Every Day Counts. David Pollack with Mark Schlabach

Every Day Counts.    David Pollack with Mark Schlabach.

Start Where You Are. Use What You Have.  Do What You Can.

 

We can all use some motivation and inspiration now and then to take on the challenges in our life and help meet our goals and objectives.    One strategy to help accomplish this is to make the most of each individual day.     The latest book reviewed on this blog pertains directly to this topic.   David Pollack, along with ESPN writer Mark Schlabach, explains how one can approach our lives in his book, Every Day Counts.  

You might recognize the author from his days on television as an ESPN college football analyst for more than 12 years.    What some readers might not know before reading the book is that Pollack was a college football star at the University of Georgia and a high draft pick in the NFL.    Unfortunately, his promising career as a defensive player with the Cincinnati Bengals was cut short due to a severe neck injury.    The book discusses other tumultuous experiences and turmoil in his life as well.   Through it all he has been steadfast in his Christian faith and values making it clear how they have helped him take on life challenges.    Those tenants are firmly documented throughout the twenty-one chapters in this biography.    

While there are many strategies included in the book to help us navigate life’s obstacles and challenges, the idiom catching my attention was the discussion about delight versus desire.    Pollack asserts that we can delight where we are in our lives, especially if one believes that God has already “authored” our time on earth.   The premise being that the more we are delighted in our lives and situation the more likely that our hearts are filled with all the desire we need.    The author used this example when he was drafted by an NFL organization that had not been very successful in recent years.   In addition, the Bengals were not known for their generous contracts to high draft picks either.    However, Pollack chose to be content with this current plight and work towards what he hoped and expected to be better days. 

Another interesting section found later in the book discussed his views about standards and feelings.    According to Pollack, who was born in New Jersey but lived most of his youth outside of Atlanta, the personal standards we set for ourselves should also take priority over our feelings on the matter.  The chapter highlights his experience of taking a nutrition class while as a student in Athens and how it influenced him to get in better shape for football season which could also further his burgeoning career since he was headed into his final season of eligibility for the Bulldogs.    He asserts how once we form a belief and foundation; we should lead our lives to meet that standard every day.       

The author’s devotion to his diet and physical fitness are commendable.   However, the chapter feels like it goes off topic a bit when a quote from 1 Tim, 4:8 NLT is inserted.    The movement now pivots to how godliness and “spiritual” evolving are more important than physical training and self-control.     Although Pollack tried to make the connection between the two concepts it was difficult to follow the logic.  

The book provides a fair representation of the authors life from a young person in high school with little spiritual exposure or experience, to his enlightening years in college, through his brief stay in the Queen City not without its adversity, his good fortune to land a role at ESPN shortly after his football career was finished, his time working in the media and how it ended, and even leading up to a health scare suffered by his wife.    While Pollack admitted in his book that after while he had become a successful enough provider where he could take on the right projects at his leisure, his life has not always been easy.   It is not hard to ascertain how the principles deployed in the book were likely anchors that helped him and his family navigate through difficult times. 

While Pollack did discuss some of his experiences as a high-profile employee at ESPN noting his close relationship with former desk mate Rece Davis but also his experiences with other well-known game day hosts such as Kirk Herbrsteit, Desmond Howard and the avuncular Lee Corso, it feels like an opportunity was missed to expand further on some behind the scenes experiences and tribulations that could have been included in this manuscript.  

An easy-to-read book (finished in a few days) of about one hundred and eighty pages plus, Pollack and his co-author Schlabach keep it simple and light.   The chapters are short, plenty of breaks are provided and even the pages of the hard back are thick and crisp.   As expected with most athletes when writing a book, the prose is basic, that is they write the way they talk.  Nevertheless, while some of Pollard’s assertions come across as preachy the messages are mostly positive and even provocative.    It never hurts to read about how others take on life and make the most of what they have because anyone can learn from that, too.  If one believes that tough times do not last but tough people do, then David Pollards book will only help reinforce that mantra.   

 

Discussion questions to consider:

What is the difference between desire and delight?

How can we use the 50-40-10 principle to our advantage?

Why does the author argue that personal standards are more important than personal feelings?  

What are some of the personal experiences of the author that inspired him to write this book?

 

You might like to read this book if you are a fan of David Pollack.

You might like to read this book if you seek books about resilience from a Christian religious aspect.

You might like to read this book if you enjoy stories about American football players.

You might like to read this book if you covet literature featuring hope, success and self-actualization all from religious and Christianity perspective.

Read more about the author on X:   https://x.com/davidpollack47