Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success

Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success was just the right book for me to read. Two of my passions are learning about spirituality and following professional sports. Long time NBA coach Phil Jackson discusses both these topics in depth in his new autobiography, giving a behind the scenes look at Jackson's eleven nba championship teams. On the basketball side, I enjoyed reading stories of Jackson's rise from a high school basketball player in North Dakota to the NBA's New York Knicks, and his coaching stints with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. He tells stories of the star players he mentors, such as the Lakers Kobe Bryant. "When I'd first arrived in L.A., I'd encouraged Kobe to spend time with his teammates instead of hiding out in his hotel room studying videotape," Jackson recalls. "But he'd scoffed at the idea, claiming that all those guys were interested in were cars and women. (Soon) he was making an effort to connect more closely with his teammates and figure out how to forge them into a more cohesive team." Having long been a fan of NBA basketball I found Jackson's anecdotes about different high profile stars fascinating. In addition to Bryant, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'Neal, Dennis Rodman and other players on Jackson's teams are profiled in the book. Jackson's love of the game comes through. "Some coaches are obsessed with winning trophies; others like to see their faces on TV," he writes. "What moves me is watching young men bond together and tap into the magic that arises when they focus--with their whole heart and soul--on something greater than themselves. Once you've experienced that, it's something you never forget." Equally intriguing was Jackson's spiritual journey. His mother and father were Pentecostal Christian ministers, a path Jackson almost followed himself. He was initially reluctant to play for the Knicks as he wanted to go to graduate school to become a pastor. Jackson's transformation from fundamentalist Christian to Zen Buddhist is described in detail in Eleven Rings. "I am anti lemming by nature. It goes back to my childhood, when I was force-fed religious dogma by my parents," he writes. "I was expected to think and behave in a rigidly prescribed manner. As an adult, I've tried to break free from that early conditioning and develop a more open-minded, personally meaningful way of being in the world." How Jackson applies his spirituality to the ego driven, competitive world of the NBA comes across in page after page in the book. "For a long time, I believed I had to keep my personal beliefs separate from my professional life," he recalls. "In my quest to come to terms with my own spiritual yearning, I experimented with a wide range of ideas and practices, from Christian mysticism to Zen meditation and Native American rituals. Eventually, I arrived at a synthesis that felt authentic to me. And though at first I worried that my players might find my unorthodox views a little wacky, as time went by I discovered that the more I spoke from the heart, the more the players could hear me and benefit from what I'd gleaned." He teaches his Bulls team mindfulness meditation and gives players books to read to aid in their spiritual development. He even describes his basketball strategies in spiritual terms, calling his unique triangle offense "five-man tai chi". If you are a fan of NBA basketball, you'll love Eleven Rings for Jackson's insights into the game. The book is equally valuable in profiling the coach as a highly successful professional living his spirituality in everyday life.

Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson is an outstanding book on Phil's playing and coaching career in the NBA. As someone who loves the NBA and grew watching Phil win these championship rings as a coach, this book was incredibly interesting to me and very difficult to put down. No coach in any of the major professional sports has won as many championships as Phil Jackson has. Phil has also had the privilege of coaching a few of the NBA's all time greatest players in: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal (not to mention the long list of other all star and hall of fame players). With that kind of resume there is no question that Jackson would be a treasure trove of wisdom and leadership insights. As someone who grew up watching the Bulls and Lakers win these rings, it was fascinating to read about everything that was going on behind the scenes. Learning about how each of his teams functioned and how Jackson would need to continually adapt his coaching style and strategy was very interesting. This book is a convincing illustration of how great leaders must continually evolve and grow to remain an effective leader. Even when the group of people you lead remain the same, the outside factors in life are always changing which requires leaders to always be aware of: how they are leading, who they are leading, and what they leading their team through and to. All the hype about Phil comparing Michael and Kobe in this book was a bit overblown by the media. Jackson definitely compares the two, but it is not as scandalous as the media has made it out to be. And after all, does anyone really question whether or not Michael is the greatest player to ever play the game of basketball? Eleven Rings is such a great book and I would highly recommend it to leaders of any field and then of course to anyone who is a fan of the NBA. Here are some of my favorite leadership quotes from the book: After years of experimenting, I discovered that the more I tried to exert power directly, the less powerful I became. I learned to dial back my ego and distribute power as widely as possible without surrendering final authority. Paradoxically, this approach strengthened my effectiveness because it freed me to focus on my job as keeper of the team's vision. (p. 12) The essence of coaching is to get the players to wholeheartedly agree to being coached, then offer them a sense of their destiny as a team. (p. 17) Oneness is not something you can turn on with a switch. You need to create the right environment for it to grow, then nurture it carefully every day. (p. 84) (Phil speaking to Kobe) "I guess you'd like to be the captain of this team someday when you're older - maybe like twenty-five." He replied that he wanted to be captain tomorrow. To which I said, "You can't be captain if nobody follows you." (p. 219) You've got to play to win, not play to avoid losing. (p. 222)

