Stories and wisdom from the pioneering basketball coach and Nike executive George Raveling, coauthored by bestselling author of Orphaned at just thirteen in a still-segregated Washington, D.C., George Raveling was introduced to a relatively unpopular sport--basketball--in high school. The rest, as they say, is history. Raveling went on to become one of the winningest coaches of all time, a mentor to legendary athletes, and a confidant of the sport’s greatest coaches, including Bob Knight and John Wooden. He convinced Michael Jordan to collaborate with Nike on the Air Jordan. He led the 1984 U.S. Men’s Olympic team to their ninth gold medal. He even once owned the original, handwritten copy of Dr. King’s most famous speech after an unlikely stint as a bodyguard during the famous March on Washington.;; Here, Coach Raveling tells the story of his extraordinary ascent, sharing incredible behind the scenes stories of his days working with the best in the game. But this book is more than a memoir – it’s a manual for life that presents surprising methods for harnessing your potential from a man who shaped the careers of so many legends. Raveling imparts lessons learned from his grandmother, his long career in basketball, and his lifelong habit of reading – to which he credits all his success. Readers will learn how to choose good books and retain their wisdom using a ‘learning journal’, how to build a unique, personal library; and how a consistent reading habit can be life-changing – and money-making. Whether you’re an athlete, a leader, a parent, a student, or simply seeking to mold your raw talent into greatness, <What You’re Made For< is a blueprint for your life.

Autorentext
George Raveling, known to many as “Coach,” has transcended the intersections of sports, business, and culture. Following a standout college basketball career at Villanova University, he ascended to head coaching positions at Washington State University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Southern California. After retiring from coaching, Raveling joined Nike at the request of Phil Knight. His achievements include induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Ryan Holiday is one of the world’s bestselling living philosophers. His books, including The Obstacle Is the Way, Ego Is the Enemy, and The Daily Stoic, appear in more than forty languages and have sold over ten million copies. He is a longtime friend and admirer of Coach Raveling and is honored to help him tell his story.

Klappentext

"Orphaned at just thirteen in a still-segregated Washington, D.C., George Raveling was introduced to a relatively unpopular sport--basketball--in high school. The rest, as they say, is history. Raveling went on to become one of the winningest coaches of all time, a mentor to legendary athletes, and a confidant of the sport's greatest coaches, including Bob Knight and John Wooden. He convinced Michael Jordan to collaborate with Nike on the Air Jordan. He led the 1984 U.S. men's Olympic team to their ninth gold medal. He even once owned the original, handwritten copy of Dr. King's most famous speech after an unlikely stint as a bodyguard during the famous March on Washington. Here, Coach Raveling tells the story of his extraordinary ascent, sharing incredible behind-the-scenes stories of his days working with the best in the game. But this book is more than a memoir--it's a manual for life that presents surprising methods for harnessing your potential from a man who shaped the careers of so many legends. Raveling imparts lessons learned from his grandmother, his long career in basketball, and his lifelong habit of reading--to which he credits all his success. Whether you're an athlete, a leader, a parent, a student, or simply seeking to mold your raw talent into greatness, What You're Made For is a blueprint for your life"--

Zusammenfassung
“I’m proud to call George a mentor and a friend.” —Michael Jordan

Orphaned at just thirteen in a still-segregated Washington, D.C., George Raveling was introduced to a relatively unpopular sport—basketball—in high school. The rest, as they say, is history. Raveling went on to become one of the winningest coaches of all time, a mentor to legendary athletes, and a confidant of the sport’s greatest coaches, including Bob Knight and John Wooden. He convinced Michael Jordan to collaborate with Nike on the Air Jordan. He led the 1984 U.S. men’s Olympic team to their ninth gold medal. He even once owned the original, handwritten copy of Dr. King’s most famous speech after an unlikely stint as a bodyguard during the famous March on Washington.

Here, Coach Raveling tells the story of his extraordinary ascent, sharing incredible behind-the-scenes stories of his days working with the best in the game. But this book is more than a memoir—it’s a manual for life that presents surprising methods for harnessing your potential from a man who shaped the careers of so many legends. Raveling imparts lessons learned from his grandmother, his long career in basketball, and his lifelong habit of reading—to which he credits all his success.

Whether you’re an athlete, a leader, a parent, a student, or simply seeking to mold your raw talent into greatness, What You’re Made For is a blueprint for your life.

Leseprobe
To Be a Trailblazer

Faith is taking the first step even
when you don't see the whole staircase.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

After my mom was institutionalized, nobody knew what to do with me.

My grandma-as I said, we called her "Dear"-had five jobs at the time, and one of them was working for this white family in Georgetown. She cleaned the house, made meals, baked, and all that stuff. One day Dear told the lady of the house about my mom and how she was trying to figure out what to do.

"Maybe Catherine can help," the woman suggested.

Catherine, it turned out, was the head of one of the branches of Catholic Charities. She was able to get Catholic Charities to pay to send me to a boarding school in Pennsylvania. It was a school for boys from broken homes called St. Michael's.

St. Michael's was founded in 1916 by Bishop Michael J. Hoban. He wanted to do more than feed and house boys without homes; he wanted to educate them and teach them practical skills they could use to make a living.

The boarding school sat on four hundred acres. Surrounded by woods and fields, it was the opposite of urban D.C. in every way, and there was plenty to do. When I woke up in the morning, it wasn't the clanging of street cars or vendors I heard, it was roosters. Here, the nuns and priests did the teaching and the students did the chores. I cleaned coops, baled hay, picked apples, scrubbed floors. I did whatever they asked me. I was just happy to be somewhere other than that little apartment.

Why did they pick me out of all the charity cases? I'll never know. Maybe they saw something in me. Maybe it was just luck, just a random act of kindness. In life, it doesn't really matter why you get an opportunity, only what you do with it.

I decided I wouldn't let this one pass me by.

It was here that I met Jerome Nadine, who would become a pivotal figure in my life. He was a trailblazer. He had been at St. Michael's before me, and as a Black student and basketball player, he had paved the way for someone like me. And after his time at the school, he'd been called to the priesthood, but his success and achievements in sports gave him credibility, and he used that to advocate for me.

Jerome kept pushing me to play basketball, mainly because I was so tall and a decent athlete. The basketball team, Father Nadine to…