adversity, celebration, and heartbreak, the Aviators come to understand that great teams are built by great leaders.

This powerful story serves as a playbook for anybody in business, sports, education, or life looking to help a group of people maximize their potential.

Some things you will learn…

Everybody wants a championship team until it’s time to do what a championship team requires.Everything starts with your people. Bricks don’t build championships - people do.When opportunity knocks, it’s too late to prepare.How teams bonded by love build a toughness that fear never could.Why great leaders are great listeners.How to build player-led teams.Why accountability isn’t calling people out. It’s calling them up.How connected teams are powerful teams.Why change is inevitable, but transformation is optional.It’s not just what we do — it’s also how we do it that drives results.The best teams fight so hard not because they hate their competition but because they love their teammates.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Self Help, Football

169 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 3, 2021

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the book. While the learnings were not something completely new, the way they were shared through a story really resonated with me. So much so that I read it twice the same day 😁.

[Amber Hauck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be a requirement for anyone who wants to coach. WOW.

[David Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good leadership book

[Lily Delianedis · Rating 3 out of 5]

As per dougie … comparatively one of the better ones (quick)

[Emersyn Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

the writing obviously wasn't monumental, but the message and life lessons are going to stick with me

[Cali Schoenberg]

not rating since it’s self help but has very valuable lessons for athletes and coaches!

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was just going to give a five star rating and move on - however the more I thought about it I could not let either of the two thieves prevent me from adding comments. I couldn’t put this book down and can’t wait to go back to take notes and share with my “teammates”

[Carl Parman · Rating 5 out of 5]

We used this book as a guide for our senior leadership team and man we have already seen results with our football team in the last 4 months we have been reading it (2 chapters per week). We had teachers and admin commenting on seeing the change in our players, we had 100% attendance at summer camp thanks to players leading their friends, and have had a great summer in the weight room. I know other programs in our area that have used it and loved it, and 1 that even did what the book talks about at the end (you’ll have to read to know). 100% worth picking up and reading for anyone who is in a leadership or a follower role.

[Chris Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story from beginning to end.

It’s a story about a high performing high school football team. Throughout the book, the author shares a tremendous stories in each and every chapter that keep the reader engaged.

As someone who three kids and has a lot of experience coaching youth sports this was perfect timing. I’d also recommend this to any young athlete who wants to learn more about leadership.

It’s worth the read. I picked up several good nuggets.

[Claire :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can appreciate the concepts this self-help/inspiration/motivation/whatever book is trying to get across, and I like the idea of using a fictional story to teach real principles, BUT, I felt like I was reading prose and dialogue written by a fifth-grader. Books like this are great for their content, but need more editing for the actual text.

[Dave Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter received this book to read from her basketball coach and I completely understand why he gave it to her. It is written in a way to describe team leadership and culture in an accessible and engaging way. It approached leadership like “The Wealthy Barber” approached financial planning. A worthwhile read for athletes and those in leadership roles alike.

[Joseph Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. This is exactly the culture we need on our teams to reach full potential. Hard to put this book down. Excellent read.

[Krista Tavares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, actionable, easily digestible ideas to improve your leadership at work, at home and beyond. Super easy read through great story telling. Highly recommend!

[Emily B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good combo of all the sport/life lessons and love for your team that we need.

[Leo Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for football coaches and players. Any coach or leader really. It compiles some concepts found in other places, but into one neat little story.

[Chelsea Kienol · Rating 5 out of 5]

My principal gave each staff member a copy of this book and of course I devoured it within a few hours. Absolutely loved it!!

[Ian Meyer]

Are you someone who would like to improve your leadership skills? Maybe you're a coach of a team that is rebuilding and would like to start by talking about character. The book The Twin Thieves by Lucas Jardin and Steve Jones gives the reader an excellent example of leadership and being a great person on and off the field.
This is a story of a coach and his team who go on a journey. They learn leadership skills that help them on the field and off the field. Their season ended after a hard loss, the high school football team realizes the best challenge is rising above the twin thieves. Sometimes in life building character on and off the field is just as important. “You can't get to the top in one step, but you can certainly get to the bottom with one misstep. "Pg 71. Working on any type of team takes more than just the skill. You also need to develop character within the team. If you don't have a character part on your team it's easier to misstep.
If you like this book, you may also like Chop Wood Carry Water by JOSHUA MEDICAL
because They talk about how the character comes to realize the greatest adversity on his journey will be the challenge of defeating the man who's in the mirror. I rate this book 5 out of 5 because you learn about leadership and learn how to be a great person on and off the field.

[Mireya · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like 2.5 - This book presents a meaningful message around the fears that often hold us back — fear of failure and fear of judgment. These “twin thieves” are real struggles in both leadership and everyday life. One of my favorite takeaways was the idea of surrendering the outcome. I appreciated the clarification that surrendering does not mean you stop caring. You can care deeply and still feel hurt when things don’t go your way, but since the outcome is out of your control, the better focus is on what you can control.

