Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance
Advice and Inspiration from the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame Coach of 7 NCAA Championship Teams
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Narrated by:
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Valorie Kondos Field
About this listen
Highly acclaimed UCLA women's gymnastics Coach Valorie Kondos Field shares insights on how to use uniqueness and authenticity to achieve success.
How did a professional ballerina become one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history? Valorie Kondos Field - or Miss Val, as she's affectionately known - has never even tumbled, flipped, or ever played any type of organized sports, and yet she has been able to craft a legendary coaching career through curiosity, creativity, attention to detail, and unwavering care for the overall well-being of her athletes. For Miss Val, it's not about the X's and O's, it's about choreographing your life and owning the choices you make.
Miss Val has shaped her UCLA gymnastics program as a life-skills class, and now she's sharing those lessons with you, whether you're an athlete, business leader, or simply someone who wants to own his or her destiny. Miss Val's philosophies are timeless. Her coaching style is unorthodox. Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance is a thought-provoking, fun journey through the personal stories and anecdotes of the 35-year career of a dancer/choreographer turned athletic coach. Included are Miss Val's favorite memories she experienced with her mentor, legendary Coach John Wooden; as well as some of her most unforgettable stories of the Olympians and student-athletes she's coached. In 2014, Miss Val was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she explains how she made it one of the best years of her life - really!
Miss Val reveals how her head-coaching journey started off disastrously, spending years mimicking other top coaches while her team suffered because of her lack of authenticity. In time, she realized being a gymnastics immigrant wasn't a detriment, it was a gift. When she embraced and honed her own uniqueness, Miss Val led her Bruins to six NCAA championships and became one of only two active coaches to ever be inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2016, Miss Val was named Pac-12 "Gymnastics Coach of the Century".
Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance is packed with brutally honest advice delivered in an inspirational tone for which Miss Val is known. Did we mention she's a ballerina who's never played sports?
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Valorie Kondos Field (P)2018 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"It's really easy to give up when things are not going your way, or when things are challenging, or when you have adversity or struggle, but she always stays positive." (Nastia Liukin, Olympic gold medalist)
"Miss Val's coaching technique really appealed to me because it was very different than elite gymnastics. She always reminds me before meets, never take life for granted and to cherish every moment." (Simone Biles, four-time Olympic gold medalist)
"Miss Val is a force of nature. Her journey to the top is a riveting story. Her demand for personal excellence and her ability to create belief in her student athletes provides for a great read and success model for all." (Sue Enquist, founder of ONE Softball, former UCLA head softball coach, 11-time national champion)
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Nothing Changes Until You Do
- A Guide to Self-Compassion and Getting Out of Your Own Way
- By: Mike Robbins
- Narrated by: Mike Robbins
- Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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After three years of living his dream as a professional baseball pitcher, Mike Robbins had an arm injury that benched him for good, and when this happened, he had to figure out who he was without the identity of "baseball player" - a process fraught with emotional highs and lows. He quickly realized that the self-criticism and self-doubt he was feeling are epidemic in our culture. Too often we base our value on our external world - our jobs, finances, appearance, or various other factors.
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20% Inspiration, 80% Biography
- By Troy on 04-27-15
By: Mike Robbins
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A Game Plan For Life: The Power of Mentoring
- By: John Wooden, Don Yeager, John Maxwelll
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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After eight books, many of them best sellers, A Game Plan for Life is the one closest to John Woodens heart: a moving and inspirational guide to the power of mentorship. The first half focuses on the people who helped foster the values that carried Wooden through an incredibly successful and famously principled career, including his college coach, his wife, Abraham Lincoln, and Mother Teresa.
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Great!
- By David on 04-01-15
By: John Wooden, and others
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Beyond Basketball
- Coach K's Keywords for Success
- By: Mike Krzyzewski, Jamie K. Spatola
- Narrated by: Mike Krzyzewski
- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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For Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Duke University men's basketball team, certain words have special importance and force. Coach K uses them every day to energize, motivate, and teach his players how to be winners on the court and in every aspect of their lives. Now, in Beyond Basketball, he offers 40 short, hard-hitting audio essays that will educate and inspire. Each is centered on an important keyword and illustrated with anecdotes from his personal experiences.
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A little disjointed
- By Cathy Morison on 11-22-11
By: Mike Krzyzewski, and others
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Failing Up
- How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning
- By: Leslie Odom Jr.
