The Will to Win

The Will to Win – Awesome Book Review

Posted on by GURU

📘 Overall Summary

The Will to Win is not a book about luck, shortcuts, or overnight success. It’s a powerful collection of real-life stories from high achievers, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and everyday warriors who chose to fight, rise, and persist despite overwhelming odds.

From Brian Tracy’s laser-sharp insights on action-taking to Robin Burk’s leadership breakthrough and Peter Wolfing’s deep understanding of fear, every chapter invites readers into a transformative journey. These are not just motivational anecdotes—they are battle-tested blueprints for building a life of purpose, grit, and victory.

You’ll read about:

  • The Marine who learned to run toward fear.
  • The young entrepreneur who turned grief into growth.
  • The dental expert who connected oral health to total transformation.
  • The teen mom who launched a thriving business from an ice cream stand.
  • The leaders who built empires not by chance—but by choosing to win.

Each author brings a unique lens—some through tragedy, others through triumph—but all converge on one powerful message: The will to win is not inherited. It’s built—moment by moment, belief by belief, and action by action.

Whether you’re stuck in fear, unclear on your vision, or ready to lead at a new level, this book meets you where you are—and pushes you forward.

Inside, you’ll discover:
✅ Action steps to break through terror barriers
✅ Proven strategies for business and personal growth
✅ Emotional stories that light your internal fire
✅ Mindset shifts that build true confidence
✅ Tools to redefine success and leadership

This isn’t just a book—it’s a toolbox for winners in the making.

If you’re ready to stop waiting and start winning—this is your wake-up call.

👨‍💼 About the Authors

Nick Nanton is an EmmyÂŽ Award-winning director and branding expert.
JW Dicks is a personal branding legend and co-founder of CelebrityPressÂŽ.
Brian Tracy is a globally renowned success coach, author, and speaker who has trained millions in sales, leadership, and achievement. Together, they’ve curated a lineup of contributors—entrepreneurs, doctors, soldiers, and more—each of whom has mastered a unique form of resilience. This powerhouse team has not only built successful businesses but transformed lives by showing people how to lead, inspire, and win from within.

Let me Explain it Chapter by Chapter for you…

Chapter 1 – Do Something Every Day

🖋️ By Brian Tracy

📖 Mini-story Recap
Brian shares how an unreliable, excuse-making employee was replaced by someone who took initiative and responsibility—and how that small change mirrored a much larger truth: success is a result of consistent, daily action. Brian recalls how he transformed his own career simply by asking for more responsibility, working faster, and delivering results. His relentless action eventually earned him leadership of three business divisions.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Winners move fast and take initiative.
Success is not about being the most talented—it’s about being the most action-oriented. People who go the extra mile, start early, stay late, and ask for more responsibility outperform their peers over time.

✅ Exact Instructions (from Brian Tracy)

  1. Ask for more responsibility once you’ve mastered your role. Repeat the request consistently.
  2. Complete assignments with urgency and excellence. Treat each task as if it’s a grenade with the pin pulled out—get it done fast and right.
  3. Pick up the pace. Move from task to task with energy.
  4. Plan tightly. Manage your time by the hour, not by the day.
  5. Work through breaks, arrive early, stay late. Use these extra hours to double productivity.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Start your day an hour earlier than usual—use that time to gain momentum.
  • Make a daily commitment to action: one extra task, one new request for responsibility, one improvement idea.
  • Shift from thinking to doing. Don’t overanalyze—just begin.
  • Adopt a “vacation day mindset”—work as if you’re trying to finish everything before a long trip.

🔥 Chapter 2 – The Courage to Lead

🖋️ By Robin Burk, PhD

📖 Mini-story Recap
Robin shares her leadership journey in building a tech division from scratch. Despite early success, her attempt at overly collaborative decision-making caused confusion and subtle breakdowns in her team. It took one quiet but bold engineer to remind her: “Do your job. Lead us.” That moment reshaped her leadership philosophy.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Leaders must lead. Delegation is essential, but vision and decision-making must remain your responsibility. Collaboration is helpful—until it turns into indecision.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Set clear, measurable goals. Define where you’re going.
  2. Evaluate your starting point. Understand resources and limitations.
  3. Listen deeply to stakeholders—employees, customers, even investors.
  4. Decide clearly. Don’t hesitate. Risk is part of leadership.
  5. Act with clarity. Communicate plans and delegate execution, not vision.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Reclaim your leadership space—don’t hide behind the team.
  • Use structured collaboration but retain decision authority.
  • Create a rhythm: goal → feedback → action → adaptation.
  • Courage is not absence of fear—it’s clarity of direction.

