Book Review: Driven from Within
I bought this book a while back from the local Borders, but I passed it to my friend immediately after. A week or so ago he returned it to me, raving about how he re-read it right after he finished it, how inspiring it was and how it’d make me feel like a right lazy git.
I finished it last week, and well, it did all three to me.
We all know Michael Jordan, and before I read Driven from Within I thought I knew Michael Jordan; the shoes, the success and that one game I caught when he scored this magnificent goal, right at the last second. It was an amazing shot – he leaped and soared through the air, through everyone who was trying to stop him – it felt like he was staying longer in the air than any human being had a right to – and he slamdunked that beauty of a shot and won the game.
But reading this book I realized I didn’t really know him at all. Driven from Within shows you Michael Jordan could do what he did and become who he became. It chronicles his journey from high school to his triumph in the NBA, his career switch to baseball, his return to the NBA and subsequent retirement.
Michael provides some of the commentary while his mom, business associates and friends pen down thoughts of their own. Reading their thoughts I saw a man who was deeply committed to hard work, his values and excellence, with no excuses allowed.
This paraphrased excerpt written by George Koehler is a good example:
To this day, I don’t think anyone appreciates how seriously ill Michael was in Game 5 of the 1997 Finals against Utah…Michael wakes up with an upset stomach…Nothing works. He felt like throwing up, but he couldn’t throw up. And he’s getting hot and cold flashes…
We get on the bus to go to the game at 3PM and he’s just a rag doll. He has no energy. He still hadn’t thrown up. And he still hasn’t slept. Now he’s got antacids, sleeping pills and laxatives in his system…
At 5 o’clock, an hour before the game, he can’t stay awake. So he pumps himself full of coffee. He goes out and plays, and we all know what happened. He plays 44 minutes, scores 38 points, brings Chicago back from 16 points down, hits a three-pointer to put them ahead, and the Bulls win…
He hasn’t slept in more than 36 hours, he’s got pepperoni pizza, all the medicines, sleeping pills, who knows how many cups of coffee, Gatorload in his body – anyone else would have been in the hospital…
Michael was so dehydrated after the game that he could hardly move. He looked like he was dead. He was barely conscious. I had seen the whole show to that point, and I am still amazed by what he did with what he had to deal with. That’s just who he is, and it’s hard for people to understand the depth of his will.
It’s damn inspirational to read how hard this man worked, and I saw a lot of parallels between him and Bruce Lee; their absolute dedication to excellence, leading the way by having higher expectations of themselves than anyone else had a right to expect, and their commitment to do what they felt was right.
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Hey Alvin,
That post should be on the back of the book! I’ll be adding it to my amazon shopping list. Thanks for the heads up.
AS – http://www.alexshalman.com
“I know I’ve just read a good book when 1) I want my friends to read it 2) I want to re-read it again after I finish.”
Does that apply to my book as well? It better be ya! This is not a request, but a threat! hahaha
Hmm, this book sounds interesting. Thanks for the review!
Haha Kloudiia, I look forward to holding your printed book in my hand!
Alvin – great review. You captured what I like about his book as well. I haven’t reviewed it yet on my Blog – I just finished it. I will be recommending it to my clients.
Thanks!
A great little review for one of my desert-island books too. Thanks!
The Way of the Superior Man should be syllabus reading for all teenage boys at school. We would live in a much less confused and problematical world if it was.
Steve