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Life Is Yours to Win: Lessons Forged from the Purpose, Passion, and Magic of Baseball
PRACTICE PERFECT,PLAY FOR FUN
August “Augie” Garrido has led his baseball teams to more victories than any coach in any sport in NCAA Division I history. He is also the winner of more National Coach of the Year awards than any other college coach. Garrido’s former teams at Cal State Fullerton and, more recently, at the University of Texas together have compiled a total of five College World Series championships under his leadership.
But despite his unmatched record as a winner, Coach Garrido is not a win-at-all-costs coach. He teaches his players to focus on developing character, being good teammates, mastering all facets of the game, and playing with joy in the moment rather than focusing on the scoreboard.
Augie teaches that the challenges faced in the batter’s box or on the pitcher’s mound are universal—and that the lessons learned on the diamond are applicable off the field, too. Life Is Yours to Win follows the coach’s journey of self-discovery and his evolution from being driven by fear to being motivated by passion. His unique and compelling book offers this revered leader’s philosophy on life and his thoughtful approach to helping young men understand both who they are and how they can be successful in their work, their relationships, and their communities.
Every individual will find advice worth following
•BE A PLAYER, NOT A PROSPECT—If you want to be considered a star in your field, whatever that may be, you need to be fully engaged. Augie once had his Labrador retriever demonstrate the joy of play to a team that needed a reminder of why they loved baseball as children.
•STEP UP, SUPERMAN—Augie stages a costumed Superhero Scrimmage each Halloween to remind his players that their inner superhero is just waiting for the perfect moment when preparation meets opportunity, potential is fulfilled, and destiny is realized.
•THE FEARLESS FIELD—To be successful in the often cruel game of baseball, players must master fear and other emotions so they are energized rather than paralyzed. Augie once rented a hearse and placed a casket on the pitcher’s mound to help a slumping Cal State Fullerton team bury their fears and put losses behind them.
•BUDDHA AT BAT—Bunting and other “small ball” skills are not as glorified as home runs and big plays, but Coach Garrido’s teams are known for putting players in scoring position and winning games by following a Zen-like philosophy of claiming small victories during each at bat, in each inning that add up to winning records. Augie’s coaching methods are unconventional, but his creativity and wry humor provide masterful life lessons. His insights will help you both on and off the field by providing fresh approaches to conquering fears, living with joy and passion in each moment, establishing personal principles, and appreciating the value of both losing and winning. This is a book by a beloved college coach but it is packed with Major League insights and anecdotes featuring many of baseball’s greatest players and most inspiring spirits. Life Is Yours to Win will appeal to anyone who appreciates the wisdom of a proven winner in sports and in life.
August “Augie” Garrido has led his baseball teams to more victories than any coach in any sport in NCAA Division I history. He is also the winner of more National Coach of the Year awards than any other college coach. Garrido’s former teams at Cal State Fullerton and, more recently, at the University of Texas together have compiled a total of five College World Series championships under his leadership.
But despite his unmatched record as a winner, Coach Garrido is not a win-at-all-costs coach. He teaches his players to focus on developing character, being good teammates, mastering all facets of the game, and playing with joy in the moment rather than focusing on the scoreboard.
Augie teaches that the challenges faced in the batter’s box or on the pitcher’s mound are universal—and that the lessons learned on the diamond are applicable off the field, too. Life Is Yours to Win follows the coach’s journey of self-discovery and his evolution from being driven by fear to being motivated by passion. His unique and compelling book offers this revered leader’s philosophy on life and his thoughtful approach to helping young men understand both who they are and how they can be successful in their work, their relationships, and their communities.
Every individual will find advice worth following
•BE A PLAYER, NOT A PROSPECT—If you want to be considered a star in your field, whatever that may be, you need to be fully engaged. Augie once had his Labrador retriever demonstrate the joy of play to a team that needed a reminder of why they loved baseball as children.
•STEP UP, SUPERMAN—Augie stages a costumed Superhero Scrimmage each Halloween to remind his players that their inner superhero is just waiting for the perfect moment when preparation meets opportunity, potential is fulfilled, and destiny is realized.
•THE FEARLESS FIELD—To be successful in the often cruel game of baseball, players must master fear and other emotions so they are energized rather than paralyzed. Augie once rented a hearse and placed a casket on the pitcher’s mound to help a slumping Cal State Fullerton team bury their fears and put losses behind them.
