2 years, 4 books, and a new life

Published: Fri, 12/11/15

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2 years, 4 books, and a new life

OK, I'm embarrassed to admit it, but for much of my life I have not been much of a reader. Then, about 2 years ago, I found myself very frustrated with my job and where I was going in life. Was I leaving a legacy? Did I wake up excited each day for the impact I was having in my life?

At that point I had a friend invite me to hear Joe Erhmann speak to our high school football team. His words reinvigorated my passions, and his book 'Inside-Out Coaching' ignited my fire to learn. And reading is a big part of that learning process.

I frequently have parents and coaches ask me for books I recommend, and while there are hundreds of great choices for books on coaching and parenting, I continually come back to these 4 books that I have read in the last 2 years that have life-changing impact. I'll share 2 of these this week and 2 next week.

The Joe Erhmann book Inside-Out Coaching, as well as his speeches, detail the painful experience of Joe losing his brother, and how that completely changed his worldview. He defines the 3 big lies being told by our society our youth about what it means to be a man and a woman. I summarized these here. He contrasts these with what he realized life is all about - 2 things:

1 - Life is all about relationships

2 - Life is all about working for a cause bigger than yourself.

You can find this book here: Inside-Out Coaching

The second book I recommend is Andy Andrews' The Travelers Gift. This is a gripping fictional story of a man who travels through time to 7 significant historical figures, and what lesson he learns from each. A quick summary of these lessons is:

1. The Buck Stops Here - Taking personal responsiblity

2. Seek Wisdom - Search for understanding and discernment

3. Be a Person of Action - Being a courageous leader

4. Have a Decided Heart - Overcoming double-mindedness

5. Choose Happiness - Possessing a grateful spirit

6. Forgive others - The power of grace and mercy

7. Persist - Perservering with faith until the end

You can find this book here: The Traveler's Gift

These are 2 foundational books that helped me define a clear direction of where I am going, next week I'll share 2 more that helped me define how I'm going to get there. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

It's tryout season

Lots of tryouts going on right now - it can be a stressful time for coaches, parents, and kids.

Parents
If you looking for tips on how to stand out in a tryout, or looking for long-term alternatives to travel sports teams - there are great free tools to help you at: winningyouthcoaching.com/travelmath

I'd love to hear your thoughts, if you hit reply it goes straight to my inbox, and I reply to every email.

Make winning your habit starting today,
Craig

Craig Haworth is the founder of Winning Youth Coaching, a site dedicated to helping coaches and parents make youth sports an awesome experience for the the youth and the parents. He interviews coaches from around the world and posts them on his podcast, which currently has over 60 interviews and has been downloaded over 45,000 times. He writes a weekly note to coaches and parents. He is married to his high-school sweetheart and they share the blessing of 3 children and live in Franklin, TN. You can sign-up for his weekly note here, find him on twitter at @craighaworth1, or visit his website winningyouthcoaching.com.

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men"

- Frederick Douglass