💥 Chapter 3 – Domesticating Fear to Obtain the Key to Success

🖋️ By Peter Wolfing

📖 Mini-story Recap
Peter recalls Marine Corps boot camp where fear was literally trained out of them—so they could face chaos with calm. He later used this principle to break through personal and professional terror barriers. The key was understanding that fear is not real—it’s conditioned belief.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Fear is a trained response—and it can be retrained. What you fear is often just your comfort zone fighting to stay in control.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Recognize fear as an emotional illusion—not fact.
  2. Trace fear to its root: your beliefs and past conditioning.
  3. Walk through the 4 stages:
    • Comfort → Reason → Terror → Freedom
  4. Introduce new beliefs to shift your subconscious reaction.
  5. Act in spite of fear—and keep doing it until it becomes your new normal.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Journal your fears and the beliefs behind them.
  • Take one small “scary” step daily.
  • Feed confidence instead of fear—where attention goes, energy flows.
  • Use repetition and understanding to break through terror barriers.

🚀 Chapter 4 – Persistence Through Relationships

🖋️ By Adrian N. Havelock

📖 Mini-story Recap
From a teenage BMW salesman in Trinidad to a renowned sales trainer, Adrian shares how books, mentorships, and consistent relationship-building propelled his growth. When a business investment flopped, he didn’t quit—he pivoted and made stronger connections that eventually elevated his brand.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Relationships are the currency of success. The will to win isn’t about luck—it’s about nurturing connections and showing up with consistency.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Invest in yourself through books, workshops, and mentors.
  2. Build authentic relationships—not for gain, but for growth.
  3. Pivot—not quit—when a strategy fails.
  4. Follow the B.A.P. Formula:
    • Belief
    • Action
    • People

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Reach out to 3 mentors or high-performers this month.
  • Create value before you ask for anything.
  • Don’t mistake a detour for a dead-end.
  • Always be in the process of becoming someone better.

✨ Chapter 5 – Choose to Win!

🖋️ By Belinda Goodrich

📖 Mini-story Recap
At 16 and pregnant, Belinda was told she’d never graduate high school. Instead of giving up, she ran an ice cream stand that summer—and it sparked the fire of entrepreneurship. Today, she’s a best-selling author and business leader. The turning point? She chose to win.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
You always have a choice. No matter how dark the moment, choosing to act, grow, and persist rewrites your future.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Take ownership of your story—even the painful parts.
  2. Embrace opportunities, no matter how small.
  3. Focus on service, even when you’re broken.
  4. Let setbacks refine you—not define you.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Write a new story—don’t live the one others write for you.
  • Choose to win daily through micro-decisions.
  • If life gives you an “ice cream stand,” run it like a Fortune 500.
  • The past is a lesson, not a sentence.

🫀 Chapter 6 – How a Heart Attack Led to a Dental Revolution

🖋️ By Dr. Nilo A. Hernandez, Jr.

📖 Mini-story Recap
A near-fatal heart attack changed Dr. Hernandez’s life and career. During recovery, he connected the dots between oral health and systemic illness. That epiphany launched his mission: to educate people that dentistry isn’t just about teeth—it’s about saving lives.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Crisis often delivers clarity. Sometimes it takes a breakdown—physical or emotional—to break open a path to your true calling.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Listen to your body—your health is non-negotiable.
  2. Use adversity as a launchpad, not a limitation.
  3. Innovate inside your current field by solving a deeper problem.
  4. Align your profession with a greater mission.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Get a comprehensive health check—don’t wait for disaster.
  • Think about how your work can serve humanity more deeply.
  • Tell your personal story—it creates emotional impact and credibility.
  • Look beyond symptoms—what root cause can you solve?

🛡️ Chapter 7 – The Five Secret Weapons

🖋️ By Victoria Ringhausen

📖 Mini-story Recap
Victoria shares how overcoming early trauma gave her five “secret weapons” that now power her success: resilience, faith, intuition, creativity, and relentless action. Life didn’t hand her ease—it handed her tools.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Your scars are your superpowers. The pain you survived gives you unique strengths no one else has.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Reflect on your past challenges—extract strengths from them.
  2. Develop and sharpen these “weapons” daily through journaling, meditation, and action.
  3. Embrace spirituality or purpose to fuel your grit.
  4. Act even when uncertain—courage is built in motion.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Write down your five “personal weapons” from life lessons.
  • Use your intuition—pause and ask, “What’s my gut telling me?”
  • Turn your creativity into solutions and value.
  • Believe you’re equipped—because you are.

