Sometimes You Win--Sometimes You Learn: Life's Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses

by John C. Maxwell, John Wooden (Foreword)

#1 New York Times bestselling author John C. Maxwell believes that any setback, whether professional or personal, can be turned into a step forward when you possess the right tools to turn a loss into a gain. Drawing on nearly fifty years of leadership experience, Dr. Maxwell provides a roadmap for winning by examining the eleven elements that constitute the DNA of learners who succeed in the face of problems, failure, and losses.

1. Humility - The Spirit of Learning
2. Reality - The Foundation of Learning
3. Responsibility - The First Step of Learning
4. Improvement - The Focus of Learning
5. Hope - The Motivation of Learning
6. Teachability - The Pathway of Learning
7. Adversity - The Catalyst of Learning
8. Problems - The Opportunities of Learning
9. Bad Experiences - The Perspective for Learning
10. Change - The Price of Learning
11. Maturity - The Value of Learning




Learning is not easy during down times, it takes discipline to do the right thing when something goes wrong. As John Maxwell often points out--experience isn't the best teacher; evaluated experience is.

Genres: Self Help, Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Psychology, Audiobook

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 8, 2013

About the author

John Calvin Maxwell is an American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Some of his books have been on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Reviews

[The Book Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have experienced failure and it still holds onto you, then this book is for YOU! :)

I would like to share some of my favorite notes I took while reading,

~ “How does a humble person learn from mistakes? By pausing and reflecting. I strongly believe that experience isn’t the best teacher; evaluated experience is.”
~ “Wisely humble people are never afraid to admit they were wrong. When they do it’s like saying they’re wiser today than they were yesterday.”
~ “Responsibility is the most important ability that a person can possess.”
~ “Positive thinking must be followed by positive doing.”
~ “The habits you practice every day will make you or break you. If you want to become a teachable person who learns from losses, then make learning your daily habit. It may not change your life in a day. But it will change your days for life.”
~ “One of life’s important question is ‘Who am I?’ But even more important is ‘Who am I becoming?’”
~ “Winning isn’t everything, but learning is.”

P.S: I want you to become a continual winner by being a habital learner.

[Farshad Asl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. You always can go from " failure" to success but you never can go from "excuses" to success.
It's a great book and John is sharing what he has learned from his own and other people's mistakes. I love the book...I would recommend!

[Denise Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I was dealing with a difficult work situation and getting very angry and reading this book helped put it all into perspective. Life isnt easy but it can be better and more fulfilling if you look at negatives as a way to learn and grow. It is all about perspective and looking forwards to self improvement.

From the opening beautiful into by the late John Wooden through the amazingly inspirational quotes sprinkled throughout, John C. Maxwell does a wonderful job of laying out the case for learning and growing through failures and disappointments.

I really loved how the book was set-up with each section being specific to one of his eleven elements that make up people who learn from mistakes:

1. Humility - The Spirit of Learning
2. Reality - The Foundation of Learning
3. Responsibility - The First Step of Learning
4. Improvement - The Focus of Learning
5. Hope - The Motivation of Learning
6. Teachability - The Pathway of Learning
7. Adversity - The Catalyst of Learning
8. Problems - The Opportunities of Learning
9. Bad Experiences - The Perspective for Learning
10. Change - The Price of Learning
11. Maturity - The Value of Learning

One of the most important takeaways is the need for personal accountability which is a trait that is sorely lacking from American society.

I truly feel like I have a better handle on how to tackle change, problems and failures thanks to this book, and I know that I will be re-reading this often. I also plan on purchasing at least one copy for the office as well as for my coworkers, this is an important book especially during turbulent times.

http://anovelnosh.com/book-review-som...

[Laura Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there were some great nuggets in this book, there is nothing new or original. In fact, the author spends most of his time quoting others. The title could be "Everything Everyone Else Said About Learning".

[Nicoleta Gorea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nu-i revoluționară și nici mega teoretizată. Maxwell îți prezintă lucruri știute, acolo undeva în conștiință, dar te îndeamnă să le aplici într-o serie de pași. Evident, asta nu înseamnă că îți prescrie rețeta succesului general valabilă, însă eu un bun reminder asupra la ce mai ai de lucrat: asupra modului în care vezi lucrurile, în care gestionezi emoțiile, în care tratezi eșecul.

Asociez cartea asta cu o serie de sfaturi prietenești atunci când eșecurile ți se par copleșitoare. Sau sfaturi de la un frate mai mare către cei mai mici. M-aș fi văzând savurând cartea aceasta pe deplin pe la vreo 13-14 ani, însă e bună și acum, dar și pentru cei care simt nevoie de consolare la o altă vârstă.

