Customer Reviews

Role of a Lifetime: Reflections on Faith, Family, and Significant Living

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I freely admit that I am not a television viewer. While there was a time in my life where I was up on sports and knew everything that was going on with my two favorite NFL teams, that time is not now. And, while I was aware that James Brown was a sports show analyst and commentator, I knew nothing about the man himself.

Honestly, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I thought it would simply be entertaining. I didn't expect to be moved, much less inspired.

James Brown writes candidly about his life and his ups and downs and successes and failures. Being drafted into the NBA was his dream come true. Being released after training camp was a defeat. He's honest and open and never once do you think that he's feeling sorry for himself. On the contrary, this is a book about finding the role that you were born to live, and the role that God wants for you.

I appreciated James' view that we maximize our own potential as much by building others up and letting them shine, as we do on our own. James speaks openly about finding his faith and living it. His faith and family are important to him and he is who he is, in part, because of his mother's example of goodness. In his eyes, success is making a difference in the lives of others, and we can only do that with God's help. He's very quick to give credit to those people who've made a difference in his life and who've taught him and helped him get to where he is today.

If I have any complaints at all with the book, it's that I felt it needed a good edit. But, that's just me. I know a book is good when I want to high-light passages for future reference, and there were several here where I did just that. I'd love to hear James speak in person. I think his message would be both inspirational and motivational.

I'm not a huge football fan, but I've always enjoyed the television demeanor of James Brown. He always seems so kind and well-versed in all that's going on in the studio -- had a certain spirit in him that emanated all the way to me, a wife who never understood the sport and caught his segments while popping popcorn and serving pizza to the real sports fans in our house.

How happy I was to pick up this book recently in Lexington, Kentucky -- home of the University of Kentucky, who I learned offered Brown a basketball scholarship. (He "settled" for Harvard instead... a momentary lack of judgment!) Brown is the type of guy who's so athletic (and surrounded by athletes) that he wrote, "I'm only 6'5"....

But the true heart of the book is not sports at all. Rather, it's a simplicity that comes from hard work, gratitude, family, and lessons learned. His love for various people in his life (his mom, dad, and a former coach) is palpable. As I read the book, I realized that people don't talk about honor and "keeping your word" like his parents did. it's refreshing to read a book by a man who's "old school" in the ways that matter, who is just as kind to the elevator operator as he is to a Supreme Court Justice.

Wonderful read -- buy it for the sports fans in your life... and even the pizza-servers!

This book is part autobiography and part testimonial to a Christian way of life. Maybe, in some ways, people could see it as a self-help book, but that's not exactly a good description of this work.

Here Brown talks about his life growing up in a modest Washington, D.C. neighborhood and being the first member of his family to go to college, and Harvard at that. He went on a basketball scholarship and had dreams of playing in the NBA. Once he got to the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks his dreams were soon dashed.

His strong family and values is what pulled him through a tough time and thrust him into the business world, where he was successful, but ultimately found himself staying in the sports world and calling games. He slowly climbed the ladder to where he is today, one of the most respected sports broadcasters.

There is quite a bit of advice on how to live life and maintain a strong value base, which helped Brown deal with many of the tough decisions in his life. They also helped him thrive in a tough profession.

While this may not be everyone's cup of tea, Brown has lead and interesting life and has some valuable insight into how a strong family (he especially extols his mother in this book) and good decisions based on firm values can lead to a happy and successful life. Nice guys don't always finish last.

Author James Brown wears several hats, and has lived a life that is proof of a foundation rooted in God. A strong familial upbringing and love helped to make him the man he is today. Author Brown shares the ups and downs, accomplishments and disappointments he has experienced in his life in his memoir, Role of a Lifetime.

Making it clear that a successful life is not one evident of material gain, but one rooted in God, Author Brown begins the personal account of his life with the disappointment that could have certainly ruined his dreams of achievement when he was cut from the Atlanta Hawks. Gone was a dream to play professional basketball in the NBA, and the embarrassment that was felt having to return to his parents' home.

While the dream to play pro ball would not be, Author Brown takes readers through his personal journey of coming to realize God's call to yield his life completely to Him, which would indeed become the foundation for which his faith is based upon when it comes to living the life God requires of him. In his willingness to live for God, it is important to be a blessing to others.

What I found very important and helpful is the Ingredients for Successful Living: Good Communication Skills, Appearance, Personal Relations, Punctuality, Thirst for Knowledge, Being a Team Player, and Overcoming Adversity. These are explained with scriptural references that help to further explain these nuggets of wisdom.

