I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence [Hardcover]

Michael Jordan (Author), Mark Vancil (Author), Sandro Miller (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1994

The most extraordinary athlete of our time shares the rules he lives--and succeeds--by in an inspirational classic sure to be treasured by everyone who loved his #1 New York Times bestseller Rare Air. Jordan shows how to set goals and overcome obstacles, confront fear and self-doubt, be a leader and a team player, stay focused and fight distraction. 6 photos. Available.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Harper San Francisco; 1 edition (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062511904
• ISBN-13: 978-0062511904
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Basketball

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars And the secret of success is..., October 3, 2005

By 

A reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence (Hardcover)

...that there is no secret. Michael Jordan is probably the greatest basketball player of all time, so when such an accomplished man speaks on the achievement of excellence, it is worth the effort to pay attention. In a short 36-page read, Jordan gives advice that resonates far beyond sports, and applies just the same to academic, business and personal areas of life.

Discipline, foresight and sacrifice make up Jordan's own triangle offense against the obstacles one meets on the road to excellence. I was glad to see he made the observation that people in this country only see the end result - the final payoff - completely ignoring the backbreaking work it took to reach that end. You see it everyday - an honest effort done in by a lack of foresight and pie-in-the-sky goals. People want the payoff without putting down the deposit, and as a result a lot of potential is nipped in the bud. Hard work alone does not guarantee, but in the end that is all you can do. Excellence, then, is not a goal, but a process.

Homer wrote 'The Iliad' thousands of years ago, but there is a line within that still holds true today, and particularly here. A young hero there muses that of all qualities in a person - bravery, wisdom, God-given strength - nothing matters so much as heart. Jordan echoes that sentiment - talent alone will not do the trick, and his achievements confirm he was right. Heart measures the gap between the hall-of-famer and the might-have-been.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Basketball Player of All-Time Speaks., April 6, 2005

By 

tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence (Hardcover)

I CAN'T ACCEPT NOT TRYING is a small inspiration book written by the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan. Jordan had an unbelievable career in the NBA before retiring, tried playing major league baseball, came back to the NBA to lead the Chicago Bulls to a few more championships, then retired again, then came out of retirement again to play for the Washington Wizards--a team he had owned for over a year, before retiring for a third time in 2003. This little book was published just prior to Jordan's first return to basketball after his first "retirement". It was one of many items to fuel the media hype about his return.

There really isn't very much here. The book is only 36 pages long, is divided up into 6 sections, and includes a few posed pictures. The 6 sections are: goals, fears, commitment, teamwork, fundamentals, and leadership. Jordan shares a few personal thoughts and recollections in each section. Though there are one or two nuggets into the mind of Jordan, there isn't anything here that is new, original, or groundbreaking. Still, most people want to be like Mike and it is one of the few things Jordan ever wrote. It makes a nice little gift for Jordan fans, or someone who likes basketball and is getting ready to graduate high school.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it, try it, the book worth it, January 8, 2003

By 

Jorge Frid (Mexico City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence (Hardcover)

As all the books of "search the personal excellence" you have to try it to see if it's true, of course not everybody could try this and other books of this kind because all the people are different.
The advantage of this book among the others of the same theme is that you can read this book in 20 minutes or less, is easy to read because it doesn't have examples on how could you solve this or that problem, and it has a strong message in every chapter, if you just try to do one or two of these messages you can be sure that your life could change.