Must Read Books -3

Do you want to read books but do not know where to start? Which books to pick up?

Continuing with my list of #mustreadbooks, today we will discuss about this book Open by Andre' Agassi

Let's start with the third book in the series

Book Genre - Raw and a Pure Heartfelt Autobiography

About the Author –Born April 29, 1970) is an American former?world No. 1 ?tennis ?player.[4] ?In singles, Agassi is an eight-time?Grand Slam ?champion and a?1996 Olympic gold medalist , as well as a runner-up in seven other Grand Slam tournaments.

Plot of the book -

I think those born in the 70s, 80s and 90s all grew up idolizing the man and the legend ANDRE AGASSI, and the likes of Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, Steffi Graff , All of whom have been mentioned in this book. Agassi's autobiography,?Open: An Autobiography , (written with assistance from?J. R. Moehringer [152] ), was published in November 2009. In it, Agassi talks about his childhood and his unconventional Armenian father, who came to the United States from Iran where he was a professional boxer. Overly demanding and emotionally abusive to the whole family, his father groomed young Agassi for tennis greatness by building a tennis court in their backyard and sending Agassi to tennis boarding school under the supervision of Nick Bollettieri, who later coached and managed part of Agassi's professional career.

Key Takeaways from this book

1) Giving is the Purest Action - These moments focused on one very specific thing –?helping others. Agassi noted that he felt so right helping other people, whether it was the injured daughter of his trainer Gil, or starting a school for disadvantaged teens in his hometown of Las Vegas- The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education Campus which? provides educational opportunities and resources to an otherwise underserved population or helping to save the life of a friend’s premature baby.

2) Hard Work Pays Off - Although Agassi had a unique talent, it’s pretty clear why he was as good as he was, is because of his?work ethic?and?training regime. It started with his father who made him hit a?million balls?a year as a kid to develop his strokes and reflexes. Many times Agassi won matches because he had “more in the tank” than other players, playing just as fresh in the fifth set as the first.

3) Perfectionism will kill you -One of Andre’s career challenges was that he was trying to hit a winning ball every time. Towards the end of his career, he learned that not winning every ball, and remaining steady and consistent was far more crucial to him winning.

4) Winning is short-term- In his book, Andre goes on to explain that becoming number one in the world at something does not change your reality overnight and effects your life for a very short span of time. When Andre describes becoming number one, he says that he feels nothing. Even when he wins some important games, he describes the feeling as only lasting a short time.

Conclusion :

We all think we have a right to label someone as good or bad based on their actions, ?and think they are really eccentric with what all is going on their lives but reading this book make us realize that no matter how good or famous or gifted these people are, we all are human in the end trying to figure out life's mysteries. Half of the time these celebrities are also raging a battle against themselves and the system knowing fully well that one wrong decision may lead to repercussions that they may not be ready to face. Only the loses and the wins matter to the world for which they are already paying a bigger price and it takes a huge toll on their health as well . This book also deals with the misconception that sports person who are extremely successful, simply love what they are doing.

That the?Open?is such a drastic counter-narrative to the many sports autobiographies that have hit the stands is what makes it such a fascinating read.

#BOOKSUMMARIES #bookreadinglove #booksthatinspire #mustreadbooks #autobiographicalbooks #booksummary3 #open #andreagassi

P.S. I love reading books and get transported to a different imaginary world. I adore and read Fiction books in the same enthusiasm that I read Self help or Memoirs and Non Fiction books. I run a book club and it is so liberating to talk to like minded people and read together and listen and discuss the different perspectives/takeaways that each one feels from reading the same book.