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Former athlete Deion Sanders wants to help you succeed in life. Sanders’ new book “Elevate and Dominate: 21 Ways to Win On and Off the Field” was published in March 2024.
The book is full of motivation and inspiration based on Sanders’ upbringing. He also highlights some of his personal and professional accomplishments, per Simon & Schuster. He acknowledges his mother’s sacrifices as a single parent with an incredible work ethic to provide for her family. Sanders touches on being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and becoming Coach Prime of a Division I football team. Additionally, he shares his experience of being a father to his five thriving children.
In Deion Sanders’ new book, the number 21 is symbolic.
As a player, Sanders wore the number 21 on his NFL jersey. He became the 21st head football coach for Jackson State on Feb. 21, 2021. In addition, he dons the number 21 on his Coach Prime jersey. Deon’s son Shilo also wears the number 21 as a safety for Colorado.
“This was kind of callout not just to his jersey number but to this book on leadership that had the most effect on him,” said book co-author Don Yaeger, per USA Today.
Yaeger is referring to John. C. Maxwell, who wrote the forward for Sanders’ book. Maxwell is a speaker and author who wrote The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership in 1998.
“John Maxwell told me something so powerful last week,” Sanders told TODAY. “‘I wrote books so I could reach people that I wouldn’t normally be able to reach,’ so through this mechanism, I could touch you, I could inspire you, I could encourage you, and I’m not even there.'”
Watty Piper’s “The Little Engine That Could” changed Coach Prime’s life.
It’s normal for literary works to influence our lives through childhood and beyond. For Coach Prime, Piper’s “The Little Engine That Could” has left a lasting impression on him and has become one of his favorites, guiding him through life.
“Several engines passed that train up — because they were too good or too mighty, too this or too that — and they wouldn’t dare waste their time because it didn’t fit their ideal description,” Sanders said in a New York Times interview. “Some of y’all in life “don’t fit the ideal description” and are working to get over that track. Sitting on the side of the road, on that track, just waiting and saying, “I think I can, I think I can.” What are you gonna attach yourself to in life to get you to the other side, where you can bless a multitude of people that have faith in you?”
Coach Prime believes that impact can take time to measure.
When asked how he’ll know if his book is a hit, Sanders revealed that time is the true indicator of impact. “You may not know that until 10 years down the road, when you’re walking through an airport or grocery store, and somebody said they read your book and that it provoked them to stay right instead when they were ready to take a left,” he continued in his interview with The New York Times.
Debuting at No. 3, “Elevate and Dominate” graced the New York Times Best Seller list shortly after its release.
If you need help finding your mojo, Deion Sanders’ new book is widely available wherever books are sold. Available formats include Kindle, audiobook, hardcover, and paperback.
The author’s content and opinions have not been pre-reviewed, approved or endorsed by Discover.