- Narrated by: Leslie Odom Jr.
- Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Leslie Odom Jr. burst on the scene in 2015, originating the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical phenomenon Hamilton. Since then he has performed for sold-out audiences, sung for the Obamas at the White House, and won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. But before he landed the role of a lifetime in one of the biggest musicals of all time, Odom put in years of hard work as a singer and an actor.
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When you take one step, the universe takes two
- By Amy Aguilar on 04-11-18
By: Leslie Odom Jr.
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Attitude is Everything
- 10 Life-Changing Steps to Turning Attitude into Action
- By: Keith Harrell
- Narrated by: Keith Harrell
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
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Keith Harrell has been taking the corporate lecture circuit - and the media - by storm, and is poised to take his place among the motivational greats of the world. At six feet six inches, 43-year-old Harrell has the charisma of Tony Robbins, the intellect of Stephen Covey and the looks of Stedman Graham. He regularly inspires Fortune 500 companies with a 100% satisfaction rate. His message is simple yet powerful: Attitude, whether positive or negative, has the power to impact on an organization’s or individual's success.
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Could be better...
- By Jimyster on 09-03-06
By: Keith Harrell
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Above All Else
- A World Champion Skydiver's Story of Survival and What It Taught Him About Fear, Adversity, and Success
- By: Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld
- Narrated by: Nicholas Tecosky
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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World-famous competitive skydiver and coach Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld presents proven tools and techniques for success and explains how they can be used in everyday life. Dan survived a plane crash from which 16 of the 22 people on board were killed. He was left critically injured and woke up from a six-week-long coma with a broken neck, broken skull, severe head trauma, a collapsed lung, and other serious internal injuries. Against all odds, Dan recovered and went on to become one of the greatest competitive skydiver in the world.
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Great story of hard work, tragedy & accomplishment
- By Chris D. Alstrand on 07-07-23
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Off Balance
- A Memoir
- By: Dominique Moceanu, Paul Williams, Teri Williams
- Narrated by: Dominique Moceanu
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In this searing and riveting New York Times best seller, Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu reveals the dark underbelly of Olympic gymnastics, the true price of success…and the shocking secret about her past and her family that she only learned years later.
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Heartbreaking and inspiring
- By Leslie on 04-22-16
By: Dominique Moceanu, and others
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Empower
- Conquering the Disease of Fear
- By: Tareq Azim, Seth Davis
- Narrated by: Tareq Azim, Cary Hite - Introduction
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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From finding common ground with warlords, introducing the Taliban to change, and working with NFL greats such as Marshawn Lynch, this uplifting memoir and “study of resilience” (General Paul Selva, United States Air Force) from coach and personal development expert, Tareq Azim, will help you build a relationship with fear and embrace your own power.
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Beyond Proud.
- By Sophia A. on 09-12-24
By: Tareq Azim, and others
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Breaking Free
- My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder
- By: Herschel Walker
- Narrated by: Andre Teamer
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In Breaking Free, Herschel tells his story - from the joys and hardships of childhood to his explosive impact on college football to his remarkable professional career. And he gives voice and hope to those suffering from DID. Herschel shows how this disorder played an integral role in his accomplishments and how he has learned to live with it today. His compelling account testifies to the strength of the human spirit and its ability to overcome any challenge.
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For Sports Fans Only
- By Karen P. Smith on 04-07-11
By: Herschel Walker
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Show Up for Your Life
- What the Girl You'll Be Tomorrow Wants You to Know Today
- By: Jamie Grace - foreword, Chrystal Evans Evans Hurst
- Narrated by: Chrystal Evans Hurst
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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From popular author Chrystal Evans Hurst comes Show Up for Your Life, a topical YA book that empowers listeners and reminds individuals who they are in God’s eyes. Chrystal keeps it real, exploring the daily ups and downs of life as a young adult today. Listeners will discover how to shift their focus from everyday moments gone wrong to a mindset that celebrates the simple yet beautiful things in life.
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I’m Not a teenager
- By Amazon Customer on 03-15-19
By: Jamie Grace - foreword, and others
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The Secret Society of Success
- Stop Chasing the Spotlight and Learn to Enjoy Your Work (and Life) Again
- By: Tim Schurrer, Donald Miller
- Narrated by: Tim Schurrer
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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There’s a message getting a lot of airtime these days. It says to be successful, you have to step into the spotlight, climb the ladder, become the boss, or chase whatever version of success that’s been dangled in front of you.
