Row the Boat: A Never-Give-Up Approach to Lead with Enthusiasm and Optimism and Improve Your Team and Culture

Sharing proven principles and lessons from his experiences building winning teams and programs, transformational coach P.J. Fleck, as told to bestselling author Jon Gordon, shares how to conquer life’s challenges and inspire those around you. Row the Boat shows you how to choose enthusiasm and optimism as your guiding lights instead of being defined by circumstances and events outside of your control.

Discover how to put the “row the boat” components into practice in your life and team:

The Oar: The energy. Only you can dictate whether your oar is in the water or whether you take it out and decide not to use it.
The Boat: The sacrifice. The more you give, serve, and make your life about helping others, the better and more fulfilled your life will be, and the bigger your boat gets.
The Compass: The direction. The vision you have for your life and the people you surround yourself with help create the dream of where you want to go.

Perfect for athletes, coaches, business leaders, and anyone else who hopes to squeeze a little more enjoyment and productivity out of life, Row the Boat will propel leaders, teams, and organizations to go farther, faster, together.

From the Back Cover
Praise for Row the Boat

“Row the Boat is a masterful introduction manual for making the most of life. P.J. Fleck teaches us how to handle adversity, triumph over tragedy, conquer our doubts, and grow from our failures. With wit, honesty, and intrigue, we learn how to be the captain of life’s voyage.”
—MARIA TAYLOR, ESPN analyst & host

“P.J. Fleck is a fantastic football coach. He has turned around two major college programs in historic fashion. But Row the Boat is about more than just football. It’s a philosophy of life that leads people to success. Reading this will give you an insight into what it takes to be a winner not only in sports but in life.”
—TONY DUNGY, Super Bowl XLI Champion as Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts & Pro Football Hall of Famer

“P.J. Fleck has a passion in ALL that he does, and his results on and off the field are extraordinary. This great read outlines the passions that it takes to reach your full potential, and to always ‘row the boat.’ Get in the boat. P.J. is going to take you on a trip of a lifetime and assist your journey to greatness.”
—JIM TRESSEL, 3-time AFCA Coach of the Year, 2002 National Championship Head Coach, & Current President of Youngstown State University

About the Author
JON GORDON has inspired millions of readers around the world. He is the author of 25 books, including five children’s books and eleven best-sellers: The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, Training Camp, You Win in the Locker Room First, The Power of Positive Leadership, The Power of a Positive Team, The Coffee Bean, Stay Positive, The Garden, Relationship Grit, and Stick Together. He is passionate about developing positive leaders, organizations, and teams. Visit him at JonGordon.com.

P.J. FLECK is the head football coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Formerly the head football coach of the Western Michigan Broncos, he also played as a wide receiver for Northern Illinois University and the San Francisco 49ers. Visit rowtheboat.org for more information and to support the foundation. In Row the Boat, Minnesota Golden Gophers Head Coach P.J. Fleck and bestselling author Jon Gordon deliver an inspiring message about what you can achieve when you approach life with a never-give-up philosophy. The book shows you how to choose enthusiasm and optimism as your guiding lights instead of being defined by circumstances and events outside of your control.

Discover how to put the three key components of row the boat into practice in your life:

The Oar: The energy. Only you can dictate whether your oar is in the water or whether you take it out and decide not to use it.
The Boat: The sacrifice. The more you give, serve, and make your life about helping others, the better and more fulfilled your life will be, and the bigger your boat gets.
The Compass: The direction. The vision you have for your life and the people you surround yourself with help create the dream of where you want to go.
Perfect for athletes, coaches, business leaders, and anyone else who hopes to squeeze a little more enjoyment and productivity out of life, Row the Boat will propel leaders, teams, and organizations to greater heights than they have ever reached before.