Phil Jackson was successful as a coach of eleven winning champion teams because he knew how to talk to his team. Certainly he was a great leader, but he also taught his players how to lead, to communicate and how to win. It takes a team to win a championship. We all know about the famous players, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'neill, but they can't win a game by themselves. Jackson has the wisdom and expertise to be able to see what each player needed from him. His observations of their egos and how to stroke them or reach them, drew them in. In one game, Jackson had a plan that Scottie Pippen didn't like. It was near the end of the game, and Jackson knew he had to have the team work together. He asked Pippin if he was in or out. Pippin said, "I'm out", so Jackson subbed someone else, and they won the game. Another player talked to Pippin after the game about his lack of teamwork. That was more effective than anything that Jackson could have done or said. Most of the book is filled with how the eleven games were won, and the players involved. Jackson is a spiritual man, and he employs the use of inspiration and Zen Buddhism to lead his life. He decided at one time he wanted to rest his mind and his soul, and through Zen he was able to Master his life. He would talk with his teams about Zen and yoga, and they would listen appreciatively. Jackson is a very intelligent man, reads a great deal, listens or attends TED discussions. He talks about his move from coaching in Chicago to Los Angeles. How he was able to get Kobe and Shaquille to work together for the team. He saw the advance in Kobe from a very selfish player to a leader. He takes some credit, but much of the success of the Lakers he attributes to the team working together. Jackson has thirteen championship rings. Eleven as a coach and two as a player. This is a man who has seen more championships than others, but is not as arrogant as depicted, he just does not have time to suffer fools. It was his physical body issues that caused him to stop coaching, a difficult but necessary decision. Phil Jackson deserves all the recognition he receives. A book well written by his co-writer, but the words are all Phil Jackson. Recommended. prisrob 02-11-14

This book is really good! If you're interested in sports grab this today! The book came very quick and was brand new as advertised. You can't beat the price also!

Let me start by saying I am a huge basketball fan and hate the Lakers with every fiber of my being (I'm a Sixers fan). That said, this book gave me a lot more respect for Phil, Kobe and some other Lakers. I'll get my only downside of the book out of the way quickly, Phil Jackson makes a lot of excuses for his losses, but his wins are always the work of him or his team. For instance, whenever talking about something other than a championship win, he's blaming the ref's or saying a team won, though through now spectacular play of their own. I can't blame him too much because I'd imagine you have to be pretty ridiculously competitive in that profession, which will make it very difficult to admit when you're bested. The reason I titled the review what I did, was because this isn't just purely basketball, and it's not even just 50/50 basketball/spiritualism. It's got basketball, it's got spiritualism, it's got philosophy, and more. I was never big on the zen or meditation stuff, and still am not, but he makes a lot of it sound a lot more practical and helpful than I've read/heard before. It takes you behind the scenes for mostly all of his championship teams, and early on when he played for the Knicks and ends after his last year as the coach of the Lakers. You get his thoughts on the similarities and differences between Jordan and Kobe, some of the reasons behind the Kobe/Shaq feud, and what brought the teams of individuals together to be a championship caliber team. If you love the sport, you'll love this book.

I found the way the book was written to be very captivating and it continually drew me in and kept me wanting for more. The storyline was thoughtfully crafted and the frequent references to Zen made me want to study those teachings further. The measure of a well written book is first that you don't want to put it down and second that it introduces you to something new...this does both.

But this book is about way more than a sport - it’s about leadership, managing different personalities(big shot personalities at that) successfully through trust building. It’s a book about the benefits of zen, spirituality and being in the moment - perhaps the best example of these teachings is that the Bulls and the Lakers became powerful teams when they started embracing being in the moment. Overall, this book is a collection of case studies on what it takes to win, which is never a clear cut path. Phil Jackson’s philosophy on leadership is simple, straightforward and easy to comprehend, but so difficult to implement because it puts building trust and “letting go” at the core. I don’t watch basketball, but this book inspired me to follow it now. Highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about what it takes to build and sustain high performing teams.

This book is very similar stylistically with Sacred Hoops and it does have some common themes that it parallels. The inclusion of imagery and anecdotes from different cultures, the importance of mindfulness and teamwork and some biographical information all help to make this almost as a continuation of or sequel to Sacred Hoops. Jackson is very candid and open with his thoughts at various times and it was interesting to hear his take on the dynamics that were present with his Lakers teams and some additional information from the Bulls that you might have heard in The Last Dance documentary. If you're a basketball fan, whether you hated or loved the Bulls and Lakers, I think you will enjoy the book!

A book where leadership, sporting success and spirituality come together. Fascinatingly interesting and very readable, this is a book that I'm sure I will come back to. Having grown up in England as a devout lover of football, this book gives a fabulous insight into an American sport and an icon of its sporting history. What strikes me as I read this is the thought that this is 'just a coach' and this is not to disparage but to admire p, hugely, that the writing, the thinking and what is contained is so far removed from the hum drum drudgery many us are regularly exposed to in English football! If you are a sports fan, read it. But this book transcends sport too. For anyone interested in mental strength, spiritual enlightenment, coaching and leadership this book has something for you and that it is bound up in sporting success for me makes it unputdownable!

i purchased this book after a friend recommended it to me. i wasnt expecting much, i am an nba fan but it was a book about a coach. boy was i wrong. this book is a must read for anyone growing up in the 'Jordan NBA' era not to mention shaq and kobe with the lakers. some great behind the curtain stories here

Easy to read book with so many examples of how to be a silent leader. Of course, Phil had many excellent subordinates that could, like MJ, change the game by themselves, but winning so many titles without a clear vision wouldn't be possible. Sports coaches give many examples of good leaders, and this book is an excellent position for someone who's trying to be a leader.

Great insight on how a mastermind thinks. Full of stories

Great book. It was recommended by a friend as a book that describes how to lead a group of very special people. Although I'm only half way through it, I'm impressed with Phil Jackson and his writing style. Really interesting how he connects being spiritual with winning.