Elevate and Dominate
21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field
Deion Sanders is the only player in sports history to play in a Super Bowl and World Series. He’s an NFL Hall of Famer and a two-time Super Bowl Champion. More recently, he’s dedicated his life to redefining coaching and leadership as “Coach Prime.” After leading Jackson State University to two SWAC Championships he took over the head coaching job at the University of Colorado. This book is like having a conversation with a wise, playful, super high energy iconoclast. It’s packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share some of my favorites so let’s jump straight in.
Big Ideas
- Even If You’re Broken, Keep Moving!KEEP MOVING!
- First and Foremost, Success is About DisciplineDISCIPLINE.
- So You’re Saying I Got a Chance?“So you’re saying I got a chance?”
- Dream BIG!Then Pay the Price.
- The Most Important Factor? Consistency!Is the exponentializer.
“Hey baby, it’s Coach Prime. Thanks for picking up my book. Let’s cut to the chase. Here’s how this is gonna go down. I don’t want to lecture. Let’s have a real conversation. That’s so much better. That’s so much more intimate. I’m guessing you’re interested in this book because you’re looking for ANSWERS. That’s why you’re here, right? Well, we’ll get to those in a little bit. But first, I got a few questions for YOU.
Do you feel like the BEST PARTS of life are just passing you by? Are you spending most of your time just WORRYING? Do you HATE going to work every morning? Have you forgotten what it’s like to have a TRUE PASSION for the things you’re involved in? Do you still have DREAMS?
When your head hits the pillow every night, are you at PEACE? When you look in the mirror, do you LIKE what you see? DO YOU HAVE A PLAN AND WHAT IS IT? How do you ATTACK your days?
Let’s get this straight. I AM A COACH. I want to be YOUR coach. So, what we need off the rip is a game plan.
We’re gonna lay out twenty-one ways—that’s right, twenty-one ways… you know I wore 21, right?—for you to win on and off the field. If you follow this plan, it’s gonna ELEVATE you in every area of your life. And when you ELEVATE, that means you’re ready to DOMINATE. …
Yes, I have made a lot of mistakes. But I’ve also done a lot of good—and I think I’ve only just begun. I’m not average. I’m not typical. I don’t think you are either.
I want to bring some CLARITY, PURPOSE, and PASSION to your world. So let’s make this journey together, tackling this very complicated, very rewarding thing called life together. Show up for me, bring an open mind, and let’s see if these things don’t make a little sense to you.
After that, the next step is all about becoming all you were meant to be. Let’s go!”
~ Deion Sanders from Elevate and Dominate
I got this book after two things happened in the same day.
First, I was reading Dr. Nate Zinsser's GREAT book, The Confident Mind. He profiles Deion Sanders as a micro case study on what confidence looks like. Then, Alexandra shared a Heroic social post by one of our members (thanks, Lanny!) who encouraged me to get Deion’s new book.
I pay attention to little winks like that. So, I immediately got the book. It arrived the next day. I read the first 101 pages that afternoon and finished it during one of Emerson’s chess tournaments the following day. It’s awesome. (Get a copy here.)
If you follow sports, you almost certainly know who Deion Sanders is. If you don’t, Deion Sanders is the only player in sports history to play in a Super Bowl and World Series. He’s an NFL Hall of Famer and a two-time Super Bowl Champion.
More recently, he’s dedicated his life to redefining coaching and leadership as “Coach Prime.” After leading Jackson State University to two SWAC Championships he took over the head coaching job at the University of Colorado.
As per the sub-title, the book features “21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field.” This book is like having a conversation with a wise, playful, super high energy iconoclast.
It’s packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share some of my favorites so let’s jump straight in.
P.S. John Maxwell, one of the world’s most respected leadership thinkers/authors in the world, wrote the foreword to the book—celebrating Coach Prime’s iconoclastic style. Check out our Notes on a few of his great books including: How Successful People Think, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, and Leadershift.
