I’ve always been fascinated by books that successfully connect sport, life and business. From Sir Clive Woodward’s excellent book, Winning, on how he helped win the 2003 Rugby World Cup to John Kerr’s fantastic book, Legacy, that takes a deep-dive inside the mythical All Blacks rugby team such books are important because they show us the thinking & rationale behind successful sporting teams or individuals and what makes them ’tick'.
Bob Bowman’s book, Golden Rules, does exactly that. It brings to life in a practical yet inspiring way the extraordinary journey of the greatest Olympian of all time. As a massive Olympics fan I’d seen every single one of Michael Phelps's Olympic medal-winning races and the book makes it very clear as to why he won so many of the 'big’ races. His sacrifices, his hunger, his dreams, his risks, his bad times, his coach and his thinking. It was absolutely fascinating being inside the mind of both the coach and at times the swimmer!
Bowman’s writing style appears effortless and I found myself easily absorbing the many stories and underlining lots of quotes which for me is always an important sign of a good book! The lessons he outlines for life, sport or business are simply explained and easy to apply if you so choose.
Good books include inspiring subject matter, have stories that last long in the memory, make you not want to put them down and persuade you to tell friends about them. Golden Rules left me beyond inspired in Olympics year. I read it in one sitting, have stored a host of new stories for business presentations, I’ve bought 50 copies for business colleagues and have shared many of the brilliant stories with friends and industry colleagues already. It really is that good!
For the business champions, for the curious minds, for the dreamers or just ordinary sports fans there’s something in this book for everyone. It’s an inspiring read that shows you that dreams can come true in all walks of life if you work hard enough and apply the right rules! It comes highly recommended and there is still time to devour and digest before the Rio Olympics begins in August!
