Playbook for Success: Using the Lessons of Sports to Win in Everything Else

Al Flores was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, an area important in the history of America's steel production and coal mining industries, where it attracted thousands of immigrant workers, particularly from Southern and Eastern Europe. When those industries began to fade in Johnstown in the mid-1950s, Al's father and mother moved the family to the Los Angeles-area, where Al has resided ever since. Al began a fascination with the world of sports from the time he played his first Little League game at the age of nine. Though he didn't have the skills to be a professional athlete himself, Al always believed in the determined, pragmatic roadmap that successful athletes follow. And he believed the sports mindset was the right path to follow for meeting the challenges of everyday life, too. Al attended the University of Southern California, and as a journalism major his inquisitive nature blossomed. He worked his way to become editor-in-chief of the Daily Trojan, where he learned, for the first time, to manage people. After graduation, Al worked as the Sports Editor for a small weekly newspaper in Arcadia, California, before being hired into a new position in the Promotions Department at the Disneyland Resort. Al spent a long and fulfilling career at the Disneyland Resort, where he played a large role in creating a new area, Broadcast Services, in 1985, which broke new ground for Resort Marketing practices by offering a unique and proactive way to interact with television, radio, and (later) social media outlets. Al built that team from a fledgling department of five people to a valued and respected group of 108 people when he retired in 2019. Through it all, Al achieved success by combining his love of sports processes with his dedication to the Disney product. In his first book, Al offers an analysis of his 21 favorite sports principles, which he believes can outline a path to success for others, as well.