Ohio State Football Coach and Author Jim Tressel: Winner at The Game of Life

“The Pen is mightier than the sword.”

Edward Bulwer-Lytton, writer of the play Richelieu.

“If the game of life ended tonight, would you be a winner?”

This is the first sentence to Jim Tressel's book, The Winners Manual.  A statement he has dedicated his life to. 

Tressel is teaching his players and the world that to be a winner in life does not mean you have great achievements, but that you have great character.  He is not keeping these truths to himself or the football team; they are being shared in book form with all of us.

Not only is he one of the most successful coaches in college football, he is also becoming a renowned author.  The Winner’s Manual was a New York Times best-seller with over 150,000 copies in print.  His goal was to teach people what winning in life really means, and it does not mean more wins than losses. 

Tressel is about to publish another book to teach us how to be winners in the game of life.

From today's edition of the Columbus Dispatch Online and reporter Tim May: “Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and Tyndale House Publishers have collaborated again on a book, Life Promises for Success: Promises from God on Achieving Your Best. The announcement made today said the book—to retail at $9.99 and to be released March 1—is a ‘collection of inspiring readings and Bible promises designed to encourage those seeking to succeed in every area of life.’”

Jim Tressel has long espoused the belief that the highest goal for him was not to win football games, but to train people for the betterment of society. 

The Winner’s Manual is based on what he and his coaching staff do to help develop young men who play football at Ohio State.  Its first form came when he was coaching at Youngstown State, and while he's revised the manual over the years, the principles remain the same.  

Tressel teaches his players principles about life.  For example, life is more than football; character is what makes a person great, not money, fame or power; and giving back to society is one of the most important things one can do.

He teaches that a life of purpose is based on Personal/Family relationships, Spiritual/Moral beliefs and values, and Caring/Giving back to people. He applies this by having goals for one's purpose: Strength/Fitness, Football/Family, and Academics/Career.  Our purpose can be achieved if we cultivate the values of work, discipline, and responsibility.

He acknowledges a spiritual dimension of a person by discussing faith, belief, and hope.  Tressel has publicly stated that he has faith in Jesus Christ and acknowledged that for one to truly experience life, the spiritual dimension must be cultivated.

Jim Tressel is showing that nice guys don't always finish last, but can indeed finish first.  He has lived his life with the values to make society a better place by giving back to humankind. 

Whether it is visiting hospitals, making speeches at functions, mentoring his players, Tressel has made a contribution to society and is a role model for us to follow. 

If the game of life ended tonight for him, he would be a winner and he wants to make sure that all of us are winners, too.