•BUDDHA AT BAT—Bunting and other “small ball” skills are not as glorified as home runs and big plays, but Coach Garrido’s teams are known for putting players in scoring position and winning games by following a Zen-like philosophy of claiming small victories during each at bat, in each inning that add up to winning records. Augie’s coaching methods are unconventional, but his creativity and wry humor provide masterful life lessons. His insights will help you both on and off the field by providing fresh approaches to conquering fears, living with joy and passion in each moment, establishing personal principles, and appreciating the value of both losing and winning. This is a book by a beloved college coach but it is packed with Major League insights and anecdotes featuring many of baseball’s greatest players and most inspiring spirits. Life Is Yours to Win will appeal to anyone who appreciates the wisdom of a proven winner in sports and in life.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 10, 2011
19 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 9, 2012
As a big fan of Augie's, I am predisposed to write a very positive review. That said, it was a good read, proving key insights to the factors that helped make him the icon he is today. It's a good motivational read.
July 30, 2018
Augie Garrido is a baseball counterpart to John Wooden: a long-time collegiate coach who won championship after championship -- and who also won the hearts of his players. (Brandon Belt, who played for Coach Garrido at the University of Texas and then went on to a successful career with the San Francisco Giants, honored his former coach by naming his son Augie.) Augie’s reflections help to demonstrate why he inspired such affection in his players, but the book is more valuable for its stories than for its instructive value.
Augie tells how he grew up in Vallejo, California, the son of a man who worked in the shipyards by day and who ran the community center sports program by night. His father taught him to play and love baseball. Augie went to great lengths to play, including commuting by bus and sleeping in a restaurant booth on summer weekends in order to have the opportunity to play on a semi-pro team. Unfortunately, Augie’s father used teaching methods that would probably be considered abusive today, and his never-good-enough attitude left Augie with mental scars that faded only late in life.
The meat of the book is based on the principles that Augie felt most important as a coach, with each chapter covering a particular principle. (It is thus a less-formal analog of Ray Dalio's Principles, with a focus on the specific domain of coaching collegiate sports.) Augie tells many good baseball yarns as justification for his ideas, but a lot of his ideas boil down to players being willing to sacrifice (in terms of playing time, position, etc.) for the good of the team.
On the other hand, some of Augie’s ideas are novel. He advocates for a “fearless field” in which they do not worry about miscues or the impact of today’s game on their possible future career. This is coupled with the idea of “being one’s own best friend”, in which he focuses on being compassionate with yourself when you make a mistake. As a coach, Augie sometimes lost his temper with his players, and he certainly removed struggling players from the lineup. It would be hard to imagine a player finding Coach Garrido's field truly fearless! Instead, as Augie himself says, the field “is a place where fear is no longer a debilitating force.”
Augie’s encouragement to “be a player, not a prospect” is the most profound of his ideas. Although virtually all of his players hoped to go on to professional careers, Augie encouraged them to play to win today, rather than to think about how they would be perceived by professional scouts. Obviously, winning made Augie look good — but he makes a compelling argument that focusing on today, rather than the future, was good for the players too. That present-moment focus helped them learn to be competitors and, most importantly, reminded them that baseball games are meant to be enjoyed.
Augie tells how he grew up in Vallejo, California, the son of a man who worked in the shipyards by day and who ran the community center sports program by night. His father taught him to play and love baseball. Augie went to great lengths to play, including commuting by bus and sleeping in a restaurant booth on summer weekends in order to have the opportunity to play on a semi-pro team. Unfortunately, Augie’s father used teaching methods that would probably be considered abusive today, and his never-good-enough attitude left Augie with mental scars that faded only late in life.
The meat of the book is based on the principles that Augie felt most important as a coach, with each chapter covering a particular principle. (It is thus a less-formal analog of Ray Dalio's Principles, with a focus on the specific domain of coaching collegiate sports.) Augie tells many good baseball yarns as justification for his ideas, but a lot of his ideas boil down to players being willing to sacrifice (in terms of playing time, position, etc.) for the good of the team.
On the other hand, some of Augie’s ideas are novel. He advocates for a “fearless field” in which they do not worry about miscues or the impact of today’s game on their possible future career. This is coupled with the idea of “being one’s own best friend”, in which he focuses on being compassionate with yourself when you make a mistake. As a coach, Augie sometimes lost his temper with his players, and he certainly removed struggling players from the lineup. It would be hard to imagine a player finding Coach Garrido's field truly fearless! Instead, as Augie himself says, the field “is a place where fear is no longer a debilitating force.”
Augie’s encouragement to “be a player, not a prospect” is the most profound of his ideas. Although virtually all of his players hoped to go on to professional careers, Augie encouraged them to play to win today, rather than to think about how they would be perceived by professional scouts. Obviously, winning made Augie look good — but he makes a compelling argument that focusing on today, rather than the future, was good for the players too. That present-moment focus helped them learn to be competitors and, most importantly, reminded them that baseball games are meant to be enjoyed.
