If there is one tribe of authors which is expanding exponentially, it is of those churning out motivational books. Every self-help book writer believes he/she has something radically different to say, but most of the books end up saying the same things. So, it was with scepticism running high that I picked up this book by Prakash Iyer, Managing Director of Kimberly-Clark Lever, who is also a motivational speaker and a leadership coach.

The contents page only increased my scepticism. The chapter headings were predictable: Vision and Goals, Self-Belief, Perseverance, Winner's Mindset, Hard Work, and so on. Still, reading it provided a wealth of anecdotes about successful people, mostly sportspersons, which were indeed interesting. Moreover, many of them were about people who are not too well known in this part of the world. The anecdotes are in fact the book's biggest strength.

The best is the story of Kroly Takcs, a Hungarian pistol shooter, which illustrates the power of inner strength. An army sergeant and the country's top shooter, Takcs was the favourite to win the gold medal at the 1940 Tokyo Olympics. But tragedy struck when a hand grenade, exploding by accident, blew away his right (shooting) hand. Instead of focusing on what he had lost, he began practising to shoot with his left hand. Within a year of losing the right hand, he won the national championship, and at the 1948 London Olympics, he finally struck gold.

Then there is the anecdote about Roger Bannister, the first athlete, in 1954, to run a mile in less than four minutes - a feat considered physically impossible till then. Once Bannister broke the four-minute barrier, 16 other runners went on to do the same by 1957. Iyer uses this incident to illustrate the fact that barriers, at most times, are mental and once they are broken, greater achievements are possible.

There is also the instance of how Tyrone Bogues, one of the most successful players in the history of the US's National Basketball Association (NBA) ignored his weakness (lack of height) and focused on his strengths (speed, stamina and explosiveness on the court). Also, how swimming sensation Michael Phelps overcame a broken wrist to win an unparalleled eight medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

But Iyer does not hide his passion for cricket either and there are plenty of examples involving Sachin Tendulkar, Waugh brothers Steve and Mark, Anil Kumble and many more from the cricketing world.

There are also a few interesting insights from outside the world of sports, such as the one about Jack Ma, founder of alibaba.com, the world's largest B2B portal. Ma said there were many rabbits (opportunities) running around when he began to work on alibaba.com, but he focused only on the portal and succeeded. "If you try to catch them all, you may end up with none," Iyer writes.

The anecdote about Chinese bamboo is particularly relevant in the current business scenario. This tree, Iyer writes, grows to a height of 80 feet. For the first 60 months, however, all the growth is below the surface - where the tree creates an extensive root system - and hence invisible. In the next 90 days, it becomes as tall as an eight-storied building. Long-term sustainable success does take time.

The narration is simple. Most chapters do not exceed two or three pages. A few anecdotes are not strong enough and could well have been dropped. That would have made the book more gripping.