Letters to a Young Athlete will be on my list of books to give people. Bosh was thoughtful and candid throughout. I appreciated the way he told about the challenges he faced in going from a lead role on a mediocre team in Toronto to a defensive role on a championship team in Miami.

The book was worthwhile, and some letters were incredibly motivating. I loved the way he described what it takes to be successful in sports individually and what it takes to be a part of a winning team. He details the grind and the need to suppress ego for championship teams. At times the book was a little cliche and some letters dragged a bit. 

My favorite quotes:

“You have no way of knowing ahead of time how much excellence is going to cost. It’s not something with a price tag on it. But every single time it presents you with a new demand, you have to pay up.”

“Some people say they want to win, but then when someone tells them what they have to do to get the W — to get back on defense on every play, to jump for every single rebound — I’ve seen people refuse to do it. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. They don’t want to win, they want to have won . They only want to do the glamorous parts of winning, not the hard, grinding parts.”

“How an athlete plays when they’re exhausted tells you everything about who they are as a competitor. The successful ones don’t even think about being exhausted. They’re so used to it that all they think about is performing.”

“We had a saying when I was growing up: You might as well bust your ass or get your ass busted.”

“When they look in your eyes and see that you’re ready to go another round — in that moment, their will to win will break.”

“What’s hard isn’t just the work. What’s hard is giving everything you have with no guarantees but the love of the game. It takes what it takes . Every day. Of your whole life.”

“And I’m letting you know that the main thing that got me over the hump both times wasn’t my height or my speed or any other physical gifts — it was the ability to keep my ego in check, to get my ass kicked in practice and say, “Damn. I have a long way to go.” Being able to tell yourself that is the difference between making it to the next level — whether it’s in sports, or in academics, or in your career — and stalling out.”

“Ego tells you that you deserve success just because you’re you. Confidence tells you that you can reasonably expect to earn success based on how your efforts have paid off in the past.”

“ Criticism is a tax on success.”