Vine la pachet cu o serie de citate încorporate în text. Acestea mai adaugă “alte voci” pe lângă cea a naratorului și face cartea și mai ușor de parcurs. Dacă e ceea ce cauți, go for it!
În fine, e o lectură ușoară, scurtă, dar plăcută. Ca un “tu poți” la început de an. 3/5 stele, dar meritate🙂

[Sarah (Libros para Cambiar de Vida) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro con pinceladas interesantes, pero que abusa excesivamente de las citas de otros autores y que tiene una estructura que no favorece nada la temática.
Leí la edición más antigua y sé que hay una reedición algo más nueva con una mejor traducción, mucho más corta y con ejemplos las actuales, así que quizá si hubiera leído esa, le habría puesto más nota.
Creo que toca temas interesantes, pero de una forma repetitiva y que parece más una lista de la compra, que un libro.

[Mark Fallon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading a book by Maxwell is like panning for gold - you have to go through a lot of sand and mud to find a few nuggets. A few are worth the hunt.

[Jorrit · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘If you can’t make a mistake, you can’t make anything.’ Heel veel gemarkeerd in dit boek. Maxwell zet een dikke vette streep onder het feit dat je alleen maar kan groeien als je valt en weer opstaat. Ik leg het boek weg met dit gevoel: ik voel me aangemoedigd en empowered te proberen, experimenteren en ontdekken. ‘Many of life’s greatest discoveries are found when we are willing to go off the main road, by trying things we never tried before.’

[Analu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valió la pena por las frases y citas motivadoras e inspiradoras.
Nota real: 3 1/2

[Michelle Sauvageau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really resonated with me - as a competitive person who hates to lose and/or fail, an important lesson I’ve had to learn over the course of my life is to use failures as learning opportunities to grow and get better. Every lesson in this book is a fairly simple or straight forward concept, but hard to actually execute in life.

Some favorite quotes:
- “Don’t open a can of worms unless you’re prepared to go fishing”
- “Forget the failure, remember the lesson”
- “Small improvements lead to success. Inches over time”

[Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think John Maxwell ever met a cliche he didn't love, and most are on display here, but this self-help book is saved by some good story telling and some good stories.

[LAMONT D · Rating 5 out of 5]

ONE OF HIS BETTER BOOKS THAT I AM SURE I HAD READ BEFORE; GOOD TO READ IT AGAIN. ALWAYS CHALLENGING IN HIS THINGS TO DO AND NOT TO DO, YOU CAN APPLY THESE TO YOUR LIFE TO BECOME A BETTER LEADER AND PERSON. HE ALWAYS GIVES YOU LOTS OF STORIES AND QUOTES THAT REINFORCES THE POINTS HE IS TRYING TO MAKE - HOW TO LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES.

[Alexandra]

2/18/18 $1.99 for Kindle.

[Gh . · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank u Dr.Rana

[Lupita Figueroa BookLoverRomantic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una excesiva cantidad de historias para explicar todo. Sin embargo, es un gran audiolibro. Recomendado.

[Sare Koruk · Rating 1 out of 5]

eh

[Malik Henry · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 // Not for me - unfinished

[Aafaque Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

"perhaps the people who have the hardest time in life are the ones who refuse to face reality"

"When you stop growing, you cease to be useful - a weed in the garden of prosperity"

[Katherine Coble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good inspiration and reminders that we control more than we think and that everyone fails. If you aren't failing, you aren't trying.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books are good, others are great!

I pretty much underlined the whole book.
The hardest part is applying it.
I hope I can learn from my mistakes!

[Lydia Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book and a timely read. It’s hard for me to let go of my desire to be perfect and to try new things that I might get wrong, but that’s such an important part of learning and growing.

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of things that I’m unfamiliar with, and giving myself permission to not always be right, but to learn from my mistakes, is important.

I highly recommend Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn and think it’s one of the best John Maxwell books I’ve read.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was full of cliches. At times I was like hey did this dude sit down at my last training for work and takes notes cause the stuff he was presenting in this book is super similar.

Add to that that he relies a lot on quotes from others (who often say his point better than he does) and it's like right all of this has been said before.

Not to give him no credit at times the information is presented in an interesting way. And there are some useful things in here. But overall this is nothing new. He tells a lot of stories which really up the page count. And didn't always feel necessary.

