Winning Is A Habit: Vince Lombardi on Winning, Success, and the Pursuit of Excellence (Hardcover)

by Ed Gary George (Author) "Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all-the-time thing..." (more)
Key Phrases: mental toughness, ball club, Green Bay, Vince Lombardi

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Vince Lombardi's uncanny ability to motivate and his unstoppable drive to succeed have made him the standard against which all NFL coaches are measured.Winning Is a Habit captures the charisma of the legend whose no-loss attitude in football was also his attitude in life.

Winning Is a Habit is divided into 11 subject categories -- from faith to football, from winning to racism, from family to business to himself -- reflecting the diversity of his insights and the power of his words.

Vince Lombardi taught that success in football and in his life is built on perseverance and hard work, lessons that continue to apply today.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Winning

Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing.

Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all-the-time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing....

It's a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they're there -- to compete. They know the rules and the objectiveswhen they get in the game. The objective is to win -- fairly, squarely, decently, by the rules -- but to win.

The will to excel and the will to win, they endure. They are more important than any events that occasion them. I don't care what people say about me as long as I win. That's what I get paid for.

There is no room for second place here. There is one place here and that's first place. I've finished second twice in my time here, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There's a second place bowl game, and it's a hinky-dinky football game, held in a hinky-dinky town, played by hinky-dinky football players. That's all second place is: Hinky-Dinky.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Collins Living; 1st edition (October 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062702157
• ISBN-13: 978-0062702159
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #561,358 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Changed my life!, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

I had heard from my Coach about Vince Lombardi and after reading this book of quotes I became inspired. I realized the things I had to change in my life in order to become a winner. This is an excellent book and a great comfort to me when I am feeling unmotivated.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor reading rip-off of Strive to Excel Lombardi book, March 29, 2000

By A Customer

This book is a poor rip-off of Jennifer Briggs' much classier Strive to Excel: The Wit, Will & Wisdom of Vince Lombardi. George is a politician with book editor connections, not a writer--and it shows in his clumbsy writing and diction. Briggs' Strive to Excel is a much better read on Lombardi. And I'd expect it to be. She's an award-winning sportswriter who's written for USA Today, SI, etc. Buy Brigg's book, not George's fluff.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for anyone, not just a sports fan, June 8, 2001

By A Customer

Full of laughs and in-depth knowledge of the competitive spirit, this book shows the flaws as well as the greatness of Vince Lombardi, and also in ourselves. One of my favorites: "The quality of a person's life is directly proportional to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." This could be used even in a classroom environment as a point of discussion for lessons on the price of winning, and integrity.