Joe Gibbs's Game Plan for Life

We definitely live in a celebrity culture. How many industries—from sports talk to memorabilia sales—are manufactured on the backs of a culture that can’t get enough scoop or goods on today’s headline makers? We know they’re just people, but somehow we’re willing to let them be larger-than-life. It’s in our cultural DNA.

But even those who impress us with their skill and swagger—the ones who are among the best at what they do—miss a lot of reads in the course of a game. They foul a lot of balls into the stands. They push a lot of shots wide of the fairway. Success is a matter of consistent skill and effort, but nowhere near perfection. There’s never been a superstar who didn’t know how it felt to pace the sidelines, frustrated with his play.

I was at a convention in Denver this week and heard about this project put together by NASCAR owner and NFL Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs. He commissioned a study that essentially asked the question, What are the key topics that will lead people to a "successful" life? He put together an amazing list of Christian men (Josh McDowell, Chuck Colson, Ron Blue and many others) to write on a variety of topics, which is woven together by Joe's personal testimony. He will also be interviewing for video all of these authors (each committed to do four hours of interviews with Coach Gibbs over the next year). Gibbs considers this his legacy work.

As a side note, Gibbs spoke at last year's RNC convention. He considers this project his lasting legacy and the book that goes along with it, Game Plan for Life, as his legacy work. It releases next Tuesday.

I was really energized when I heard about this project because Joe doesn't sugercoat anything. It's heavily Christian in content. I talked to one of his publicists at his book signing at the convention and he said that he will be on Hannity's TV show next week, but none of the morning shows will have him on to talk about the book, probably because of the strong Christian content. He said the New York producers told him that their audiences don't follow NASCAR. (rolleyes)

I remember I thought it was a joke when Gibbs became a NASCAR owner. The joke was on me as the Gibbs racing team won three NASCAR championships. To go along with his three Super Bowl wins.

I’ll buy his book. The man knows how to win.

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