Further, this dude glorifies adversity and yet seems super disconnected from what others experience. He points out that some folks would say that "it's more difficult for people who are underprivileged, facing adversity, or suffering pain", but he doesn't think so. And you are like, but it would be more difficult. I used to work 70 hours a week. Commuting 1.5 hours to work. I had no time to even think. I was tired all the time and it would have been super difficult to meet his guidelines for being teachable. It's shows his privilege in him assuming that folks have time for this stuff.
He talks a big game about adversity, but his examples of his struggles just don't click. You spent 20k to have a passport delivered to you? Cool thats about what I make in a year. You lost a million dollars in a bad decision you made and you couldn't really afford to lose so much money and had to sell some of your investments? I've never had a million dollars to invest. I won't say losing your mother isn't a struggle, but you had her for 62 years of your life. You are an adult and thats a lot of love you got to receive. And it is part of life that parents die. I just see a lot of privilege, a lot of wealth and a disconnect from the lives that others lead in this book.

He brings up depression in passing, but doesn't really address how a depressed person might be able to utilize his advice (just that they lack energy because they have no hope).

Overall, he came off as someone who isn't presenting anything really new, he rehashed his own ideas multiple times throughout the book and he seems disconnected from others experiences. It just wasn't what I had hoped to read.

[Gail Welborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Maxwell provides tools to turn mistakes become learning experiences of blessings***

John C. Maxwell, well-known leadership “expert, coach and author,” explains why he believes failures may be opportunities in disguise in the pages of Sometimes you Win...Sometimes you Lose Coach John Wooden, Maxwell’s good friend, wrote the book’s foreword a few months before his death.

In it the Coach, well known for quotable quotes, writes, “John is a man who understands…life is about learning,” he’s a man who uses life lessons to become a better “…friend, neighbor and all around person.” Someone this esteemed Coach was proud “to call friend.” He considers the book “more than just a how-to manual for tough times,” he believes Maxwell’s words “offer the most valuable gift of all—hope.”

The author begins with an analysis of the “DNA of those who learn.”…Full Review: www.examiner.com/review/sometimes-you...

[Ale Nieves · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a very interesting book about experiencing losses, and how these always bring important lessons, if we manage to focus our attention on key aspects, and use failure as a development platform.

There were anecdotes and stories that I really liked from the book, but my favorite chapters were the one about the importance of constant improvement (chapter 4), and the one on hope 🍀(chapter 5), understanding that thinking positively about the future is always a choice, and that it’s an essential element for growing and moving forward.

👉🏻 I’ll leave you with this quote from John W. Gardner, taken from the book: “The first and last task of a leader is to keep hope alive—the hope that we can finally find our way through to a better world 🌎 —despite the day’s action, despite our own inertness, shallowness, and wavering resolve.”

👍🏻I really enjoyed the book, super recommended

#books

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover—what about by its title? This self-help book is filled to the brim with anecdotes, but at the end of the day, none of the pages in between the cover really stick. A classic example of a hodgepodge of stories to disguise a lack of substance. Also maybe it's because I'm not a retired white guy, but I find golfing metaphors cliche and uninspiring. Don't waste your time with this one: the only message you'll remember is already clear from simply glancing at the title.

(Caveat: I only read this because it was assigned reading for a course on leadership.)

[Ernesto · Rating 5 out of 5]

De todos los libros que he leído de este autor, considero que este es uno de los mejores ya que mediante técnicas muy fáciles de aplicar uno puede maximizar el aprender de sus propios errores para el logro de objetivos a corto, mediano y largo plazo; dichas técnicas son desglosadas de forma muy elocuente por el autor mediante situaciones o historias de vida que fueron casos de éxito una vez que los errores fueron asimilados por cada uno de los personajes.

Sin lugar a dudas es uno de los libros que recomiendo de este autor que todos deberíamos leer para lograr nuestros objetivos personales.

[Bill Donhiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by John Maxwell. I am impressed by this author with every new book he writes. Easy to read full of easy to understand information. It is a great resource for those of us who have to lead and any one who wishes to be a leader

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of positive advice and practical suggestions for learning everyday. Filled with several humorous and touching antidotes about real people. The ultimate learning experience is evaluating and proceeding forward with a flexible plan. The title was attention - getting for me.

[Patrick Clancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly quotes. The book itself has an okay premise but really it’s full of other people’s stories quotes and sayings. The cover basically tells you what the next 200 pages all say. Although some of the quotes are interesting and some of the history lessons on other people’s failure are interesting.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned alot with this book.