This Week Basketball Book eBADVICE:
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inside Basketball ~
101 Great Hoop Stories from Players,
Coaches and Fans
By Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Pat Williams
Chicken Soup for the Soul has a slam dunk with its first sports book in years, and its first on basketball, with the Orlando Magics very own Pat Williams, well know author and motivational speaker.
Pat has drawn on his basketball industry connections to compile great stories from on and off the court.
Fans will be inspired, surprised, and amused by inside stories from well-known coaches and players, fascinating looks behind the scenes, and anecdotes from the people who make it all possible -- the fans.
Some interesting words of wisdom from Pat for athletes and anyone looking for motivation are included. A slam dunk for anyone interested in competitive sports.
Click on 'Read more...' to read the complete review of this book
and watch the videos ...!
Pat Williams has drawn on his basketball industry connections to compile great stories from on and off the court. Fans will be inspired, surprised, and even amused, by inside stories from well-known coaches and players, fascinating looks behind the scenes, and anecdotes from the people who make it all possible the fans. Includes first person stories from 21 basketball celebrities, plus Pat Williams:
Caron Butler current NBA all-star for the Washington Wizards
Dolph Schayes former NBA great; one of the top 50 players in NBA history
Jim Les former NBA player and current college coach (Bradley University)
Matt Doherty former UNC player and head coach; current head coach at SMU
Ron Hunter head coach at IUPUI
Sam Smith well-known sports writer/basketball columnist
Gregg Popovich head coach of the San Antonio Spurs
Donn Nelson general manager of the Dallas Mavericks
Bob Love former NBA all-star
Ed OBannon collegiate basketball player of the year in 1995 for UCLA
Ann Meyers-Drysdale first woman to play in the NBA; current GM of the Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)
Grant Hill current NBA all-star with the Phoenix Suns
Sheila Johnson president of the Washington Mystics (WNBA) and former wife of Bob Johnson (BET)
Adonal Foyle current NBA player
Charlie Villanueva current NBA player
Chuck Daly Basketball Hall of Fame coach; won two championships with the Detroit Pistons; coached the 1992 Dream Team
Chris Paul current NBA all-star and USA Basketball Olympian
Greg Kite former NBAplayer
Skip Caray former well-known sports broadcaster
Pat Riley Miami Heat president; former coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat
John Gabriel NBA scout and former Orlando Magic general manager
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by David Friedman
"... Friedman: "When we spoke last year, you mentioned that you were working on a couple books, one of which was titled Chicken Soup for the Soul: Athletes of Faith, and the other one being a second Chicken Soup book for basketball, though you weren't sure if they wanted to do a second basketball volume. What is the status of those two projects?"
Williams: "Quick update, the basketball version came out in February 2009. They are not doing a second version. The manuscript for the other Chicken Soup book has been submitted to the editorial people and it is called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Athletes of Faith. It is due to be published this September. We just finished putting the major pieces of it together earlier this week."
Friedman: "You had told me that you were gathering some material together - some more basketball stories - so do you think that you might publish those stories in a different format since the Chicken Soup people will not use them?"
Williams: "I can use some of them in different formats along the way, if they're applicable. My latest book, David, is coming out this week. It's called The Winning Combination: 21 Keys to Coaching and Leadership Greatness. That book is coming out even as we speak and that is my latest writing project. My son Bobby has had a career in professional baseball. He spent five years as a coach in the Cincinnati Reds farm system. In January 2005, the Washington Nationals hired him to manage in their farm system. He was 27 years old at the time, the youngest manager in organized baseball. I remember Bobby calling me with the news.
His voice was up about three octaves and he said, 'Dad, what do I do now?' I remember thinking, 'I want to help my son.' So, I then began to ask coaches and managers, 'What are the four keys to being a good coach or a good manager?' That process has now gone on for about five years and I have asked that question to about 1500 coaches--current, future, past, I've tracked down everybody I could get to. I noticed in this process that there were repeated themes that kept coming up, there were principles that were repeated more often than others.
