GIVEAWAY ENDEDWHEN TURTLES FLY
Did you know you have better odds at winning the lottery than an Olympic medal? To bring home one of those coveted medals -- or achieve any great personal goal in life -- you need a lot more than luck. You need a game plan.
What if you could learn the secrets of success from an Olympian? A Nobel Prize winner? A Fortune 500 CEO? Along with anecdotes from her own dramatic journey, Olympic gold medalist Nikki Stone has compiled a treasure trove of compelling stories to illustrate each step on the path to success. She's gathered humorous, heartwarming and hugely inspirational tales from some of today's most brilliant business leaders, scientists, soldiers, inventors, philanthropists, musicians, athletes and entrepreneurs . . . a host of people whose very names epitomize achievement. Winners such as:
- Designer Tommy Hilfiger
- X-Games/Olympic Champ Shaun White
- Jazz musician Branford Marsalis
- Special Olympic Chair Timothy Shriver
- NFL quarterback Steve Young
- Perfect '10' gymnast Nadia Comaneci
- Prince Albert of Monaco
- Best-selling author Stephen Covey
- Olympic skiing Star Lindsey Vonn
- Top venture capitalist Vinod Khosla
- Celebrity chef Todd English
- And many more . . .
25% of the author's net proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the American Cancer Society.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
At the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, Nikki Stone, author of When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How To Stick Their Necks Out, became America's first-ever Olympic champion in the sport of aerial skiing. What made this performance so unbelievable was the fact that, less than two years earlier, a chronic spinal injury prevented her from standing, much less walking or skiing off a twelve-foot-tall snow jump that launches aerialists fifty feet into the air. She overcame the injury and went on to earn 35 World Cup medals, 11 World Cup titles, 4 national titles, 3 World Cup titles, a World Championship title, and membership in the Ski Hall of Fame.Nikki is also a magna cum laude graduate of Union College and a summa cum laude masters graduate of the University of Utah. Her aerial retirement is less than restful as she trains Olympic athletes and business professionals in speaking/media skills, coaches personal and professional development courses, hosts group skiing adventures, sits on five different charitable committees, and writes articles and columns for many magazines, newspapers, and websites. Nikki's career focus is now on traveling around the world working as a sought-after motivational speaker, sharing her secrets to success by inspiring her business audiences to "Stick their necks out." Every spare moment is spent with husband, Michael Spencer, and daughter, Zali, in Park City, Utah. For more information, please visit www.WhenTurtlesFly.com.
MY REVIEW:
WHEN TURTLES FLY was a perfect book to read while I have been enjoying the Winter Olympics. Watching these amazing athletes and especially the stories of how they got there is quite inspiring. The book’s title comes from author Nikki Stone’s mother who compares success and turtles and calls it the “Turtle Effect”. The “Turtle Effect” is based on 3 things a person needs to have to be successful. Much like a turtle, the comparison is made of having a “hard shell”, a “soft inside”, and the willingness to “stick your neck out” to achieve your goals. Author and Olympian, Nikki Stone, has included stories in a book that inspires and offers hope for a time when many could easily not be so positive. The book is filled with forty people who are real-life examples of the “Turtle Effect”. Stone didn’t just use Olympians or just athletes, but a collection of people from all areas of life, including her own inspirational background.
These 40 people succeed with that “hard shell” of the right attitude, a “soft inside” with hearts that care for more than just themselves, and determination and hard work as they “stick their necks out” to overcome adversity and achieve their goals. Nikki’s story is the perfect example where she had to overcome adversity and pain, as well as find inner strength to push forward with her dreams.
By connecting stories from some of the world's top athletes, professionals, and leaders, Stone created a book that is a pleasure to read while it also has an important message that all of us can apply in our own lives. No matter what your objective may be, applying the “Turtle Effect" plan will help you reach your goal. Each story is well done and relevant even if some of the names may not all be familiar to you, their story will resonate. Names more common to most like Lindsey Vonn, Steve Young, Todd English, Nadia Comenaci, or even a current hit of these Olympic Games, Shaun White, will inspire as you see how their gripping stories will be very significant to most. Their motivating messages make this a feel-good book that you can learn a great deal from even if it just improves your faith in mankind somewhat.
