I wanted to read Tim Tebow’s book for a few reasons. One, with all of the media coverage of the man, I wanted to hear about him in his own words. And second, my college roommate married Tebow’s sister. I got to meet the Tebow family at the wedding. They are an incredible family and they are the real deal.

I know the media likes to poke fun at Tebow’s faith, but his faith is real. This is not a fad in Tim’s life. It is his life.

That is an overriding theme of this book. I think a lot of people look at Tebow and think that now that he has this huge platform, he’s trying to push his faith on everyone. That’s not it at all. This is Tim Tebow. This is how he has been since he was young. His parents and family have had an extraordinary impact on him and they are all the real deal. Fame has not all of a sudden turned him into a new proselytizer.

I enjoyed reading this book and was really inspired by Tim’s life. Here are some of the topics that stuck out to me:

Parenting

Tebow’s parents did some really smart things with their children for the purpose of building character. For instance, they instituted a rule whereby the children were not allowed to talk about themselves unless someone brought up the topic first. Another thing was that the children were given $1 if someone complimented that child on an issue of character and humility. And after winning huge football games, Tim’s parents would praise him more for the kind things he did with children before and after the game than his performance on the field.

Football

I told a friend the other day that reading Tebow’s book was similar to reading the book about Steve Jobs. College football and Apple products have been a steady part of my life over the past 10 years. So, it’s amazing to read about the development process of an Apple product that I use. Similarly, this book has a lot of commentary on big college football games. These are games that I watched. It’s really neat to read Tebow’s point of view about these big games. You also learn about things you had no idea were going on during a particular game. The emotions, the pain, the relationships. You usually read people’s books after their careers are over. It was neat reading a book from someone who is really just starting at least at the professional level.

Work Ethic

I liked reading about Tebow’s philosophy on why he works so hard. If God gave him a particular talent, then he is going to develop that talent to the fullest. It’s like Steve Prefontaine’s famous quote:

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

Here is how Tebow says it:

“I may say I’m playing for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. True. But it’s not just that. It’s about going out every day, in every setting, and working hard. It’s about being dedicated and playing hard because I honestly believe God receives joy when He sees me doing that with the skills he blessed me with. When you, too, do that, He sees you living the life He has given you and loving and respecting the abilities He’s given you by working as hard as you possibly can to improve them.

He also constantly quotes this voice in his head that says:

“Somewhere he is out there, training while I am not. One day, when we meet, he will win.”

Leadership

Tebow is relatively young but is constantly described as wise beyond his years. You really see that come through in this book. As the quarterback, he has a huge influence on the team around him. He really cares about the other guys on the team, cares about their souls and cares about their change to optimize their abilities. It seems as though Tebow can walk on to a team and completely change the dynamic of a team. Guys want to follow him. Guys want to work harder because of him. And Tebow takes this in stride by working as hard or harder than anyone else on the team.

The Media

The media has constantly told Tebow he couldn’t do it. What’s interesting is that it seems like Tebow is harder on himself than any member of the media could ever be on him. Therefore, the chatter doesn’t really affect him. If anything, the negativity pushes him harder. He answers to God and to Tim Tebow. I’m sure he’s affected by some things, but his focus is in the right place so that he’s not rocked by negative comments.

Overall, I recommend this book to people who want to get to know the real Tim Tebow. If you are a college football fan, especially an SEC fan, then this book will be hard to put down. I was also encouraged in my faith by reading this book.