Most of us watched the Super Bowl from our family room couches. But Ben Newman was much closer to the action. As the special guest of New England Patriots running back Jonas Gray, he sat with the player’s family at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Newman is a best-selling author, motivational speaker and performance coach whose latest book, Leave YOUR Legacy: The Power to Unleash Your Greatness, hits the shelves March 3. Gray and Washington Redskins linebacker Will Compton are just two among many pro athletes, Fortune 500 business executives, and other high-powered individuals who rely on Newman’s books, boot camps, teleseminars and coaching sessions for inspiration. “Clients like Jonas and Will are like family to me,” he says. His last book, Own YOUR Success, was ranked by CEO READ as one of the top business books of 2012, and the Napoleon Hill Foundation recognizes him as one of the world’s most in-demand speakers and thought leaders. His client list includes the United States Army, MARS Snackfoods, Boys & Girls Club of America, the St. Louis Cardinals and other pro teams, and Northwestern Mutual and other major insurance companies.
He grew up in Ladue, mourning the mother he lost when he was barely 8 years old. Janet Fishman Newman was only 38 when she died. “She left behind a journal she kept during her illness,” he recalls. “One of the many things I learned from the courage and wisdom in those pages is that our circumstances in life are much less significant than our responses to them. She taught me that it was possible to live like a champion despite great adversity. I now share that message with others.”
Newman is driven by a strong sense of purpose. “My mission in life is to educate, inspire and empower as many individuals as I can to discover their passions, dreams and potential, so they can seek a greater vision for themselves,” he explains. “I help them identify the process by which they can achieve personal and professional success.”
Leave YOUR Legacy, written in the form of a fable, shows readers how to progress from ordinary to exceptional by discovering their purpose. “The book illuminates the actions needed to create substantial, lasting change in your life,” Newman says. “It follows the main character, Pierce, on the ups and downs of his journey to greatness, from the first, shaky steps of initiating change and resisting old behaviors to reframing his thoughts and actions.
Eventually, he comes to understand his legacy.” And what is Newman’s legacy? “My mother’s strength lives on through me, through my family, and through the work I do,” he says. “You don’t have to win the Super Bowl to be a champion, but you can work toward greatness in your own way. When you strive for excellence, you inspire excellence in others. That’s the lesson my wife, Ami, and I are teaching our children, Isaac and Kennedy Rose—just like my mother taught me.”
Pictured: Ben Newman and Jonas Gray
Photo Courtesy of Ben Newman
[Ben Newman’s latest book, Leave YOUR Legacy : The Power to Unleash Your Greatness, is available at amazon.com. For more information, contact info@bennewman.net or follow him on twitter @continuedfight.]