The book is organized into nine chapters with seven of them titled and grouped into categories like commitment, confidence, teamwork, and passion to name a few. In each of those categories, there are several stories to support them. The stories, or cases, include photographs, biographies, an introduction to each written by Nikki Stone, and of course, the person’s own story of success. In the final short chapter, you will find some personal thoughts from Stone and you will understand why twenty-five percent of the proceeds of this book will go to the American Cancer Society.
This book will be a great motivational tool for you and also makes a wonderful gift to give to someone who just may need a little inspiration right now. I gave a copy to a friend who is dealing with the loss of a loved one and is reassessing their life choices. Do you have someone you think would like this book? I am sure you do!
AN EXCERPT:
Introduction
by Nikki Stone
Author of When Turtles Fly:
Secrets of Successful People Who
Know How To Stick Their Necks Out
I slowly climbed onto the wobbly rocking chair, my pigtails swooshing back and forth. Occasionally a few hairs would catch on my eyelashes and I would pull the strands away from my face so I could continue on my mission. I calculated the chair's rhythm, carefully threw my leg over the back and slowly climbed up onto the lacquered old end table. I pushed myself to my feet and threw my fists toward the ceiling in victory. A huge smile broke across my freckled face as I imagined the crowds cheering around me and the camera bulbs going off left and right. I had my answer. It felt incredible!
My mother and father came in from the family room to see what the commotion was. I beamed down at them and stated with confidence, "I'm going to win the 'lympics!"
Now, I think most parents would be a bit leery of giving their five-year-old daughter any genuine encouragement for this giant undertaking, especially seeing that, in all likelihood, she had a better chance of winning the lottery than the Olympics someday. But my parents never flinched. I never saw any reservation on their faces when I declared my goal.
My mom lifted me off the "podium," plopped me down on the plaid easy chair and said, "Well, then I guess it's time for me to teach you about the Turtle Effect."
At the time, this meant little more to me than a chance to potentially hit them up for a pet turtle at Dom's local pet store. But I realized that if I was going to turn those living room chairs and table into a real Olympic podium, I had to learn what this Turtle Effect really meant.
She explained to me that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to be soft on the inside, I had to have a hard shell, and I had to be willing to stick my neck out.
To have a soft inside, I would need a passion for my pursuits. To build a hard shell, I'd have to focus on the task at hand, completely commit to my goals, and develop the ability to overcome any adversity that was thrown my way. And in order to stick my neck out, I'd have to have confidence, take substantial risks, and be a team player in order to succeed. Those seven lessons were key in mastering the Turtle Effect.
As I grew and developed through my years in gymnastics, and eventually, aerial freestyle skiing, I found my mom's advice invaluable. But it wasn't just her words about the Turtle Effect that helped me to become an Olympic champion. It was putting them into action, and experiencing challenges and pitfalls that would eventually help me understand the true depth of their power. Later, I found that by explaining these ideas to others, though motivational speeches, I could help many individuals accomplish their goals.
Galvanized by the possibilities, I decided to create a book that would offer people many profound and amazing stories for motivation, as well as hands-on activities to help them make changes themselves. I sat down and put together a list of people whose lives I found to be truly inspiring, and who'd worked hard to reach the top of their "game". I included accomplished businessmen and women, athletes, politicians, celebrities, authors, Nobel Prize winners, musicians and philanthropists. In telling their stories, these individuals, many of whom I've come to know, all shared a part of the Turtle Effect that helped them find their own success. To continue the inspiration, I've included one more special bonus story online that you can view at www.WhenTurtlesFly.com.
Each story is followed by a daily activity that has proved successful at my coaching sessions in changing people's lives in a concrete way, exercises you can use to improve your own personal and professional life. They serve as hands-on tools to help you enhance and develop your passion, focus, commitment, ability to overcome adversity, risk taking, and team building. From my years of experience as an athlete, speaker and peak performance coach, and by studying the habits of many powerful individuals I've encountered, I've come up with highly effective steps to encourage advancement in any career. Each activity includes blank space for you to keep notes on your own transformation.
Whether I'm mentoring future Olympic medalists, motivating hotshot businesspeople, or coaching eager young professionals, I find the Turtle Effect works brilliantly to help people reach success.
It's never too late or too early to pursue your dreams, and you're never too successful to work toward new goals. So get ready for the adventure of a lifetime.
Get ready to fly!
The above is an excerpt from the book When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How To Stick Their Necks Out by Nikki Stone. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
Copyright © 2010 Nikki Stone, author of When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How To Stick Their Necks Out
THANKS TO ANNA AND MY GOOD
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GOOD LUCK!