After all that (information) came in, I noticed that there were 21 themes that were really predominant. I thought to myself that this is far more than just a coaching book; this is far more than help for my son as a baseball manager. This is a leadership manual from the greatest coaching minds of all time. So, that is the meat of the book, David. There are 21 chapters built around these 21 themes and I've had a marvelous time putting it together and I think that it can impact leaders at every level from the White House on down. We're excited that the book is ready." ..."
About the Authors
Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are co-founders of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Pat Williams is the senior vice president of the NBA's Orlando Magic as well as one of America's top motivational, inspirational, and humorous speakers.
While Jack Canfield himself may not necessarily be a household name, it's very likely that you have heard of his famed Chicken Soup for the Soul series and nearly as likely that you have at least one of them sitting on your very own bookshelf! Having got his start as an inspirational speaker, Canfield's own story is nothing less than inspirational.
Jack Canfield had been traveling around delivering key note speeches and organizing workshops to help audiences build their self-esteem and maximize their potential when he had an in-flight brainstorm that changed his life. While flying home from a gig, Canfield realized that the very same advice he had been delivering during his in-person addresses could potentially form the basis of a book.
Canfield used inspirational stories he'd gleaned over the years as the basis of his speeches, and he thought it would be a terrific idea to gather together 101 inspirational stories and anthologize them in a single volume. Upon returning home, Canfield approached friend and author Mark Victor Hansen about his concept. Hansen agreed it was a great idea, and the two men set about finding a publisher.
Believe it or not, the mega-selling series was not an easy sell to publishers. "We were rejected by 123 publishers all told," Canfield told Shareguide.com. "The first time we went to New York, we visited with about a dozen publishers in a two day period with our agent, and nobody wanted it. They all said it was a stupid title, that nobody bought collections of short stories, that there was no edge -- no sex, no violence. Why would anyone read it?"
Canfield wisely practiced what he preached -- and persisted. Ultimately, he and Hansen sold the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book to a small press based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, called Health Communications. The rest, as they say, is history. There are currently 80 million copies of the Chicken Soup books in print, with subjects as varied as Chicken Soup For the Horse Lover's Soul and Chicken Soup For the Prisoner's Soul. Canfield and Hansen ranked as the top-selling authors of 1997 and are multiple New York Times bestsellers. Most important of all, the inspirational stories they have gathered in their many volumes have improved the lives of countless readers.
This year, expect to see Canfield's name gracing the covers of such titles as Chicken Soup For the Scrapbooker's Soul, Chicken Soup For the Mother and Son Soul, and Chicken Soup For the African American Woman's Soul. He and Hansen have also launched the all-new "Healthy Living" series and 8 titles in that series have already been released this year. There is also the fascinating You've GOT to Read This Book!, in which Canfield compiles personal accounts by 55 people each discussing a book that has changed his or her life. The most compelling of these may be the story of young entrepreneur Farrah Gray, who read Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success at the age of 11 and made his first million dollars at the age of 14!
With no sign of slowing down, Canfield continues to be an inspiration to millions, who fortunately refused to give up when it seemed as though he would never even get his first book published. "Mark and I are big believers in perseverance," he said. "If you have a vision and a life purpose, and you believe in it, then you do not let external events tell you what is so. You follow your internal guidance and follow your bliss, as Joseph Campbell used to say."
Good to Know
Canfield is the founder of two California based self-esteem programs, "Self-Esteem Seminars" in Santa Barbara and "The Foundation For Self Esteem" in Culver City.
Writing the first Chicken Soup book was a lot more daunting than Canfield expected. After the first three years of research, he and Mark Victor Hansen had only compiled 68 stories -- 33 tales shy of their goal of 101 stories.
Along with co-writing dozens of full-length books, Canfield also publishes a free biweekly newsletter called Success Strategies.
Some fun and fascinating outtakes from our interview with Canfield:
"My inspiration for writing comes from my passion for teaching others how to live more effective lives. I started out as a history teacher in an all-black inner city high school in Chicago, graduated to a teacher trainer, then psychotherapist, then trainer of therapists, then large group transformational trainer and then a writer and keynote speaker. All along the way, my desire was to make a difference, to help people live more fulfilling lives. That is what I still do today. Most people don't know this but I was not a good writer in college. I got a C in composition. Nobody would have ever believed I would grow up to be a bestselling author."
