Why the Best Are the Best: 25 Powerful Words That Impact, Inspire, and Define Champions

Winning the NBA Championship in 2008. Losing in the NBA Finals in 2010. Though they were completely different endings, emotionally, both were amazing learning opportunities that author, Kevin Eastman, experienced as a member of the Boston Celtics coaching staff. These events, and many others from Kevin’s forty-plus years in the game, have motivated him to write Why the Best Are the Best. Kevin will take you behind the scenes and share an up-close look at how and why the best are the way they are. Why the Best Are the Best examines strategies to help you overcome mistakes and failures, as well as ways to turn them into your own personal success plan. More importantly, this book will help you see that these same mindsets, habits, and strategies are not just for elite athletes or the otherwise famous. We can all insert them into our lives and careers to help us become our best. The best are the best, in part, because of the words they choose to live by. The best individuals and teams define their words, respect the power of those words, and use those words as a foundation for all they do. This book provides the 25 Power Words that will help you learn from the best to create a framework and mindset to become your best. “… Kevin has a unique way of taking the most important components of success– leadership, team building, and personal development–and simplifying them to the point that we can immediately insert them into our lives, careers, and teams. ” JAY WRIGHT Head Coach, Villanova University; NCAA Champion 2016, 2018 “… He Kevin Eastman] has worked with NBA all-stars, Hall of Fame players, and thirteen- to fifteen-year olds wanting to make their high school team. In every situation, he has worked to make them better and cared equally about the person, regardless of stature….” ROY WILLIAMS Head Coach, University of North Carolina; NCAA Champion 2005, 2009, 2017; Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee “… Kevin personifies what General Martin Dempsey calls the three most important principles of leadership: character, competence and humility…. His humility is inspiring, as is his willingness to share his knowledge….” JAY BILAS ESPN Basketball Analyst “… Each chapter is laced with “wisdom bombs” making this a compulsory read for teams in any sport and teams in the ever-competitive corporate world as well.” GEORGE RAVELING Former College Basketball Head Coach; Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee “Kevin is one of the best speakers and teachers I have come across in the profession. If you want to learn more about leadership, coaching, self-motivation, or taking your team or yourself to the next level of performance, this book is a must read.” ERIK SPOELSTRA Head Coach, Miami Heat; NBA Champion 2012, 2013