P.P.S. When I read the sub-title to the book, I thought of another recent Note: Move by Move: Life Lessons On and Off the Chessboard by Maurice Ashley. That great book is by the first African American Chess Grandmaster.
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Download PDFI love this Bible verse: Ecclesiastes 9:10—Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might ... And here’s how I translate that: Put your best effort into EVERYTHING you do.
God chose me for this. God is good. God is using me for the good. God always gives the largest struggles to his strongest soldiers.
Get the BookEven If You’re Broken, Keep Moving!
“Sometimes life is NOT easy. Believe me, I am FAMILIAR with that concept. Life will get you down, kick you while you’re already down, and make you feel like you’re never going to make it. But here’s the thing: You CAN’T stay down. You can’t. And you won’t. You get back up, dust yourself off, and keep going. Period.
Look, I know it gets hard. Maybe you just got fired from your job. Maybe you lost someone you loved. Maybe you’re battling an illness that nobody knows about. Maybe your dreams have been shattered into a million pieces.
Whatever it may be, know that you’re not alone. I’ve been there. I’ve had my share of struggles and setbacks, but I can tell you that quitting is NEVER an option. Keep pushing, keep grinding, and keep chasing your dreams. It WON’T be easy, but it WILL be worth it.
Some people say the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire. That means that when you’re going through a tough time, that’s when you’re being tempered and strengthened. That pain won’t last forever. It’s there to make you GROW. To make you jump higher, run faster, be better.
Now, don’t get it twisted. On the days when you feel like throwing in the towel, when you feel like giving up, that’s when you must dig DEEP. Sometimes you have to FAKE IT till you MAKE IT. Sometimes you have to put on your brave face, even if you feel like crying inside.
Just know that it’s OK to feel broken and discouraged. It’s OK to feel like you can’t do it. It’s OK to feel weak. But never forget that you are STRONG, you are CAPABLE, and you are WORTHY. The key is to keep moving. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, even if it’s baby steps.
Celebrate every little victory, every little step forward. Because that’s what success is made of. It’s not about the end result. It’s about the journey. It’s about the stories you’ll tell your grandchildren one day.
So when life knocks you down, GET BACK UP! When you feel like you can’t go on, take a deep breath and keep moving. When you feel like you’re broken and discouraged, remember that you’re not alone and YOU CAN DO THIS!
You got this. You’re a CHAMPION. AND CHAMPIONS NEVER GIVE UP.”
That’s from the very first chapter: “Even If You’re Broken, Keep Moving!”
One of the best aspects of this book is how REAL Deion is. His authentic, ICONOCLASTIC (we both love the use of all caps ;)) style bursts through each page.
He’s also VERY transparent about his own personal struggles. In the first chapter, he tells us about the health crisis (blood clots in his leg) that almost killed him and led to the amputation of two of his toes—slightly inconvenient for a guy who prides himself on being the living embodiment of speed and power.
Later in the book, Deion tells us about a time in 1997 when he was at the absolute peak of his success but didn’t have the wisdom and faith with which he aspires to live his life now.
You know what he did? He tried to kill himself. He literally drove himself off the side of a road, plummeting a few dozen feet off a cliff. Somehow, he came out of that unscathed. He took that as a VERY STRONG sign that it was time to pull his life together, found a deeper sense of purpose through his Christian faith and transformed his life.
Rule #1 of a good, noble, Heroic life is that it’s SUPPOSED to be challenging. Rule #1 of the science of self-compassion is that YOU’RE NOT ALONE! We’re ALL SUFFERING in one way or another at one point in time or another. We must, as Deion encourages us to remember, have compassion for OURSELVES *and* for everyone else in our lives.
Then… We need to STEP UP and do what needs to get done to CONQUER those challenges—using them as fuel to forge our next level of antifragile confidence. TODAY.
Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.’
Let me be 100 with you on this VERY important topic. If you don’t put in the work, you WILL NOT make it in life. Notice that I didn’t say MIGHT NOT. I said WILL NOT.