🕊️ Chapter 8 – Lessons That Grief Taught Me About Life

🖋️ By Dominarke Greaves

📖 Mini-story Recap
Losing his mother shattered Dominarke—but in the grief, he discovered life’s true priorities: love, presence, and legacy. It shifted how he approached business, relationships, and purpose. Success became about meaningful impact, not just metrics.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Grief is a teacher. Pain reveals what truly matters and pushes you to live more consciously.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Make time for your loved ones—success is hollow without connection.
  2. Reflect on what legacy means to you.
  3. Redefine winning—not just income, but impact.
  4. Use pain to fuel empathy and service to others.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Have weekly “presence” time with family or friends—no distractions.
  • Journal your version of a life well-lived.
  • Use your business or career to serve a greater good.
  • Share your grief story—it may heal someone else.

🏁 Chapter 9 – To Win the Race, You Cannot Quit!

🖋️ By Suleiman Shaibu

📖 Mini-story Recap
Growing up in Nigeria, Suleiman faced poverty, hardship, and countless setbacks—but he never stopped running toward his dream. His unwavering faith and refusal to quit led him to success in both life and entrepreneurship.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Winners don’t quit. Ever. The road may be longer than expected, but those who keep moving will always cross the finish line.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Set clear, unshakable goals—ones that matter deeply.
  2. Anchor your journey with strong faith or belief.
  3. Be prepared to fall—but always rise.
  4. Take small consistent steps, even when progress feels invisible.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Create a “why I won’t quit” list—review it during hard days.
  • Celebrate micro-wins along your journey.
  • Surround yourself with resilient minds—borrow their strength.
  • Remember: quitting guarantees failure. Trying always leaves possibility.

🧠 Chapter 10 – Be Mentally Tough to Win

🖋️ By Judith Glory

📖 Mini-story Recap
Judith shares her journey from insecurity to mental mastery. She reveals how developing a mindset of discipline, clarity, and grit helped her thrive as a woman in high-pressure, male-dominated environments. Her success wasn’t magic—it was mental muscle.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Mental toughness isn’t a trait—it’s a choice. You build it like a muscle—through practice, pain, and persistence.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Start your day with purpose—affirmations, focus, and planning.
  2. Practice self-discipline by doing the hard thing first.
  3. Reframe every setback as training—not defeat.
  4. Feed your mind empowering thoughts daily.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Commit to a morning mental ritual—every single day.
  • Speak to yourself like a champion, not a critic.
  • Get comfortable with discomfort—it’s your growth zone.
  • Build emotional endurance—resilience is strength under pressure.

🏆 Chapter 11 – “Win…What?”

🖋️ By Joseph J. Kranz, PhD

📖 Mini-story Recap
Joseph questions society’s obsession with “winning.” He tells of reaching what looked like success—money, power, prestige—only to feel empty. True winning, he discovered, lies in inner peace, authenticity, and alignment with personal values.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Success without fulfillment is failure in disguise. Real winning is knowing what truly matters and living by it.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Define what “winning” means to YOU—not society.
  2. Periodically assess your goals against your values.
  3. Choose purpose over applause.
  4. Redefine success by joy, peace, and contribution.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Ask: “What am I chasing—and why?”
  • Simplify your goals to align with your soul.
  • Journal what makes you feel alive—do more of that.
  • Create a “True Win” list: health, peace, love, growth.

🧍‍♂️ Chapter 12 – Winners Show Up

🖋️ By Jim Shute

📖 Mini-story Recap
Jim shares how his father’s work ethic shaped him. Despite countless setbacks in business, the act of showing up—when others didn’t—created unexpected opportunities. Simply being present opened doors most never saw.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Half of success is showing up. Most people quit or disappear. Winners stay visible, active, and ready.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Commit to consistency—be there even when it’s hard.
  2. Keep promises—to yourself and others.
  3. Show up for meetings, opportunities, and relationships.
  4. Be reliable—opportunities come to those who are present.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Never miss your own schedule—treat every task as sacred.
  • Be the one who can be counted on.
  • Push through resistance—visibility creates luck.
  • Success often goes to the one who simply keeps showing up.

