3 Things – December 2023 (Get a FREE Book!)
Working in the NBA
1. What I’m Reading
My friend Greg texted me the other day asking me if I had any book recommendations about creating a winning culture. One of the first that came to mind was Rick Pitino’s Lead to Succeed.
Another book that Coach Pitino mentioned became a mainstay in my reading rotation and a book that I often gift to others, The Precious Present.
The Precious Present is a book that is always applicable but even more so here in the holiday season and I would like to offer it to you. For anyone who is currently a paid subscriber or signs up for the year subscription, e-mail us your mailing address and I would love to send you a copy of the book (info@getinthegame101.com).
2. What I’m Listening To: Bill Simmons with Doc Rivers
The Bill Simmons Podcast is the rare podcast I can listen to enjoy, to learn, to have in the background, to take notes on… it covers the bases. One of the great additions to this year has been Doc Rivers who consistently drops great hoops wisdom and shares openly about his experiences in basketball.
And right on cue… after I wrote this, Bill recorded a full episode with Doc. Lots of great nuggets to be had in this one!
Bill Simmons with Doc Rivers, Oct 25
Doc Rivers “There’s an old adage, I don’t know what Coach said it… when you are sitting there with your own individual team and you think ‘man, we got attitude, we got this, we got that,’ never underestimate the crap on other teams, even the good teams, even the elite teams.”
Bill Simmons with Doc Rivers, Nov 14
Doc Rivers: the old saying, “For the team to win, the individual has to lose.”
3. What I’m Using
I’ve mentioned these before and will continue to mention them over and over and over because they have been a game-changer for me and something I wish I had known about sooner, Blue Light Glasses.
I’m guessing 99% of the people who read this are regularly watching game film. You are or want to be coaches, front office, scouts, player development… and what do you do for all of those things? You watch film. You break down film.
I remember lying awake at night after watching 10-12 hours of game film a day and having lights and sounds buzzing through my mind as I tried to sleep. Getting Blue Light Glasses changed that. Every night, around 8p, I put on the glasses to prepare my mind to rest.
And just as I wrote previously with the Doc and Bill pod being right on cue, after I wrote this, Tim Ferris did a podcast interview with Dr. Andrew Huberman.
Dr. Hubermann states, “Our light viewing behavior has possibly the strongest affects on our levels of alertness and capacity to fall asleep and get a good night’s sleep…there are neurons in the back of your eye that communicate to the central clock when it is day time and night time. These cells are very easy to activate at night but very hard to activate in the morning (get 2-10 minutes of sunlight first thing in the morning).”
Up Ahead: We are wrapping up 2023 and we have exciting things ahead. We are working on launching an Internship and Ambassador program through GITG101. There will be more information to come but if that is something that interests you, feel free to let us know. We are looking forward to having you on the team!