Think Like a Warrior (A Book Review) and Peak Into Our Day

 I wish every day could be as sunshiny and perfectly pleasant outside as today was! 

This baby girl loves her stroller rides and watching the big kids play.

This afternoon they built a "campfire", ate "S'mores" and "vacuumed the campsite."

Here's a little of our morning fun before we headed outside.

Today I'm posting a book review for a book I really enjoyed recently.

I've never been a sports fan. My son plays basketball and I love to watch him play and cheer at his games. An elderly friend that I stayed with at night for a time loved to watch bowling and I enjoyed watching those games. But, in general, I'm just not that interested in sports. I'm not even sure why I downloaded Think Like a Warrior by Darrin Donnelly, but once I began reading I couldn't quit. I read this book in one afternoon while holding and caring for a fussy baby. And after the first few pages I was hooked. 

This book is written as a fable. A football coach, named Chris McNeely reaches what seems to be the pinnacle of his career, and then suddenly feels himself free falling to disaster. It looks like both his professional and personal life are falling apart. As he frantically tries to pick up the pieces he is "visited" by five legendary coaches  - John Wooden, Buck O'Neil, Herb Brooks, Paul "Bear" Bryant, and Vince Lombardi - who give him life changing lessons that help him to right the course of not only his career, but his entire life. Learning to think like a warrior instead of a victim makes all the difference in the world. He learns that the five core beliefs that are important when thinking like a warrior are - 

1. Focus only on those things you have direct control over

2. Love what you do, tackle each day with joy and enthusiasm

3. Dream big, ignore those who put those dreams down

4. Be relentless and never give up

5. Choose faith over fear

While this book is an easy book to read, even for a person who is not particularly a sports fan, it is much more than a feel good story. The five pillars of wisdom given to the coach in the fable are very relevant to the daily life of each person who wants to make the most of their life, escape the victim mindset, and think like a warrior.