🔺 Chapter 13 – Triangle Success: Mastering Fear, Happiness, and Motivation

🖋️ By Dr. Hank Alme

📖 Mini-story Recap
Dr. Hank uses the metaphor of a triangle—fear, happiness, and motivation—as three forces we must balance. His personal and professional experiences in psychology revealed that mastering these elements leads to lasting victory in life.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
You need balance to win. Fear unchecked cripples motivation. Motivation without happiness breeds burnout. Each part supports the other.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Face fear with curiosity—understand it, don’t flee.
  2. Build habits that bring joy—happiness is renewable energy.
  3. Tie your motivation to meaningful goals—not just achievement.
  4. Create daily rituals that touch all three corners of the triangle.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Track your “fear triggers” and how you respond.
  • Make a joy list—integrate it into your routine.
  • Link every task to a larger WHY.
  • Use a weekly triangle check-in: Fear – Motivation – Joy.

🎙️ Chapter 14 – Achieving Ultimate Success in Persuasion: Storyselling is Believing

🖋️ By JW Dicks

📖 Mini-story Recap
JW Dicks reveals how storytelling changed his life and business. When he shifted from traditional selling to “storyselling,” clients didn’t just buy—they bonded. Stories bypass resistance and touch emotions that logic cannot.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Facts tell, but stories sell. If you want to persuade, connect emotionally through narrative.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Craft your origin story—why do you do what you do?
  2. Use client success stories to build credibility.
  3. Lead presentations with emotion, follow with logic.
  4. Make storytelling your primary marketing weapon.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Write 3 short stories that showcase your impact.
  • Replace bullet points in your pitch with real-life examples.
  • End each story with a clear message or takeaway.
  • Practice storytelling in daily conversations—it’s contagious.

👁️ Chapter 15 – Vision

🖋️ By Doug Clayton

📖 Mini-story Recap
Doug reflects on how his life changed the moment he created a clear, compelling vision. He shares how vague dreams kept him drifting—until he sat down, wrote his vision, and began acting as if it were already true.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
A powerful vision pulls you forward. Without one, you’re reacting. With one, you’re creating.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Write a crystal-clear vision of your ideal life.
  2. Visualize it every day—feel it, see it, believe it.
  3. Use it as a filter for decisions: “Does this align?”
  4. Share your vision—it reinforces commitment and attracts allies.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Spend 30 minutes writing your ideal future.
  • Create a vision board or daily affirmation based on it.
  • Review your vision each morning.
  • Make every yes or no a reflection of your vision.

🌟 Chapter 16 – The Dream is Real

🖋️ By John Di Lemme

📖 Mini-story Recap
John grew up surrounded by doubt and limitations. Everyone told him to play it safe, settle, and not dream too big. But he refused. He turned that defiance into fuel. Step by step, he built a life that once only lived in his imagination.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Your dream is real—but only if you fight for it. No one will believe in it until you do. Doubt is loud. Purpose must be louder.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Write down your dream clearly and revisit it daily.
  2. Ignore the doubters—they reflect their limits, not yours.
  3. Take uncomfortable, bold actions toward your dream every week.
  4. Use rejection as motivation, not discouragement.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Say this aloud each day: “My dream is real.”
  • Turn every “no” into your next stepping stone.
  • Visualize your dream so vividly it feels inevitable.
  • Don’t adapt to mediocrity—defy it.

✨ Chapter 17 – I Believe in Miracles: Four Things That Changed My Life

🖋️ By Crystal Calhoun

📖 Mini-story Recap
Crystal shares four pivotal turning points that shaped her life—each one seemingly small at first, but ultimately miraculous. Her message: divine timing, bold action, and faith can turn pain into purpose.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Small shifts create massive miracles. You don’t have to see the whole staircase—just take the next faithful step.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Reflect on your life’s defining moments—mine the lessons.
  2. Keep a “miracle journal” to recognize divine guidance.
  3. Speak life and faith into your circumstances.
  4. Move even when unsure—the path will appear.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Start a gratitude list focused on past “miracles.”
  • Speak affirmations over your future—declare possibility.
  • Reframe problems as setups for transformation.
  • Choose belief daily—even when logic doubts it.

