Slaying the Dragon: How to Turn Your Small Steps to Great Feats

by Michael Johnson

The Olympic track and field athlete relates his road to victory and offers advice for obtaining similar goals

Genres: Biography, Sports, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Self Help, Personal Development, Fitness

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Michael Johnson, 43, is one of the most pre-eminent athletes of all time. He has four Olympic and nine World Championship gold medals to his name. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, he won both the 200m and 400m (the only athlete in history to do this at the same Games), and his world record for 200m of 19.32 stood for 12 years until Usain Bolt broke it at the Beijing Games of 2008. He still holds the world record for 400m – 43.18 seconds.
Johnson voluntarily returned his 4x400m relay gold medal from the Sydney Games of 2000 after a team-mate admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs earlier in his career.
Following his retirement, Johnson became a sports pundit with the BBC and has since established himself as one of the most popular and renowned sports broadcasters in the UK. The BBC's coverage of Olympic Games and World and European track-and-field Championships is hinged around his contributions.
He writes a regular column for The Times and owns his own sports training facility, the Michael Johnson Performance Centre, in Texas.
In 2002, he was awarded the Television Pundit of the Year Award by the Royal Television Society.
He lives in San Francisco, California.

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great pump-you-up book! I thought it would be a more biographical/historical account of his 400/200 double gold. Turned into a great read on identifying goals and staying focused. Really enjoyed the book and the insight from MJ.

“Life is often compared to running a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.”

[Lukas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, some great insights into past training diary’s and lots of great competition photos.

[Bede Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very inspiring read. Gives an insight to the mind of a champion at the peak of his game. Easy to digest and fun to read.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just about hus running. Really great insight into the mindset of a champion and how he applies that to every area of his life.

[Lukas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read for anyone who enjoys athletic biographys. Throughout the book Michael Johnson(a successful gold medalist sprinter)talks about how to overcome fear and how to fulfill your dreams. This book has influenced me and has changed the way i train, now, instead of going out with some friends and just kicking the ball around, I actually practice the things I'm not so good at and improve my weak game. I now ask myself this question after every training i do, "Have i just become a better soccer player?", that is the influence this book has had on me.

[Rick McNeil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational & Motivational. This is an athlete with a unique perspective on how to achieve you goals by commitment and unwavering devotion. I gave this book to my son when he was a high school track & field athlete and also a football player. After reading this book, it changed his training habits. He eventually became a state champion in the triple jump and broke his high school's record. He was also a star running back and received an academic scholarship for college. This is not just a book for athlete's. You can apply the lessons illustrated in this book to your entire life.

[Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Johnson’s book following the 1996 Olympic Games is chalk full of good anecdotes. I expected this to be a pep-talk style book with some naivety, but Johnson shares some insightful pieces of advice. Two that stuck out to me are his ability to self-reflect and assess himself without blaming externalities. He also had a really cool view of pressure, where he embraced it and even brought it upon himself intentionally.

This was a quick read, only 230 pages with lots and lots of pictures, but it was well worth a few hours.

[Srishti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very motivational book which uses the story of an athlete- Michael Johnson who kept on improving his run time. It's a very quick read and keeps you engaged in his journey and overall motivating you to dream your goals , establish a plan and achieve those.
This book has the power to help you slay your "Dragon". It's a very focused read and a motivating one. Must read.

[Mr A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking read actually. Easy to handle and quick to turnover. Self discipline is something we struggle with and especially so for me. This book will genuinely help you with that. I found myself stealing some ideas and passing them off as mine in a business meeting haha. Also he wins the double. And then later just the 400m

[Ilke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very honest and open autobiography from Michael Johnson. He cuts to the chase and say it as it is. Also, unlike many other biographies of the athletes, Micheal Johnson included more and he dressed the book as a kind of "self help" book. It is quite inspirational if that is your cup of tea.

[Kierney Weigle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked how Michael Johnson sets goals to achieve what he wants to, to be successful. I love how he set his expectations really high for the 1996 Olympics. This book really helped me succeed in my sports because I set goals on what I want to achieve

[Janaya Woehnker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed how Michael related the lessons he's learned not only to his career as an athlete but to the aspects of being a student as well.

[Naly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing amazing read. Inspirational and a challenger.

‘Your mind is the biggest motivator to help you overcome and achieve’

[Maya D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read. I love how he takes his plan for training and achieving his goals and guides us in how to apply them to any personal goals we have.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many people, including my brother, only read educational or motivational books that move them toward personal and career goals. As I read Slaying the Dragon, I got it. I'd like to stay in that zone! You can't read about Michael Johnson's dedication and the mindset that won two Gold Medals and a world record in the 1996 Olympics without applying it to your own life. And that is because Johnson constantly reminds the reader to apply it to our professional, academic and family life. This is part autobiography with pictorial memoir but all inspirational and written to motivate the reader. 1996 was a while ago now, but the effect of this book is timeless. I highly recommend it!

I lost track of this book before I finished it. It must have gotten packed in a move back about 1999. I recently uncovered it and found the bookmark in Chapter 8. So I finished it last night and want to start back at the beginning.

[Tosin]

This book is a good read for anyone that enjoys athletics or bettering themselves as a person. I really enjoyed this booking being a track and field athlete myself, running in the same events. Reading this book by Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson has given me a different outlook on the way I train and think. In this book he explains how making very specific goals help you reach your ultimate goal much faster and how you should be mentally prepared for failure, although you shouldn't expect failure. You should deal from that failure. He also express how being well grounded is essential in success, you can’t let success consume you. Overall it was a very good read.
Slaying the Dragon

[B.C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't like self help books. I don't really consider this a self help book. This was a book about an elite athlete and how he became an elite athlete. He was very honest about his situation. He didn't say that everyone can be what he is (if you don't have the genes, you don't have the genes). The principals directly related to me beginning my new life as a mud-runner.

This book was very short. It counts 230 pages, but it is typed in 18 font and has tons of full page pics. If you sat down and read it, it could be done in half a day.

I will be looking to purchase this book if i can get a good price.

[Beverly Dowdell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great lessons in mentally preparing for failure as well as success. Sometimes what happens in life is not fair - dealing with being unsuccessful and/or failure with a great attitude is essential to still go after the end result. While our plans of necessity are in sand - needs may require they change/adjust and the timing is a sliding scale but the ultimate dream/goal is set in concrete. The trappings/financial gain from success is not what ultimately defines us.

[Austin Benton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very good! Awesome book for any track athlete to read. I loved reading this book. I actually learned a lot of useful things. I would recommend this book for just about anyone. My favorite part of the book is at the end of each chapter there is a review of the chapter and tips for success. I enjoyed reading the book because it wasn't challenging and it was a nice holiday read.

[Pierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Michael Johnson may no longer be in the limelight with his amazing record-smashing victories at the Olympics this book offers a nice mix of his personal story and challenges he overcame to be the fastest man alive. There are also some excellent goal-setting tips that I found were

[Josh Ochs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome book for any athlete that wants to set their goals and more clearly understand how to implement discipline in their life.

[Daryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard To Find. Not your ordinary biography. It is also a self-help book. Very inspiring. Definitely worth the read.

[Barb Slatter · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read!

[Robert Roslauski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed my perspective on setting realistic goals for my self.

[Elder III · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent biography on the life of Michael Johnson.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

A generic self help book, with tons of photos for filler. If you've ever read a self help book, you don't need to read this.

[David West · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring, fast read.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super motivational. Helps set goals and gives specific advice what to do step by step.