World famous competitive skydiver and coach Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld presents proven tools and techniques for success and explains how they can be used in everyday life. Dan survived a plane crash from which sixteen of the twenty-two people on board were killed. He was left critically injured and woke up from a six-week-long coma with a broken neck, broken skull, severe head trauma, a collapsed lung, and other serious internal injuries. Against all odds, Dan recovered and went on to become one of the greatest competitive skydiver in the world.
With the love and support of friends and family, Dan was able not only to resurrect his life but return to skydiving to achieve greater heights than he could have ever imagined. His techniques and methods for excelling are applicable to all people, no matter their goals. Dan uses his experiences to teach the lessons he's learned--as a competitor, coach, business owner, father, and husband--to help others achieve their dreams, overcome obstacles, and reach their peak performance. 30 color illustrations
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"I know and admire Dan as a a man of deep integrity. His heart-felt story of courage and love inspires me."-- Jerry Lynch,Ph.D... author and available at wayofchampions.com
"Dan's story is one that every human being needs to read. It's about the power of the human spirit and it's ability to overcome seemingly impossible odds. This is a story that everyone can benefit from reading." Chet Holmes, Best Selling author of the #1 sales book, The Ultimate Sales Machine and CEO of Business Breakthroughs
“Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld is a class act and I am grateful to know him as a friend. I have so much respect for him as a man—he not only understands the things we both talk about, he has lived them through extreme stress and has contributed greatly to the lives of others as a result.” (Tony Robbins)
“Whether it’s overcoming a phobia, transcending physical limitations, or going for the gold in sports or your vocation, let Dan’s love of life and principles help you align with success.” (Melody Beattie, author of Codependent No More)
About the Author
Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld has been a national skydiving competitor since 1983. Dan’s extraordinary talent for bringing out the best in others has made him one of the most influential people in the history of sky- diving and one of the most sought-after coaches in the world. Among his most recent successes is coaching the 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008 Women’s World Champion teams to victory. As a competitor Dan has lead teams to sixteen National Championship Gold Medal victories and seven World Championships. He lives in Temecula, California.
In 1992 Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld's team "Airmoves" was involved in a plane crash that killed 16 of the 22 people on board. Dan recovered from critical injuries, rebuilt his team and went on to win multiple National and World Skydiving Championships. He has used the lessons learned from the passionate pursuit of his dreams to help others achieve their own goals in all aspects of their lives including personal, business and relationships. Go to www.danbrodsky-chenfeld.com to see Dan's TED Talk and get a good feel for what he's all about. A movie based on Dan's life is currently in development. FFI www.aboveallelsethemovie.com
I bought this book because I'm an amateur skydiver and because Dan has a reputation as a world-class skydiving champion and coach. I expected an exciting story about skydiving and competing, and maybe some nuts and bolts advice on 4-way skydiving competition. Dan's book has all that and much more that I didn't expect. Dan's near death experience with his friend James Layne is gripping. I cannot stop thinking about it. His philosophy on competing, his spiritual approach to being the best that a person can possibly be at whatever a person chooses to do, and his real life experiences confronting fear and overcoming incredible obstacles, whether in acting or in skydiving or in anything else, are inspiring reading for anyone. As Dan says in his book: "The real meat of what it takes to win the world skydiving championships is the same as excelling in any other activity or endeavor."
On top of all that, this book is an authoritative history of modern skydiving told by someone who was not just a first-hand witness to it, but was - and remains - one of the makers of that history.
An inspiring story about Dan's journey from a novice skydiver to a multiple world championship winner in spite of the tremendous setbacks and losses he suffered. It is a compelling read with a narration that flows smoothly and I often found myself turning pages with anticipation. One is easily touched and motivated by Dan's passion, commitment and courage to pursue his dreams. I also enjoyed reading about the places and people who have shaped the world of competition skydiving and how Dan was in the middle of it all.
Dan shares the insights he has developed over the last few decades in building, leading and coaching world class teams and the processes, attitudes and tools that create success. These techniques can be used by everyone in their daily lives to perform at their best. There are sections in the book (e.g. Visualization, Peak Performance) that I have already gone back to a few times and I pick up something new every time.
I feel there is something for everyone in this book. Highly recommended.
As a writer with 30 books in print, I am jealous: I do not think I could ever write a book as wonderful as this.
Of course, no one else could write it, as it is primarily an autobiography of one of the most extraordinary men I have had the honor to know in my life. But I also do not possess the skill to so artfully tell a story, that were it not true would be unbelievable, and tell it with elegance, beauty, poise, and clarity. Dan Brodsky Chenfeld tells his story with the smoothness and flow of a mountain stream.
No one alive could read this book and come to the finish as the same person. It is a book about determination, courage, and intensity that all will appreciate and benefit from. Part Two is a brief, well-thought-out self-help book that can apply to any profession, though this book is about skydiving. But you could ignore self-help if you wish and just read this amazing story.
For reasons Dan explains he was captivated by flight since childhood, but when he first jumped from a plane with a parachute at the age of 18 he had found a life's work and challenge to become the best competitive skydiver in the world. It is a hobby and profession that pays no tangible benefits other than being the best in the world at a sport few mortals ever experience.
Self-interest alert: I am a skydiver and met Dan soon after his first jump. I watched his riveting determination to be the best develop over the years; he moved to California, where he felt his chances to improve were greater.
I followed his career for years as he climbed the ladder of excellence until it all ended, I thought, in a plane crash that killed 17 of 22 skydivers aboard, including one of his and my best friends, the amazing James Layne.... Dan, body broken, was in a coma for six weeks and in hospitals for many months more. No one but Dan ever considered that he may one day jump again.
Dan opens his story with a dream sequence before he even knew he was in a coma, then goes back in time to his childhood and youth - day by day, month by month , year by year - which led to his hospital room.
I judge many a book by how I would have edited it, nearly always cutting away pages of extraneous descriptions and unnecessary accounts. I found no single sentence to delete in this story as it flows form Dan's voice to his pen.
The book is written chronologically in very brief chapters, simple nuggets easy to read and retain. The profiles of the many people who influenced his life are vivid, and the constant love of all of his close-knit family never played second fiddle to his dreams. His girlfriend and then wife, Kristi, willing to live in a trailer in the desert while he chased his dreams, played an unusual role of tough love as he crossed over from total dependence to partial independence as he began to heal after the accident. Eventually even his nine-month-old daughter Chloe Layne made an impact on the eve of his ultimate achievement. These folks are pictured poetically in a colorful section where you can meet them all.
I can treat you to a synopsis of the book simply by listing some of its 40 initial chapters: Waking Up, Following Your Dreams, Growing Up, Defining Spirituality, The College Years, Going into Business, Wanting to Be the Best, Finding Work, Discovering Arizona, California Dreaming, Skydiving Plane Crashes in Perris, Losing my Halo, Moving On, Till Death Do Us Part, The Ultimate Power of the Human Spirit.
In the final 90 pages of this 326-page book Dan packages the lessons learned in his life into ideas and rules that can work for anyone who cares to go beyond mediocrity in life or in business or profession. The world is full of self-help folks whose achievements do not warrant their license to give advice. Few on this planet have earned the right to do so as Dan Brodsky Chenfeld has.Read more ›
I wish I had the chance to have read Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld's book earlier in my life. I found it so inspirational, and so full of practical hints to actually being able to achieve my goals or make my dreams come true (I mean real hints, not only the "Believe it hard and it will happen" stuff, you know) that I often think that my life would have turned slightly different than it did.
But you know what? It's never too late! And I look forward to what's coming up next, because I feel ready now, I know what to do if ever I want my life to be as exceptional as his, if I am ready to commit myself enough to choose happiness and success ..."above all else."
Just one last thing though... Sure, it's a story about skydiving, but you don't need to be a surgeon to enjoy medical TV shows, do you? So even if you've never jumped out of an airplane, you will learn a lot, and certainly love reading Dan BC's book.
This book is a great read. Brodsky-Chenfield writes about his life competing to win the world skydiving championship. Along the way he gets fleeced by his first business partner, almost flunks out of college as a theater major, nearly dies in a skydiving plane crash that kills his "little brother", and then not only recovers but goes on to achieve his ultimate goal. Brodsky-Chenfield writes with great humor and insight which provides emotional impact to what are already dramatic events. Competitive skydiving is an arcane endeavor that has not previously been explored in an autobiography. The closest predecessor is "Jumping Fire" by Murry A. Taylor who describes his career as a fire fighter in remote forests accessible only by parachute. Both Brodsky-Chenfield and Taylor explore the difficulty of building and sustaining relationships with women while pursuing a career that demands nearly all their time and emotion. "Above All Else" goes beyond most adventure books that describe a thrilling and dangerous career by including life lessons that are learned by Brodsky-Chenfield in the most painful ways. The author's self-deprecating humor keeps the book fun without confusing the message. "Above All Else" is an outstanding addition to this genre. It reminded me of the introspective, "On the Ridge Between Life and Death", by David Roberts, the extreme climber and mountaineer. He too lost friends while engaged in an addictive but dangerous sport. Roberts explores his motivations for risking life and limb purely for fun. Brodsky-Chenfield never questions his motives; it's a given that jumping out of airplanes is the coolest thing in the world! Instead of asking why, Brodsky-Chenfield asks how. His book is the answer to that question. In fact, the book is comprised of two parts.... The first is autobiographical while the second is instructive. This book is about making choices and performing well. The two parts work together to illustrate and explain these two actions. The performance that the author uses for illustration is skydiving but he makes it clear that the same lessons hold for all high-speed, precision sports such as downhill skiing or auto racing. But what about the accountant who works alone in a room, communicating only through documents? Performance may be less important in this circumstance but making choices is critical for everyone. Without being pedantic, Brodsky-Chenfield distills his practical approach to moving through the decision-making process. He presents fear as the primary obstacle to commitment and spends considerable effort explaining how to overcome or even utilize fear. So, you get a self-help book in addition to an adventure story! I have to warn you: reading this book may cause you to start exercising or setting goals for yourself. It really is an inspiring read and I hope to see another book by this promising author. For full disclosure, I have known Brodsky-Chenfield for several years. We skydive together from time to time but I don't owe him any favors. This review is my sincere opinion of a great book.Read more ›
