Reading List: Win at Losing

Readinglist Winningatlosing

Sports reporter Sam Weinman didn’t know how to guide his sons through losses at school and on the field. To learn more, he interviewed high-profile achievers who had survived public defeat, including athletes, entertainers, politicians and executives. Weinman learned that real success comes not in spite of but because of loss, humiliation and rejection.

Weinman counters NFL quarterback Cam Newton, who walked out of a press conference following a Super Bowl loss, later saying “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.” On the contrary, Weinman says, being a good loser “implies perspective and resilience and the quiet confidence that the world will not crumble around you because of a fleeting setback.” He supports the point with the stories of golfer Greg Norman, politician Michael Dukakis, actress Susan Lucci and others.

How Our Biggest Setbacks Can Lead to Our Greatest Gains
By Sam Weinman
December; TarcherPerigee; $26

Related: 7 Challenges Successful People Overcome

 

This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of SUCCESS magazine.

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Chauncey Mabe is a freelance writer, book critic, and blogger in Miami, Fla. For 23 years he served as Book Editor and Senior Entertainment Writer at the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. He was Book Blogger for the Florida Center for the Literary Arts, the parent organization of Miami Book Fair International, from 2009 to 2012. He also blogs for the Betsy Hotel South Beach hotel, which sponsors literary events year round. His reviews and feature stories have appeared in publications such as the Toronto Globe & Mail, the Serving House Journal, Inspicio, the Palm Beach Arts Paper, the Baltimore Sun, the Juneau Empire, and the Chicago Tribune.

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