Born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Mike Johnston has had a long and notable career coaching hockey, including coaching and assistant coaching for the Vancouver Canucks in 1999, Canada's National Men's Team, the Canada Selects, Canada's 1998 Winter Olympics team, Canada's junior team, Team Canada at the World Championships from 1995 to 1998 and again in 2007 as well as the University of New Brunswick men's Varsity Reds hockey team, where he was 1994 coach of the year. Mike was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings from 2006 to 2008 and is currently the head coach and general manager of the WHL's Portland Winter Hawks.

Ryan Walter played 15 seasons and over 1,000 games in the NHL. Drafted second overall by the Washington Capitals in 1978, he went on to win a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens and a World Championship medal with Team Canada. He finished his playing career with the Vancouver Canucks and was an assistant coach for the Canucks during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons. Ryan is an acclaimed international speaker and leadership trainer, entrepreneur and television broadcaster, and is committed to "inspiring the hungry spirit."

"...the common thread that runs through all these top coaches is their ability to overcome adversity and failure, whether it was getting fired, getting blown out in a playoff series of struggling to make ends meet while learning their craft. The successful coaches are stubborn I their beliefs and goals, and years of experience also provide insights into motivating people. So this easy-to-read volume is ultimately useful guide to budding coaches and anyone in the human potential industry." -- Canada Post, August 2009