Widely considered the best NFL quarterback of all time, Joe Montana personifies performance excellence and personal integrity both on and off the field. Yet the word most closely associated with him is not “winner”–it’s “leader.” Since his retirement a decade ago, he has become a popular motivational speaker sought out by corporations nationwide, speaking to capacity audiences as large as twenty thousand.

Now making his message available to a broader audience, Montana teams up with performance coach Tom Mitchell to extend to all areas of life the truths of success on the field. The Winning Spirit shows that ultimately performance excellence is fueled by personal integrity. This is the key to winning the inner game, which is about accountability and attitude, as well as desire, enthusiasm, effort, and appreciation. For example:

• Know What You Want: First, identify goals, then turn clarity into action.
• Strive for Excellence: Surpass expectations and reach new heights
• Fail Fast and Move On: Take chances, learn from mistakes, and keep pressing forward – don’t let fear or regret take you out of the game.
• Remember the “I” in Team: Make yourself the priority – because intense preparation is the individual responsibility of each member of the team.
• Welcome Pressure: Want to be the best? Work with or compete against the best!
• Walk Like a Champ: Your life is not just about achieving success, but also about having a purpose and creating significance.

With great stories and practical strategies, Joe Montana and Tom Mitchell give us hard-won advice based on years of success. This timely and timeless message is nothing less than a contemporary motivational classic."

Individual Preparation

individuals prepare in different ways. what works for one per- son doesn't necessarily work for another. Some wait until the last minute. Some require a degree of fear as motivation. Others want to eliminate all distractions, have complete silence, and shut themselves off from the rest of the world. Others prepare with music in the background or in the company of other people. Some need to rehearse over and over until they feel confident. Whatever the method, the goal of good preparation is the same: to ready ourselves for optimal performance, to play or work at our best.

Ideal preparation is more than a physical rehearsal. It should include the mind and heart as well as the body, so that we are prepared on many levels--balanced, centered, and confident.

The six principles set forth in this section reinforce the importance of preparation. We give examples of what works for some individuals, while emphasizing throughout that everyone must find his or her own unique way to prepare.

We do strongly believe and teach that repetition is king in the world of preparation. Whether in sports, running the same drills over and over, or in business, practicing a sales pitch or refining a presentation, we gain through repetition a sense of mastery and self-confidence that can be taken into the real game.

Repetition can be a physical endeavor on the court or in the field. It can also be mental repetitions done silently at any place or time. Lying in bed, standing in the shower, sitting in a quiet place, thinking about and rehearsing what we want to make happen. However it is accomplished, repetition is about connecting the mind with the body to achieve peak performance.

While we all tend to rely on preparation techniques we have used successfully for years, we invite each individual to push himself or herself and try some of the different types of preparation in this section.

To be prepared, it's necessary to check in regularly with our individual process and progress. Are we getting enough sleep? Are we eating properly and getting the necessary nutrients? Are we satisfied with our performance? Do we need to make changes? This we know: Excellent performance does not happen on its own. Preparation is required.

We also need to make some personal choices about how we are going to spend our time and energy. How well-rounded do we want to be? Do we want to be an inch wide and a mile deep? Are we ready to put all our effort at excelling in one area, while falling short in others? One thing is certain: It's up to each of us to choose and walk a unique path and, in the process, to design a road map to performance excellence.

principle #1 Know What You Want it's been said that clarity is power. that's true, but clarity put into action is ultimate power. It is impossible to strive for something until we know what it is we are pursuing. You have to know what you want.

Clarity offers a road map as well as the freedom to go after what we most desire. Clarity also provides a built-in filter to reduce the distractions that would interfere with our doing what needs to get done.

To identify what it is we really want requires time and concentration. It can be helpful to write down everything we want to become and accomplish. Even making a simple list may help. We routinely rely on shopping lists; writing down what we want in life can serve as a reminder in the same way.

Getting clear is mandatory. It offers direction and motivation and helps prioritize energy. Whether or not we are conscious of it, most of us...

 

The partnership of a champion quarterback and a performance coach works magic in this smoothly organized lesson on optimal personal performance. Narrating alternately in engaging speaking voices, the two authors use natural-sounding writing to unfold their potent combination of abstract principles and practical lessons. Football lovers, in particular, will enjoy the anecdotes and insights Montana draws from his stellar career. The program offers colorful proof that doing anything well requires focus, careful analysis, commitment, and persistence. A compact lesson that works at every level, this is a here's-what-it-takes reminder for people who have dreams they're ignoring or talent they're wasting. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

 

"We who know the rigors of athletics honor Joe Montana's career, because it demonstrated hard work, mental toughness, and the inner knowledge and confidence of doing the right thing. The Winning Spirit gives us an insider's view of the makings of this warrior."

 

"Joe Montana's history of poise and presence has set a standard for athletes for many years. His competitive zeal, and his passion for the game of football as well as life, is reflected in The Winning Spirit. The energy Montana brings to any activity is an inspiration to all of us."

 

"Joe Montana showed me and all his teammates what courage is all about. He taught us that to be winners, we must never give up. That's the winning spirit that makes Joe a giant both on and off the field."

 

"In The Winning Spirit, Joe Montana and Tom Mitchell have joined together to share their tools for peak performance. They make success, achievement, and performance under pressure accessible to athletes and weekend warriors as well as people in all walks of life."

 

"Joe Montana and Tom Mitchell are dedicated to transforming everyday management teams into high performance leadership teams. We are fortunate to have these two pros now sharing with a wider audience their secrets about enthusiasm, resilience, and the competitive spirit."

 

The Winning Spirit by Joe Montana
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