Move Without the Ball: Put Your Skills and Your Magic to Work for You [Paperback]

Stedman Graham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2004

Athletics is a metaphor for life; that's why Move Without the Ball is not just for athletes. Anyone who has ever been involved in the pursuit of excellence understands the need for dedication, perseverance, and sacrifice. Everyday, young adults are bombarded with images and stories of extreme wealth and fame -- be it in sports, music, or Hollywood. Their vision of success can become limited to these areas, and they lose focus on developing other talents and skills. A reality check is in order, because the odds are fifty thousand to one that a student athlete will play in the NBA, and similar odds apply to aspiring singers and actors who expect they will be the next superstar. The upside is that there is a much bigger world out there for young people to explore and succeed in, and Move Without the Ball serves as the guidebook.

Stedman Graham -- businessman, lecturer, and author of the New York Times bestsellers Teens Can Make It Happen and You Can Make It Happen -- speaks honestly and directly to teens from his own experience. A former European professional athlete who never achieved his dream of playing in the NBA, Graham understands the pressures and temptations young people face. He discovered that there is a process for building success in many areas of one's life, and he has spent the last twenty years sharing this process with young people.

The book overflows with powerful and inspiring stories and photographs of sports stars of yesterday and today, including Hank Aaron, Greg Norman, Magic Johnson, Mia Hamm, Pelé, Dave Winfield, Serena Williams, Bo Jackson, and Cal Ripken Jr. -- just to name a few. It's not just these pros' athleticism that's highlighted in Move Without the Ball, it's the winning combination of courage, self-discipline, sense of purpose, and passion that they bring to their lives everyday -- both on and off the field.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Drawing from personal experience, including his years as a motivational speaker, Graham urges teens to think outside the box to achieve their potential. He focuses on student athletes, asking them to use their strengths both on and off the field. The text includes lots of examples of professional athletes who moved well, both in their careers and after they left the stadium. There's also a section on good nutrition and its role in success. The author points out that for the vast majority of readers, high school is where most athletes' careers begin and end. Though Graham dispenses good advice, his delivery makes a much better motivational speech than it does an inspirational read. The text is long and the basic message seems to be repeated over and over again. The sports bios are interesting and lend support to the theme. Black-and-white photos appear throughout.–Elaine Baran Black, Gwinnett County Public Library, Lawrenceville, GA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Stedman Graham is chairman and CEO of S. Graham and Associates, a management and marketing consulting firm based in Chicago. He is the author of ten books, including two New York Times bestsellers. Graham lectures and conducts seminars for businesses and organizations around the country. He is a former adjunct professor at Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and is currently a visiting professor at several other universities. Active in philanthropy and community work, he is on the international board of Junior Achievement, is founder of Athletes Against Drugs, and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st edition (July 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743234405
• ISBN-13: 978-0743234405
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stedman, You're Capable Of Better, December 8, 2004

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Move Without the Ball: Put Your Skills and Your Magic to Work for You (Paperback)

Anyone who's seen you talk knows that you must have kissed the Blarney Stone, for you are a powerful motivational speaker, and I was excited to get a copy of your newest book as a gift for graduation. But I was disappointed on opening the book to find out that your only advice in MOVE WITHOUT THE BALL gets repeated in innumerable ways for about 150 pages too long. Yes, it is for student athletes, but I don't think any of them would profit from your tips. This time you are moving with the ball, it is clenched between your arm and your ribs and it seems you are frozen in one rhetorical posture. TEENS CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN was a livelier book with more of an edge, and seemed to capture the dynamism of your speaking style. My mother always used to say, "Listen to Stedman Graham, because any man who could woo and win Oprah Winfrey must have a lot on the ball," and Mom is always right. However, the writing in MOVE is very flat and limp. You profile a lot of athletes and never hint that any of them are leading less than a perfect life. We know too much about the pains and troubles of life to believe you, life isn't easy even when you're moving without the ball. I believe you would like to boost the success ratio of kids, but empty words and promises are not going to do it. "Be honest," you say (on page 102). Why not tell that to Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi instead of to the young people who have never lied to you or to the American public. "Do the work that is required," but Stedman, we all know plenty of kids who do the right thing all the time and yet they are treated wrongly by the systems that prevail.

I like one piece of your advice, "Take the time to see things through," and I advise you to take more time, before you produce your nest best-weller, for my gut feeling is you are trying to write too many books too fast and the quality is suffering. You can't churn a book out like a tub of butter.

Your fan, Kevin

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shooting from the Hip, September 6, 2004

By 

Herbert E. Paradis Jr. (Skowhegan, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Move Without the Ball: Put Your Skills and Your Magic to Work for You (Paperback)

This book should become required reading for all students in our high schools who have visions of a career in sports as well as other venues such as music, theater and otherwise that the road to these careers are not necessarily paved as exemplified in the media. It takes a lot of hard work, practice, practice, practice. Even then those who make it are few and far in between as Mr. Graham relates. As a young man I had visions of becoming a concert pianist but a wise and talented music teacher gave me information such as one will read in this book that I need to go outside the box and perhaps study something from which I could make a living. I studied accounting. I still play piano but in the privacy of my own home; I work in accounting and have worked ever since. (The copy of my book has a collating error in it. At what should be page 123, pages 75 thru 106 are repeated so that there are 31 pages of Stedman Graham's wisdom not there, however the rest of the book is an outstanding read).

4.0 out of 5 stars Applause Stedman -- Dead-on for our youth, March 16, 2006

By 

Mary Kurek (Atlantic Beach, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Move Without the Ball : Put Your Skills and Your Magic to Work for You (Paperback)

I'm an adult and a founding board member of a sports leadership program for high school athletes. The book is dead-on for helping not only young athletes, but any youth to understand and meet the challenges ahead (as a leader.) The stories were good and applicable. Although I found that the beginning of the book didn't pull like I'd want...Stedman provides solid guidance and useful information later on. It's an easy and quick read that could become a reference for its market. I intend to present the book to my organization to see if they'd like to look into purchasing it for our students. I understand Stedman has also created a program to put action to the intent of the book, and I'm looking into that as well. Mary Kurek