When you identify the people in our society who are deemed ‘winners,’ then dig deep into their backgrounds. You will always find a common thread. They were all ferocious workers.
First and Foremost, Success is About Discipline
“‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’ That well-known quote is from the twentieth century writer Will Durant, who based it on something he read in the works of Aristotle, a Greek philosopher who lived before the birth of Christ.
Even back then, Aristotle was setting his own thermostat. Even back then, most successful people were following routines. …
Listen to me, y’all. Yesterday is GONE. Tomorrow is not here yet. You need to think about the day you’re actually in. DON’T MISS THAT DAY. …
You think success is about talent? It’s not. First and foremost, success is about DISCIPLINE. That’s true whether you’re running a business, leading a family, trying to pass your exams in school, or practicing your craft as a professional athlete. It’s about showing up every day, putting in the work, and being committed to the process CONSISTENTLY. …
All you can control is the MOMENT. That’s why it’s so important to have a great routine. Having that routine is like referring to a road map. It helps you stay on track. You feeling a little lost? Stick to your routine. That helps you take the steps necessary to achieve your goals.
Now, here’s the deal about a routine: You better commit to it! You’ve got to BELIEVE what you’re committing to. You can’t skip days. You’ve gotta stick to it EVERY SINGLE DAY.
If you’re telling me that you don’t have time for a routine, I’m telling you that you better FIND TIME. There’s ALWAYS time to prioritize the important things in your life. It must be at the top of your list.”
That’s from Chapter #2: “Set Your Thermostat” in which Deion tells us that we need to start our days strong and “Find a Good Routine.”
First, for the record, when Will Durant refers to Aristotle’s sense of “excellence,” HE’S TALKING ABOUT ARETÉ!!
Second, Durant’s wisdom is his poetic distillation of THIS passage from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics: “There is a further qualification [for attaining eudaimonic happiness]: in a complete lifetime. One swallow does not make a summer; neither does one day. Similarly, neither can one day, or a brief space of time, make a man blessed and happy.”
Now... You know how I like to say that when I read a book, I often notice the author coming back to ONE word more than any other? Well... In this book, that word was DISCIPLINE. You know what was tied for second? CONSISTENCY.
As I’ve said a million times (and this has become one of my MAIN slides in my keynotes), DISCIPLINE outpredicts IQ for academic performance by a FACTOR OF TWO. It’s also, as Deion wisely points out, the greatest predictor of EVERY success you want in your life.
Finally, as I read that passage, I smiled—thinking about how much Deion would LOVE the Heroic app and our commitment to helping YOU commit to the protocol that helps YOU show up as your best when it matters most. We’re blessed to work with a number of elite sports coaches/athletes and I look forward to connecting with Deion when the time is right. :)
Remember: “Here’s the deal about a routine: You better commit to it! You’ve got to BELIEVE what you’re committing to. You can’t skip days. You’ve gotta stick to it EVERY SINGLE DAY. If you’re telling me that you don’t have time for a routine, I’m telling you that you better FIND TIME. There’s ALWAYS time to prioritize the important things in your life. It must be at the top of your list.”
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
When you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you play good. And when you play good, they pay good. It always works.
You want ground rules? Don’t accept EXCUSES. Don’t allow PROCRASTINATION. Don’t place BLAME. And most of all, DON’T DRAG YOUR FEET or WASTE TIME.
So You’re Saying I Got a Chance?
“But before we achieve our success, I need to see it in my mind.
Visualization is so important. Did you know that when the actor Jim Carrey was first starting out he consistently visualized himself as rich, famous, and successful, even when he had . . . NOTHING? He used to drive around Los Angeles and pretend he was meeting with directors—and no one even knew who Jim Carrey was. He did this for himself. People might have thought he was crazy, but he could see the goal as clear as day.
Sounds like he was living in a dream world, right? But he tricked his mind and told himself all his dreams were out there waiting for him. They were going to be his actual possessions. He just didn’t have ahold of them yet. It was going to take time.