"I play guitar, and I am learning to play the piano. I love movies and some TV shows. My favorites are Six Feet Under, Grey's Anatomy, House and Lost. I love to play Scrabble, poker and backgammon with my in-laws, nieces and nephews. We really get into it. I love to travel. I have been to 25 countries and try to add two or three new ones every year."
Feature Interview
In the fall of 2006, Jack Canfield took some time out to talk with us about some of his favorite books, authors, and interests:
What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?
Life After Life by Dr. Raymond Moody. I have a whole chapter on how this book changed my life in my book You've Got to Read This Book! that I co-authored with Gay Hendricks. The book changed my life by introducing me to the phenomenon of clinical near death experiences, in which people have been clinically dead for several minutes but have recall of their experiences while dead. The most impactful part was that almost all people reporting these experiences were asked two questions by the spiritual being they met (Jesus, Buddha, etc.).
These two questions were "How have you expanded your capacity to love?" and "What wisdom have you gained from your experience?" When I first read this book while in graduate school back in 1971, I decided to devote my life to studying these two areas and teaching others what I learned in regard to how to be more loving and how to gain wisdom from our lives and the lives of others. This is what has led to the Chicken Soup for the Soul books and my books on how to live more successful lives.
What are your all-time favorite books?
I have read over 3000 books in the last 46 years. There are so many that I love. Here are a few of my favorites: # The Power of Now by Ekert Tolle # What You Think of Me Is None of My Business by Terry Cole-Whittaker # The Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskin # Life After Life by Dr. Raymond Moody # Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda # Ask and It Is Given by Jerry and Esther Hicks # Gestalt Therapy Verbatim by Fritz Perls # The Field by Lynn Taggert # Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner # The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
What are some of your favorite films, and what makes them unforgettable to you?
# One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch is a little known film that shows one day in the life of a prisoner in a Siberian prison camp. It makes you realize and appreciate how wonderful it is to be free, something we all take too much for granted.
# Shakespeare in Love is a brilliant film in the way it weaves back and forth between the play and the writer. As a writer I loved it.
# The first Rocky movie for its sheer inspiration that anything is possible.
# Castaway, because it shows how strong and resilient people can be.
# Norma Rae for its tale of how one woman can make such a huge difference. I was fortunate enough to meet the real Norma Rae in a Chicago radio station green room when I was promoting the second Chicken Soup for the Soul book.
# Moulin Rouge because it is such a wonderfully out of the box musical and such a powerful love story, and because I think Nicole Kidman is such a great actress. The chemistry between Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor is so powerful and moving.
# Million Dollar Baby because of the moving story of someone going for it against all odds when she is obsessed with a dream. Would that we were all so committed to our dreams. I guess that's why I like Chicken Soup for the Soul stories so much.
# The Secret which is about the power of the Law of Attraction. It is only available on DVD right now at www.whatisthesecret.tv. I highly recommend it. It is destined to be an underground mega-hit.
What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you're writing?
I love all kinds of music. I grew up in West Virginia listening to country music and I have over 1000 country CDs. I also have an extensive collection of jazz, rock, folk, international, classical and what might be called new age music. I listen to instrumental music when I write -- music from Daniel Kobialka, John Tesch, Peter Kater, Hilary Stagg, Jim Brickman, Kenny G, Michael Jones, and the like.
If you had a book club, what would it be reading?
Right now I'd have them reading You've Got to Read This Book!: 55 People Tell the Story of the Book that Changed Their Life. The reason is that it is a fascinating book and it opens so many doors to other great books to read. It gives people insight into so many people that they know and the books that shaped their lives.
What are your favorite kinds of books to give -- and get -- as gifts?
I love to give books that are inspirational in nature. I have given multiple copies of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra, Loving What Is by Byron Katie and The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto. And of course, I have given away thousands of copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul books as gifts.