🧠 Chapter 18 – Harnessing the Power of the Mind, to Win

🖋️ By Stephanie Calahan

📖 Mini-story Recap
Stephanie went from overworked and overwhelmed to living her dream business—all because she began mastering her mind. She discovered that mindset, not mechanics, makes the biggest difference in performance and peace.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Your outer world follows your inner world. Thoughts shape results. Beliefs shape destiny.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Replace limiting beliefs with empowering ones.
  2. Use visualization and meditation to program success.
  3. Track and transform self-talk.
  4. Create mental boundaries—protect your energy and focus.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Speak 3 affirmations every morning about your power.
  • Catch negative thoughts and reframe them instantly.
  • Journal daily about your wins—build positive momentum.
  • Create a “mental reset” ritual for stressful moments.

🔄 Chapter 19 – How to Successfully Drive Change in Your Organization

🖋️ By Ezequiel Totol

📖 Mini-story Recap
Ezequiel recounts guiding a massive organizational shift. The key? Aligning people to a shared mission and creating a culture of ownership. Change fails when leaders focus on systems over people. He flipped the script—and it worked.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
People drive change—not strategies. Engage hearts first, then minds, then systems.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Clearly define the “why” behind the change.
  2. Communicate often and authentically.
  3. Give teams ownership—don’t just mandate new processes.
  4. Celebrate small wins during the transition.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Create a shared vision everyone can feel proud of.
  • Involve early adopters—they amplify buy-in.
  • Address fears directly—listen before you lead.
  • Make change personal, not just professional.

💰 Chapter 20 – How to Sell Your Business for More Than It’s Worth

🖋️ By Scott Duffy

📖 Mini-story Recap
Scott built and sold multiple companies—and realized most founders undervalue what they’ve built. He shares how you can maximize your exit by building with sale in mind from day one.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
Build to sell—even if you don’t plan to. A scalable, valuable business works better whether you keep it or cash out.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Build systems that run without you.
  2. Identify key value-drivers in your industry—then focus there.
  3. Keep clean financials and documentation from day one.
  4. Know your exit options and prepare 1–2 years in advance.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Treat your business as an asset, not a job.
  • Start grooming potential successors early.
  • Always operate with a “buyer’s perspective.”
  • Simplify and automate wherever possible.

😊 Chapter 21 – The Will to Smile Again… You Have Options!

🖋️ By Dr. Joseph Moussa

📖 Mini-story Recap
After witnessing his patients’ emotional struggles due to dental issues, Dr. Moussa made it his mission to restore not just smiles, but confidence. He tells the story of one woman who avoided mirrors for years until her new smile gave her life back. It was more than dentistry—it was transformation.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
You can smile again—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. No matter what life has taken, you still have options to reclaim your confidence and joy.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Seek help when your self-image is damaged—don’t settle.
  2. Invest in yourself—your appearance reflects your inner state.
  3. Make wellness (dental, mental, emotional) a priority, not a luxury.
  4. Understand that healing comes in stages—celebrate every step.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Look in the mirror and say one kind thing to yourself daily.
  • Book the consultation, take the step—stop waiting for “someday.”
  • Remember: transformation begins with one decision.
  • Your smile is your story—let it shine.

🏅 Chapter 22 – How to Develop the Will to Win

🖋️ By Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE

📖 Mini-story Recap
Jim shares how he went from being an overweight, underperforming clerk to a top-ranked speaker and best-selling author—all by developing the “will to win.” He discovered that winners don’t wait for motivation—they create it through habits, goals, and identity shifts.

🧠 Key Insight / Mindset Shift
You don’t need to be born with the will to win—you can build it. The secret lies in deciding who you want to become and doing the things that version of you would do.

✅ Exact Instructions

  1. Ask yourself: Who do I want to be?
  2. Identify what that person does daily—then do those things.
  3. Create momentum by achieving small daily wins.
  4. Repeat identity-building behaviors until they become your standard.

🔑 Pointers for Action

  • Create an “I Am Becoming” vision card and read it daily.
  • Choose one daily habit your future self would never skip.
  • Track your wins and reward progress, not perfection.
  • Replace passive goals with active commitments (e.g., “I train daily” vs “I want to get fit”).

🎉 Final Reflection: What This Book Taught Us

The Will to Win isn’t just about outperforming others—it’s about becoming the best version of yourself. Each story, whether rooted in trauma, business, health, or personal breakthrough, points to one universal truth:

Winners are not born—they are built, decision by decision, day by day.

💡 Whether you…

  • Fight fear with understanding,
  • Lead with courage,
  • Pivot after failure,
  • Build a business with vision,
  • Or reclaim your smile after loss…

…you have the will to win.

Category: BOOK REVIEWS, MOTIVATION

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