Lombardi Vince - What It Takes to Be Number One: Vince Lombardi on Leadership

What It Takes to Be
Number One

Vince Lombardi
& VINCE LOMBARDI JR.

What It Takes to Be Number One
2012 by Simple Truths

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Originally published by Simple Truths LLC
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from: New Century Version. 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4003-1997-8

Printed in China

12 13 14 15 16 TWP 6 5 4 3 2 1

My thanks to Vernon J. Biever,
whose photos are featured in this book.

Contents

BY MAC ANDERSON

I started Successories in 1988. The concept was simple: combine images with words to bring ideas to life. The excerpt from Vince Lombardis famous speech What It Takes to Be Number One was our very first product, and more than twenty years later, its still going strong. Lombardi was one of my heroes. There is something magical in those four hundred or so words that transcends football. The words, for me, capture the fundamentals of success in any business or any life.

Thats why Im so excited about sharing this book with the rest of the worlda powerful combination of the words of Lombardis famous speech with nine inspiring chapters from his son, Vince Jr.

Im truly honored to be a part of bringing this timeless message to life.

Best wishes,

Mac Anderson
Founder, Simple Truths and Successories

WINNING IS NOT A
SOMETIME THING;
ITS AN ALL-THE-TIME THING.

You dont win once in a while;
you dont do things right once in a while;
you do them right all the time.
Winning is a habit.
Unfortunately, so is losing.

THERE IS NO ROOM
FOR SECOND PLACE.

There is only one place in my game,
and thats first place.
I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay,
and I dont ever want to finish second again.
There is a second place bowl game,
but it is a game for losers.
It is and always has been an American zeal
to be first in anything we do, and to win,
and to win, and to win.

EVERY TIME A FOOTBALL PLAYER
GOES TO PLY HIS TRADE,
HES GOT TO PLAY
FROM THE GROUND UP
from the soles of his feet right up to his head.
Every inch of him has to play.
Some guys play with their heads.
Thats okay.

YOUVE GOT TO BE SMART TO BE
NUMBER ONE IN ANY BUSINESS.
But more importantly, youve got to play
with your heart, with every fiber of your body.
If youre lucky enough to find a guy
with a lot of head and a lot of heart,
hes never going to come off the field second.

RUNNING A FOOTBALL TEAM
IS NO DIFFERENT THAN
RUNNING ANY OTHER
KIND OF ORGANIZATION

an army, a political party or a business.
The principles are the same.
The object is to winto beat the other guy.
Maybe that sounds hard or cruel.
I dont think it is.

IT IS A REALITY OF LIFE
THAT MEN ARE COMPETITIVE
AND THE MOST COMPETITIVE

games draw the most competitive men.
Thats why they are thereto compete.
The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules,
but to win.

AND IN TRUTH,
Ive never known a man worth his salt
who in the long run, deep down in his heart,
didnt appreciate the grind, the discipline.
There is something in good men
that really yearns for discipline
and the harsh reality of head-to-head combat.

I DONT SAY THESE THINGS
because I believe in the brute nature of man
or that men must be brutalized to be combative.
I believe in God, and I believe in human decency.
But I firmly believe that any mans finest hour
his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear
is that moment when he has worked
his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted
on the field of battlevictorious.

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE NUMBER ONE
(Entire Speech)

W inning is not a sometime thing; its an all-the-time thing. You dont win once in a while; you dont do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and thats first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I dont ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to ply his trade, hes got to play from the ground upfrom the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. Thats okay. Youve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, youve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If youre lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, hes never going to come off the field second.