That message resonated with me. However, the book itself didn’t fully meet my expectations. The writing is extremely simple and felt more geared toward youth or beginner readers. It’s very sports-heavy, which I didn’t mind, but it made the intended audience feel limited, likely young men, coaches, or those in the athletic world.

I kept waiting for it to dig deeper, but it never really did. By the final chapters, I was mostly just ready for it to end.

Overall, it’s a decent entry-level leadership or mindset book, especially for athletes, but it wasn’t particularly compelling or insightful for me personally.

[Sophie Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!
if you are a leader, or want to be a leader, in any way, shape, or form, read this book, make notes in this book, live out this book. Specifically if you are on a sports team it would be extremely beneficial but honestly this book was so helpful and eye opening that I would recommend it to anybody and everybody. This isn’t really your normal self help book. It’s told through a story line- the lessons are apart of a story and explained in memorable stories. The systems, mindsets, and lessons that were taught to me through this book were convicting I won’t lie but it made me excited to see my teammates again and get to practice so that I can get to work on being better!

[cosmictylxr · Rating 2 out of 5]

definitely some good nuggets of knowledge here, but sometimes it felt like it was almost talking down to you and the content it was conveying was pawned off as something more deep than it was.

ofc making people feel good, included, and not afraid of judgement will make a more tight knit and potent group. but it’s easier said than done. we have preconceived notions, we all are guilty of passing judgment, how do we remove something key to us?

i like how the book tried to approach things, following a football team (at least as an american) was something easy to follow / understand.

but idk, it’s just an okay book.

2.5/5 stars

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be clear, this book has excellent intent.
I would give the underlying message 4 stars, but the storytelling 1 star.
The story is meant as a vehicle to illustrate the authors’ admirable leadership concepts, but the plot is entirely predictable and in my personal opinion, the dialogue is occasionally cringe-inducing.
Perhaps choosing something less overvalued and more consequential than high school athletics as the subject of the fable would provide more plot options and more compelling storytelling.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was wonderful! It succeeds on a high level as two separate books at the same time. First, it is a great book on what makes for good leadership of teams, which it does by telling the story of a team that goes from average to great. Second, that story is riveting all by itself, being of a high school football team that keeps doing well in the regular season but collapses early in the playoffs, and how the coach seeks out a retired coach to come and teach the team and coaches how to build a great culture as it prepares for the next season. Short but powerful and entertaining!

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Lucas Jadin, this time accompanied by Steve Jones, whose influence is obvious in the plot, themes and characters in the book. Several chapters that will stick with me for sure, and as always lots of great nuggets and research woven into an easy-to-read yet compelling narrative. Feel confident that anyone, not just sports fans, can glean valuable lessons from this book. Highly recommend.

[Matt Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using the story of a football team trying to breakthrough it's difficulties getting to the next level, this book highlights how pulling for each other, in any context, propels everyone forward. It is a highly digestible read for moving one through their fears of failure. My favorite bit talked about surrendering the outcome. That if you don't sweat how it all ends up, and just give your best, you'll more than likely get where you wanted to anyway. It's the principle Jack Nicholas followed.

[DR. SCHARRI EZELL WALKER · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than just football...

The principles found within this book can be applied to anyone who is part of a team or in a leadership role. I love how the T2BC team always manages to mesh valuable insights with great story lines in their books. I will be reading this book again for sure.

[Miki Markofski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! My son's football coach recommended all parents read it. I really enjoyed the fast paced read and engaging story line. I personally read the book with my perspective as a parent thinking of family instead of a team. But a family should be a team right ❤️ Definitely full of wisdom for aspects of life. Highly recommend!

[Dan Rheingans · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much good leadership and servanthood stuff in this book. Powerful tools and insights that make you analyze how you approach those you're working with and for. Even if you're not into football, this book is definitely worth your time. Tons of food for thought and practical applications for how we go about living life.

[Kyle Beacom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is basic and the plot is overly predictable. Yet, the book offers some valuable lessons. It is worth a read if you are a teacher or coach.

My favorite quote from the book: "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but becaue he loves what is behind him." -- G.K. Chesterton

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. It probably could have been reduced to 10 or so pages. It was expanded to fit a story, which makes it easier to digest. Having coached my whole life and being the son of a great coach, I was surprised to find a couple of nuggets that were either new to me or presented in a way that made me think. Certainly worth reading for coaches.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fear of failure and the fear of judgment, or as Steve Jones and Lucas Jadin brilliantly moniker them, the “Twin Thieves”, are the primary reasons we fail to reach our potential and often settle for less than we are capable of. This book uses an engaging parable format to take leaders on a journey into how they can combat these insecurities and be a better version of themselves.