When he was broke, he made out a check to himself for $10 million. He was convinced the money would come his way one day in the future. He dated it Thanksgiving 1995 and tucked it away in his wallet. Just before Thanksgiving Day 1995, Carrey learned he was going to make ten million for a film called Dumb and Dumber. Jim Carrey kept that check in his wallet until the day he buried his father, putting it inside his father’s casket because together they had the dream of him making it. Visualization is powerful, man. It’s one of the highest forms of BELIEF.”
That’s from Chapter #3: “Be Where Your Feet Are” in which, in addition to teaching us the power of visualization, Deion ALSO teaches us the power of DOMINATING THIS MOMENT.
I love that Jim Carrey story. And... Here’s what’s funny about that Jim Carrey and Dumb and Dumber reference. (No pun originally intended but I’ll take it! ;))
Dr. Nate Zinsser, who is one of the world’s leading peak performance/mental toughness guys and author of The Confident Mind, ALSO talks about Jim Carrey and Dumb and Dumber in his book.
Only... He talks about the character Jim Carrey plays in that movie. Remember Lloyd? The goofy guy with the sweet haircut and chipped tooth? (Hah.)
And, remember that woman he has a crush on and that scene where he asks her what the odds are of them being together? If you kinda sorta know what I’m talking about and/or want a good laugh, check that scene out here. It’s 56 seconds of pure awesome.
Spoiler alert: Lloyd begs his crush to be honest with him. He asks her if the odds of them being together are something like 1 in 100. She grimaces and says the odds are more like 1 in 1 million. To which Lloyd takes a deep breath, absorbs the reality of that... THEN beams and says: “SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THERE’S A CHANCE?” Then he joyfully screams: “YEAAAAH!!!!”
Of course, that scene is RIDICULOUS. And... Know this: A guy with a PhD in mental toughness, who has mentored some of THE most elite performers in the world (and taught THREE GENERATIONS of Cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point!) uses THAT scene as an example of how important it is to believe we can achieve something.
Obviously, there are asterisks and nuances as we go after our dreams. AND... We need to START with a VISION for what we want to see then match that with the CONSISTENT DISCIPLINE of showing up and closing the gap MOMENT to MOMENT to MOMENT.
Spotlight on YOU: What do YOU want to see come to fruition in your life? Can you SEE IT?
P.S. Arnold Schwarzenegger OBSESSED about vision as well. Check out our Notes on Be Useful for more. In fact, “HAVE A CLEAR VISION” is the FIRST of his “Seven Tools for Life.”
To be clear: He emphasizes the importance of HUSTLING the same way Deion does as he tells us: “Before I go any further, I recognize that this sounds like a lot of woo-woo manifestation mumbo jumbo, like The Secret and all those law of attraction books being peddled by bullshit artists. This isn’t that. I’m not saying that if you visualize what you want, then it will come true. Hell no. You have to plan and work and learn and fail and work and fail some more. That’s just life. Those are the rules.
What I am saying is that if you want your vision to stick, if you want to increase the chances of success looking exactly like you hoped it would when you first figured out what you wanted your life to look like, then you need to get crystal clear on that vision and tattoo it to the inside of your eyelids. You need to SEE IT.”
The longer you live, the more you realize: It’s not about YOU. It’s about what YOU can do for THEM.
I will PROMISE you this: You’ll never feel more alive than when you’re fighting for something you believe in with all your heart and soul. And if you DON’T fight for it, that moment will haunt you because you’ll always know that you weren’t true to yourself.
Funny thing is, I don’t dream when I’m asleep. I dream when I’m wide awake. I DON’T DREAM WHEN I’M, ASLEEP. I DREAM WHEN I’M WIDE AWAKE. That wasn’t a misprint. I wanted you to feel that twice.
If you listen to folks who will tell you, ‘Oh, be realistic . . . Don’t be so foolish,’ you might be turning your back on your destiny. Don’t listen. And follow your heart.
