Mitch Albom is a best-selling author, television commentator, newspaper columnist, and radio host. The Mitch Albom Show—nationally syndicated for ABC radio—combines wit, opinion, news, and music with big name interviews. A Philadelphia native, Mitch graduated from Brandeis University with a sociology degree and earned master’s degrees in journalism and business administration from Columbia University.
Mitch has written several books, including Tuesdays with Morrie, which is not only a New York Times bestseller but also one in Japan, Australia, Brazil, and England. There are more than five million copies now in print. The book was made into an Emmy Award-winning television movie for ABC, produced by Oprah Winfrey and starring Jack Lemmon. The movie earned four Emmy Awards.
Mitch has also done hundreds of speaking engagements for various corporate, professional, and charitable organizations. He is a panelist on ESPN's Sports Reporters and for 12 years, has been named the #1 sports columnist in the nation by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the highest honor in his field. He has received more than 100 writing awards during his career.
Mitch has founded two charities in the metropolitan Detroit area: “The Dream Fund” and “A Time To Help.” His sports columns appear 3-4 times per week in the Detroit Free Press, and his work has appeared in numerous other national and international publications, including Sports Illustrated, GQ, and USA Today. Mitch has been profiled by ABC, NBC, CBS, and ESPN and has twice served as a network Olympic commentator.
• The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.
• The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.
• So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.
• Here is how we are different from those wonderful plants and animals. As long as we can love each other and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here. Death ends a life, not a relationship.
The best way to get started with Mitch Albom is to read his book, Tuesday with Morrie. The book is the true story about the connection between a spiritual mentor (Morrie Schwartz) and his student (Mitch). It begins by introducing an aging college professor and continues by recounting the last months of his life.
Mitch describes his old professor as a “cross between a biblical prophet and Christmas elf.” Morrie was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig’s disease, an illness of the neurological system that had no cure. His days were numbered.
Mitch and Morrie’s dialogue is the subject of this emotionally stirring book in which Morrie discusses life, regrets, aging, love, and death. He offers his wisdom through short truths that have great impact. It would be difficult not be touched by this book.
I have been asked if Mitch Albom is really a Self Improvement Expert. His wisdom and knowledge come from Morrie Schwartz. Shouldn’t Morrie be the expert then? In a sense, the answer is yes, but Mitch is the one that we need to credit for spreading Morrie’s wisdom. Even though Mitch is primarily a sports writer, he enabled Morrie’s story and perceptions to be shared with the world.