Mimi Donaldson - Necessary Roughness: New Rules for the Contact Sport of Life

New Rules for the Contact Sport of Life

MIMI DONALDSON

Necessary roughNess

New Rules for the Contact Sport of Life

MimiSpeaks! Press All rights reserved.

Published by MimiSpeaks! Press

Copyright 2010 Mimi Donaldson

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to Necessary Roughness co/Mimi Donaldson, 13700 Tahiti Way #246, Marina del Rey, CA 90292.

www.mimidonaldson.com

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

First Edition

Cover and Interior design: Toolbox Creative, www.ToolboxCreative.com

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publications Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010933536

Mimi Donaldson

Necessary Roughness: New Rules for the Contact Sport of Life

ISBN: 978-0-9845724-0-3

2010

To my mother, whose secret love of the game that she claimed was too rough, came to light towards the end of her life. I am grateful to her for teaching me never to quit.

And to my dad, the youngest spirit alive, because who could ever speak about Mom without Dad.

Also, to Peyton Manning, who first inspired me to write this book, and coincidentally, shares a birthday with my mother (March 24).

Every time I watch a football game, all I see are the lessons that are rooted in the core of this game: leadership, teamwork, strategy and focus, mentoring, and, above all, courage. All these practical and extremely valuable lessons are in this book.

Mimi Donaldson

Mimi Donaldson was raised with a comedic view of the world, thanks to early exposure to the fabulous comedy of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols and Elaine May. As children, Mimi and her brother performed comedy sketches around the house. Her brother played the Mel Brooks part in 2,000 Year Old Man; his Yiddish accent was flawless.

Mom and Dad thought their singing, dancing daughter was destined for greatness. One day youll be a star, her mother would tell her, not knowing Mimi would one day entertain people in suits all day long. Mimis father, a physician, once told her, What you do is a mixture of mental health and show biz. He was right.

Mimi Donaldson is a motivational speaker who excites, educates and entertains audiences all over the world. She frequently shares the stage with prominent keynote speakers such as Colin Powell, Katie Couric, and Maya Angelou. She has thrilled and inspired over half of the Fortune 100 companies.

Before starting her own consulting business in 1984, she spent 10 years as a Human Resources Trainer at Northrop Aircraft, Rockwell International, and Walt Disney Productions.

She has a B.A in Speech and Communications from the University of Iowa and a Masters Degree in Education from Columbia University. Mimi is co-author of Negotiating for Dummies, selling over a million copies, and translated into six languages. Her second book is, Bless Your Stress: It Means Youre Still Alive! written with C. Leslie Charles.

To talk to Mimi about a presentation for your organization, or to learn more about Mimi and her products, please contact her at:

www.MimiDonaldson.com

mimi@mimidonaldson.com

310.577.0229

To my sister, Debbie Riley, whose love of sports movies waaay more then sports inspires me every day. Thanks, also, for her skillful copy editing.

To my brother, Dr. Ellis Schwied, who was always next to me in my early sports days, and who never misses my birthday/Super Bowl party.

To my brother-in-law, Randy Riley, who has nurtured my love of football for over half my life.

Thanks to my niece, Tanya Schwied, and my nephew, Mark Riley, for your wonderful writing contributions to this book.

Special thanks to Michael LeFevre: your advertising and writing expertise truly footballized my book.

Thanks for your contributions:

Dan Moriarty, interviewer extraordinaire, and Lincoln Kennedy, who called me sweetheart on air, which made my day.

Jim Tunney, you are the voice of wisdom thank you.

Rick Telander, bestselling author and sportswriter, who played football for my high school football team. He was Marcies brother and back then, Marcie was one of my best friends.

Leslie Charles for your invaluable savvy editorial skills, and Suzanna Gagnier for your helpful edits and love of football.

Samantha Holman, my trusty assistant, who let me work in my pajamas and could read my most illegible scribblings.

Lauren Halperin, who was there at the beginning and helped me get the first words into the computer.

Fields Jackson, Charles Pittman, Mike Pozzi, Gene Stowe, and the staff of a magnificent magazine, Racing Towards Diversity, for featuring the first article on my book.

Bonnie Marcus, you are a master interviewer.

Linda Hollander for your brilliance and expertise on sponsorship.

Aggie Kobrin my networking guru, and all my WESTT mastermind women.

And to my cheerleaders, my band of wild, powerful women who root for me always: Sarina Simon, Ronda Ginsberg, Judy Carter, Gina Ruben-stein, Dana Ehrlich, Barbara Weiskopf, Eli Davidson, Robyn Holt, Pat Neubacher, Lori Leyden, Farla Binder, Lynne Romanowski, Catherine Girard-Cobb, Barbara Lewis, and Kim Hamer.

Most people think football is about knocking people down, but it is really more about lifting people up.

-Charles Pittman, publisher, Racing Toward Diversity, Shurz Communications Inc.

I need to start with a confession. I love football. Im passionate about the game. But before you write me off as some slobbering fan, let me explain. My journey to football fandom parallels every womans journey to independence. Through the years, slowly and steadily, women have made a good deal of forward progress in their roles at home and in the workplace. No longer do we feel forced to assume a subservient role or use passive-aggressive behavior to get what we want. We have taken the assertiveness courses of the 1980s and passed with flying colors. Now, we have the confidence to stand up, talk straight, and act with passionate commitment to get what we want.

And thats where football comes in. If you watch football with an open mind, you can learn just about everything there is to know about life: living large, building relationships, cultivating self-discipline and mental hardiness, and most of all persisting and persevering when all seems lost.