Dream BIG!
“I love to dream. Now hear me: Dreams aren’t some fairy-tale, make-believe nonsense. Dreams are what FUEL us, what INSPIRE us, what make us STRIVE FOR GREATNESS. So please, by all means, DREAM! But don’t go dreaming AVERAGE. If your DREAM ISN’T BIGGER THAN YOU, there’s a PROBLEM with your dream.
There’s no dream too big, too wild, too crazy to achieve. And I’m not just talking about becoming a superstar athlete. No, I’m talking about whatever your heart desires, whether it’s building your own business, becoming a musician, or even taking a trip to every cool place you’ve ever imagined in this great big world.
You want to be a doctor? A teacher? An artist? You want to be a parent who raises their kids right? You can do it! You just need to have that dream, that passion, that determination.
Don’t be afraid to dream BIG y’all. There’s no limit to what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. Look at what we’re doing with technology these days. I mean, who would’ve thought all our modern conveniences were even possible back in the day? But somebody had that dream, that vision, and they made it happen.
See what I’m saying? You MAKE your dreams happen, too. Don’t ever give up on them. And don’t you doubt what you can achieve. Life is too short to settle for mediocrity. So go all in and chase that dream until it becomes a reality.”
That’s from a chapter appropriately called “Dream Big!”
As we discussed, Arnold’s first “Tool for Life” was to “HAVE A CLEAR VISION.” You know what his second tool is? “NEVER THINK SMALL.” (He and Deion are Soul brothers, eh?)
Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to mind as well. He once wrote: “There’s nothing capricious in nature, and the implanting of a desire indicates that its gratification is in the constitution of the creature that feels it.”
He also tells us: “Our desires presage the capacities within us; they are harbingers of what we shall be able to accomplish. What we can do and want to do is projected in our imagination, quite outside ourselves, and into the future. We are attracted to what is already ours in secret. Thus passionate anticipation transforms what is indeed possible into dreamt-for reality.” And: “Do that which is assigned to you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much.”
We all want to be STRONG FINISHERS, not quitters or people who just run out of gas because we’re not up to it. Finishing is the quality you want to be known for in all walks of life. If you have the audacity to start something, you need to finish.
The Most Important Factor? Consistency!
“Want to be successful? Then you better be CONSISTENT. I don’t care who you are—a doctor, a lawyer, a business owner, a teacher, a parent, a professional athlete, a coach, whatever—the ability to bring your best EVERY SINGLE DAY will be the most important factor that defines your level of success. You can’t fake your way to consistency. Your consistency is best measured over time. And trust me, time is a wonderful storyteller.”
That’s from a chapter called “Time Is a Wonderful Storyteller.” The main idea? Time doesn’t lie. Ultimately, WHO YOU ARE, as Emerson says, SPEAKS SO LOUDLY I CANNOT HEAR WHAT YOU SAY. (Remember: Consistency is the exponentializer.)
Emerson also says: “What makes the majesty of the heroes of the senate and the field, which so fills the imagination? The consciousness of a train of great days and victories behind. They shed an united light on the advancing actor. He is attended as by a visible escort of angels.
As I read that chapter on the power of CONSISTENCY, I thought of a brilliant passage on the power of consistency/repetition from Dan Coyle. (Check out our Notes on The Talent Code.)
Coyle tells us: “Repetition has a bad reputation. We tend to think of it as dull and uninspiring. But this perception is titanically wrong. Repetition is the single most powerful lever we have to improve skills, because it uses the built-in mechanism for making the wires of our brains faster and more accurate.”
As I said, DISCIPLINE and CONSISTENCY are two of the words Deion comes back to most. Combine those virtues with a CLEAR VISION and a BIG DREAM and you’ve got the formula to ELEVATE and DOMINATE. Let’s do that. TODAY.
Life is never going to be easy. There will be pain either way, whether it’s the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Choose discipline and persistence. Don’t quit.
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