I enjoyed reading Role of a Lifetime, and found it to be a blessing that should be shared with anyone who feels that an unrealized dream means the end of success in life, but especially to our pre-teen, teen and young adult males who are seeking success in hoop dreams and other professional sports without seeking to find what God has for them.


Review by Sharel E. Gordon-Love
APOOO BookClub

I am not a sport's fanatic...I know virtually nothing about sports, but I cracked the book open and in doing so I learned a thing or two.

James Brown was born and raised in Washington. He accepted a basketball scholarship to Harvard, where he was noted as a three-time basketball player. He worked seven years at Xerox. Five years in, an opportunity arose for him to work in broadcasting for the now Washington Wizards. After Xerox he left to work at Eastman Kodak. When a CBS affiliate called and had James fill in for a sportscaster that was sick, he jumped at the chance, although he had never done it before. This lead to the door opening to many more opportunities.

In the "ROLE OF A LIFETIME: Reflections of Faith, Family, and Significant Living" is chocked full of great quotes such as: "To carry bitterness or a sense of having been wronged within us only holds us back from becoming all we were created to be." Mr. Brown also shares personal funny stories, like the time he did not stop to smell the roses (literally)...his wife had dropped rose petals that led to her, and he was too busy sweeping them up so she wouldn't have to clean up the mess. Mr. Brown talks with great pride and love about his family and his faith in God. In reading this book, I got to see a glimpse into Mr. Brown's character. Although he may be a celebrity he makes it a point to talk and get to know anyone and everyone, always saying a kind word in passing.


Reviewed by: LeonaR

I'm familiar with James Brown, through his roles as the host of some of my favorite football shows, over the years. He's always seemed like a respectable man, and when I heard about his book, it became a priority of mine to check it out. I like how he talks about family, how important it was to his growth, as well as his challenges with his faith. By his own admission, it wasn't easy for him to piece everything together for the book, and it led to times in the book that I had to make myself push through. However, I still feel like it's a solid read, and one you can find life lessons in.

I enjoy reading memoirs and learning how others have handled difficult events in their lives but still continued to find success. James Brown's life is no different. I have seen him on many occasions on television and at first glance, he seemed to have lived a good life. But as you read his story, you find everyone who looks good may have experienced some pain and strife to get that way.

ROLE OF A LIFETIME: Reflections on Faith, Family, and Significant Living is part inspirational and a memoir about the author's life. He shares stories about his ups and down, his failures, problems and successes. The title is true to the content inside of the book. Brown discusses finding the role in your life that God wants you to have. He talks about faith, his family, helping others and being an inspiration. Finally, he does the one thing that many people fail to do and that is to give credit to those who helped you along the way.

I enjoyed this book; learning how valuable faith is and reading what God expects out of you. I enjoyed the candid stories Brown shared that allowed us to know that often success does not come easy, but if you use your failures to become better, you can achieve anything with faith and God. I highly recommend this book to those who need inspiration and help in understanding their role in life.

Reviewed by RM Jackson
of The RAWSISTAZ (tm) Reviewers

If you're into sports or know who James Brown is, this is an interesting read. I especially enjoyed how he is unashamed of his faith and doesn't try to hide who he really is. So many sports figures hide behind the camera and don't live a life that they're willing to put in a book. Well, James Brown does just that. He lets you see into his life; not just the success he's had, but the mistakes and shortcomings he's dealt with along the way. Very good book.

Practically New. Item arrive as expected. This excellent motivational book from a guy that is viewed by millions every Sunday during football season. Makes a great gift for the football fan.

James Brown is a well-known athlete and sports commentator, but not everyone knows his personal story. In ROLE OF A LIFETIME, Mr. Brown shares his story of how he became a devout Christian, the disappointments he endured, and the people along the way that helped him become the man he became.

Mr. Brown says that this book is partially self-help and part memoir. To quote from the back cover, "The definition of success and what it takes to be successful has been warped and twisted. Self-promotion and self-importance have become the norms, and the individuals we're taught to look up to for guidance--the high-profile role models--are often looking for a guiding light themselves."

The premise of ROLE OF A LIFETIME is the belief that finding and living the role we were meant to play should be our focus. Mr. Brown shares the lessons he learned in his own life so that we can make the most of our roles.

ROLE OF A LIFETIME: Reflections on Faith, Family, and Significant Living, like I said is a memoir. I don't really enjoy reading these types of books, but Mr. Brown's style is very friendly, almost like he's sharing his story over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. I did enjoy this slant.

If you are a sports fan--or just enjoy reading memoirs--then you will appreciate reading ROLE OF A LIFETIME. Also an awesome gift for sports fans or for Father's Day.