August 21, 2023
Life Is Yours to Win: Lessons Forged from the Purpose, Passion and Magic of Baseball
By: Augie Garrido
Published: May 10, 2011 by Atria
“Life Is Yours to Win: Lessons Forged from the Purpose, Passion and Magic of Baseball” is a powerful self-help book entwined with lessons from one of NCAA Division 1’s winningest coach- Augie Garrido. This book brings the intensity from the opening preface written by Kevin Costner. Augie lets us into the mind and psyche of a Baseball player and shows us tips that can be used in our everyday life. Augie’s tip of not being a prospect but rather being a player in the game of life is a huge inspiration for me and my family. I send motivational texts to my core family and many of them are lessons learned from this book.
I highly recommend reading it!
By: Augie Garrido
Published: May 10, 2011 by Atria
“Life Is Yours to Win: Lessons Forged from the Purpose, Passion and Magic of Baseball” is a powerful self-help book entwined with lessons from one of NCAA Division 1’s winningest coach- Augie Garrido. This book brings the intensity from the opening preface written by Kevin Costner. Augie lets us into the mind and psyche of a Baseball player and shows us tips that can be used in our everyday life. Augie’s tip of not being a prospect but rather being a player in the game of life is a huge inspiration for me and my family. I send motivational texts to my core family and many of them are lessons learned from this book.
I highly recommend reading it!
July 12, 2018
Fantastic book that looks at the mental aspect of baseball. It provided so many ideas I can take back to my youth teams.
February 29, 2016
“Life Is Yours to Win” by Augie Garrido
This book is about the life of Augie Garrido, a famous baseball player/coach and a well respected person. It goes over how events in his life and the lessons he was taught led him to be the man he is today. The major messages within this book are, you can always change your future, hard work pays off if you don't give up, and life is yours to win. The things I liked about this book was how he wasn't just bragging about how good of a coach he was, it was motivational. He made the reader feel like they were in the events looking at his life's story with him. He didn’t idolize his career, it was like he was having a conversation with the reader. One dislike I had with this book was how some parts in the book are very lengthy, so if you're not giving all your attention to the book it could get boring. If you're a big fan of baseball or want a motivational book that can show a baseballs adventure through life, this book is for you. It’ll keep you hooked till the end but if you can't make any connections with the book you may understand the book. My overall rating of this book is an 8 out of 10 because it was a very motivational book. Since i'm a fan of baseball I loved how he incorporated lessons and the game itself.
This book is about the life of Augie Garrido, a famous baseball player/coach and a well respected person. It goes over how events in his life and the lessons he was taught led him to be the man he is today. The major messages within this book are, you can always change your future, hard work pays off if you don't give up, and life is yours to win. The things I liked about this book was how he wasn't just bragging about how good of a coach he was, it was motivational. He made the reader feel like they were in the events looking at his life's story with him. He didn’t idolize his career, it was like he was having a conversation with the reader. One dislike I had with this book was how some parts in the book are very lengthy, so if you're not giving all your attention to the book it could get boring. If you're a big fan of baseball or want a motivational book that can show a baseballs adventure through life, this book is for you. It’ll keep you hooked till the end but if you can't make any connections with the book you may understand the book. My overall rating of this book is an 8 out of 10 because it was a very motivational book. Since i'm a fan of baseball I loved how he incorporated lessons and the game itself.
March 13, 2014
I read “Life is Yours to Win” by Augie Garrido. This book is just about how to live life, play baseball, and follow your dreams. Augie talks about how his dad wanted him to work, but Augie wanted to go to college. He went to college, played baseball, and decided he would be a coach. Now, Augie is the best coach in college baseball history. This book also talks about the style of coaching he coaches his teams, and other stories from his seasons coaching, from the high school level to now. This book helped me learn to do certain things, so now if I get into a situation like he was in, or how he wants someone to respond to him or anyone, I know.
May 20, 2017
There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed, but a number of other parts were a little long winded for me. I think my not loving the book probably has more to do with me not being a fan of type of book it is. I am not sure if you call it "self help" or "inspirational" or what. I do like Augie's personality that comes out in the book and I like the message. I just had a hard time getting through the whole thing. I would have liked the edited down 100 page version. (if it existed)
August 3, 2016
There were certainly some good lessons to learn here, but so much of the book seemed forced to me, like Augie was fishing for something valuable to say but just struggled to put into words what he's done over his impressive career.
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October 4, 2013Sweet baseball book
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews