Rondo's New Favorite Book

Rajon Rondo's favorite book, recommended by Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, is about the psychology of success and growth



Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo and assistant coach Ron Adams have regularly partnered for shooting drills, which sometimes featuring Rondo using a heavy ball (above). (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)


Print Jay King, MassLive.com By Jay King, MassLive.com
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on October 24, 2013 at 3:30 AM



http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2013/10/rajon_rondos_favorite_book_rec.html


BOSTON – Since joining the Boston Celtics, head coach Brad Stevens has explained his tendency to share books and articles that inspire him. He does it with all his players, he has said, under no illusion that everybody will appreciate the literature.

“If they want to throw it away, they can throw it away,” he once said during an interview with Jim Rome.

But not everybody throws the books away. Injured point guard Rajon Rondo said the first book Stevens recommended – "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success," by Carol Dweck – has already become his new favorite.

Given Rondo’s reputation as difficult to handle, I found the book’s subject matter quite interesting.

According to a book review featured on Amazon.com, “Dweck proposes that everyone has either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is one in which you view your talents and abilities as... well, fixed. In other words, you are who you are, your intelligence and talents are fixed, and your fate is to go through life avoiding challenge and failure. A growth mindset, on the other hand, is one in which you see yourself as fluid, a work in progress. Your fate is one of growth and opportunity. Which mindset do you possess? Dweck provides a checklist to assess yourself and shows how a particular mindset can affect all areas of your life, from business to sports and love. The good news, says Dweck, is that mindsets are not set: at any time, you can learn to use a growth mindset to achieve success and happiness.”

If he did not have one already, it appears Rondo has adopted a growth mindset. During his media session Wednesday night, he noted that the Celtics will surpass expectations as long as they “continue to grow and keep open minds.” The four-time All-Star continued to say he is “looking forward to the challenge himself,” noting that plenty of his teammates feel the same way.

Of course, Rondo might have embraced the challenge of a rebuilding process even without reading the book. He's always been competitive, maybe even indomitable. But Dweck’s words obviously impacted him.

“The first book (Stevens recommended is) my favorite book, it’s called Mindset,” said Rondo. “I recommend you guys go buy it, it’s a great book.”

The second book might not have pulled him in. Rondo said he could not remember its name, joking about Stevens’ number of suggestions: “I haven’t read this much since college.”

The point guard, who revealed a mixture of patience and resolve while sharing his uncertain plans to return to the Celtics lineup at some point in the coming regular season, tried to explain what Stevens is like as a coach.

“Brad’s not really strict, he lets you go out there and play the game,” said Rondo. “He just wants you to play every possession extremely hard and I think that’s the way I approach the game. He has an offense … pretty much loaded with things – as far as pick and roll, getting the ball into the post – whoever has it going, that’s how he coaches the game. It’ll be fun to get back in, go out there and do a little bit of what I do best. A lot of pick and roll, getting to the paint, making my teammates better and making their job easier when I come back.”

Added Rondo, “He’s a great speaker, he gave a great halftime speech today. It’s going to be a process. It’s his first season, everybody’s new. But we don’t make excuses. We try to go out there and get the job done. We didn’t have a great preseason at all, but now it’s for real. We can’t make excuses but we will show up against Toronto. Guys are going to play extremely hard.”

At least if they have the right growth mindset.




bob
MY NOTE:  It looks like all the talk about Stevens and Rondo getting along might actually be true.  That, certainly, is good news.  In fact, if you notice in his interviews, he has taken to using a lot of Stevens' pet phrases like "working hard", being "process-oriented" and "growing".


.

I've noticed that Brad often likes to kneel down while watching the action. And, invariably, he's kneeling in front of Rondo and swapping comments over his shoulder with Rajon.

Sam

It's good to see Rondo so vocal even though he isn't playing. He's taking mastery over a team that rife with new faces. That's a positive thing, he's embracing the responsibility as team leader.


KJ