Do you have any special writing rituals? For example, what do you have on your desk when you're writing?
I don't have any writing rituals. I just sit down and write -- often for as many as 16 hours in a row. I turn the phone off and have a do not disturb sign on the door. I do my best writing at night. I have seen the sun come up way too many mornings after an all night writing session!
What are you working on now?
I am working on several Chicken Soup for the Soul books (always). Currently -- Chicken Soup for the Twenty-Something Soul, Chicken Soup for the Extraordinary Teen Soul, and Chicken Soup for the Laughing Soul, which will contain all funny stories. I am also writing a sequel to The Success Principles entitled Effortless Success. It will focus on how to apply the Law of Attraction to your life, so that success can be achieved much more easily.
Many writers are hardly "overnight success" stories. How long did it take for you to get where you are today? Any rejection-slip horror stories or inspirational anecdotes?
Most people don't know this, but Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected by more than 140 publishers. It was so bad that our agent gave us the manuscript back and told us that the book was never going to be published. Mark and I took the book to the American Book Sellers Association convention where there were 4000 publishers with booths, and we walked from booth to booth for three days attempting to find a publisher. Finally on the third day, Health Communications Inc., a small publisher from Florida, agreed to take a look at it. When they agreed to publish it, we did not receive an advance. Nor did we get a lot of marketing support in the beginning. We did not hit a best seller list until 14 months after the book was published. Then it stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for almost 3 years. We later went on to win a Guinness Book of Records for having 7 books on the New York Times bestseller list on May 24th, 1998!
If you could choose one new writer to be "discovered," who would it be?
My son Oran Canfield is writing a book entitled Can I Have Some Bread with my Chicken Soup? It is about his years growing up as my son. His mother and I were divorced when he was only two years old and he then had a very bizarre but interesting life growing up on the west coast. He is an amazing writer -- very funny. Kind of in the Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs style. When his book is finished I am convinced it will be a bestseller.
What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?
Practice your craft of writing and get as much feedback from as many people as you can and keep honing your writing and finding your voice. Write what you know. Write from your heart. Don't chase the money. Chase the desire to be the best writer you can be. If you have the passion for writing, never give up!
About Chicken Soup for the Soul
Chicken Soup for the Soul is a series of books, usually featuring a collection of short and dense inspirational stories and motivational essays. The 101 stories in the first book of the series were compiled by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.
There have been over 200 titles. Many of the books are directed at specific groups of people, e.g. Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times, Tough People, Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk Relationships, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad, etc.
The first book sold millions of copies and launched the series. There are now over 100 million copies in print and in 54 languages worldwide. The Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series, consisting of over 14 titles, is one of the first series of non-fiction books which have sold directly to teens in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
The series has spawned a number of imitators and parodies including Chicken Soup for the Vegetarian's Soul and MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head: Chicken Soup for the Butt, as well as a line of licensed products, including greeting cards, calendars, gift products, pet food, clothing, DVDs, and Bibles. A parody can also be found within the PC game A Vampyre Story; a book titled Chicken Soup For Those Without A Soul can be found in the library.
The name "Chicken Soup For The Soul" was chosen for this series because of the use of chicken soup as a home remedy for the sick, and therefore it was "good for the body." The inspirational stories included in this series were meant to be "good for the soul."
From 1993 to 2008, Chicken Soup for the Soul books were published by Health Communications, Inc.
In 2008, the founders, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, sold a major stake in the company to a new ownership group led by William J. Rouhana and Robert D. Jacobs. All the latest titles in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series (beginning in 2008) are published by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, and distributed by Simon & Schuster. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC also licenses the right to use its trademark to licensees through IMG.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC recently launched an umbrella entertainment division, Chicken Soup for the Soul Presents, which struck a deal with Screen Media Films to distribute family-friendly movies on DVD, home video and on demand.
• Author: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Pat Williams
• Format: Book
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of Pages: 400 pages
• Publisher: Chicken Soup for the Soul
• Publishing Date: February 10, 2009
• Language: English
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