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This book helped me reframe a career transition
- By Jeff on 06-13-22
By: Tim Schurrer, and others
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Hell Week
- Seven Days to Be Your Best Self
- By: Erik Bertrand Larssen
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Norway native Erik Bertrand Larssen is many things: a veteran paratrooper who served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Afghanistan; a successful entrepreneur; and a critically acclaimed performance consultant. He has helped catapult the success of countless high-achievers, including Microsoft, Boston Consulting Group, and Statoil ASA executives. His life-altering and revered method improves performance by getting people to push themselves past the brink of self-imposed limitations.
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very practical
- By Sam on 08-27-16
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Fierce
- How Competing for Myself Changed Everything
- By: Aly Raisman
- Narrated by: Natalie Roy Camargo, Aly Raisman
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Discover Aly Raisman's inspiring story of dedication, perseverance, and learning to think positive even in the toughest times on her path to gold medal success in two Olympic Games - and beyond. Aly Raisman first stepped onto a gymnastics mat as a toddler in a "mommy and me" gymnastics class. No one could have predicted then that 16 years later, she'd be standing on an Olympic podium, having achieved her dreams.
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Excellent gymnastics memoir
- By Brittany Cook on 11-21-17
By: Aly Raisman
What listeners say about Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J Parker Adair
- 02-03-23
Fantastic for any coach, gymnast, dancer, or fan
As a longtime coach of sports other than gymnastics, I wasn’t sure how I would like Miss Val’s book. It takes us through her experience as a new coach (trying to find her style), a multi-time national champion, and someone who has lived through cancer. She draws on her relationship with legendary coach, John Wooden, and fans of Coach will recognize some Woodenisms in the book. Miss Val reads her own book, which brings her experiences to life. Plus, you get to hear her rap!
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-27-20
Great book
This is a good book for everyone looking for a positive way to look at life. Thanks Val!
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- Had's Dad
- 02-22-20
Wonderful and inspiring
Loved this book and the author. It’s super educational in how to lead a life with gratitude and positive mentoring!
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- Aleksandra
- 03-27-19
Amazing book!!
I listened this book 3 times in a row and I loved it! This is where you find inspiration, joy and reasons to smile!
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- Laurie
- 06-07-21
Breath of Fresh Air
Wow….the perspective and passion Ms Val brings to both sport and life is just amazing. Wonderful read that shares so many lessons and techniques that any person or team can incorporate to their daily lives. A must read.
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- A. Zitelli
- 03-12-19
Delightful story
This was a wonderful story of true life that I will tell everyone to read or listen to. I saw an interview with Valerie which made me want to listen to her book after reading an article about the team in the Orange County Register and seeing on of her team members on YouTube.
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- Food Fan
- 01-26-20
Loved listening to Val narrate her stories and les
It's like having a long time mentor hang out with you and share about her life lessons, what worked, and what didn't. It's not so much about dance per se, but about her career journey & leadership philosophy as former UCLA gymnastics championship coach. 🤸♀️
She narrates her personal stories to illustrate lots of great nuggets about being a leader (relevant in sports & business), instilling camraderie among team members, while encourage each individual to find their own self to shine & the value of creativity. Also personal development lessons like taking ownership of your choices and happiness in life. 🤝
I especially like how she encourage each team member to find joy in what they do & to truly care for other team members. It's really refreshing perspective (in contrast to toxic leaders that are slave drivers &/or those who deliberately pit team members against each other)
This was a fun, inspiring, and informative book that I highly recommend -- especially the Audible audiobook narrated by her. It feels like you're just hanging out with her at coffee as she tells you about her life and lessons learned along the way.
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- T
- 06-26-20
Thank you!
An amaizing book!!! Thank you Miss Val!!! It was truly a blessing! Money wirth spending!!
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- Tricia u
- 03-18-19
Authentically Miss Val
Miss Val is a good friend and mentor of my son. As such I have heard a lot about her and her philosophies. Everything I thought I knew and more is confirmed having read this book. Thank you for sharing your light, your zest for life and your indomitable spirit with the rest of the world. You are an inspiration.
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- Amanda Bender
- 03-06-19
Words we can all live by
A fantastic audiobook worthwhile to anyone looking to improve their effectiveness and perspectives in life.
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