Taking the Lead: Lessons from a Life in Motion

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Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — Taking the Lead by Derek Hough. Lessons from a Life in Motion by Derek Hough. For eleven seasons, millions of people have tuned in to Dancing with the St Derek Hough, the dashing Emmy Award-winning fan favorite, and only four-time champion of the hit ABC reality show Dancing With the Stars , tells the inspiring story of his life and career, and shares insider tips of how he transforms his celebrity dance partners into confident, charismatic champions.

Kindle Edition , pages. Published August 5th by William Morrow first published January 1st To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Taking the Lead , please sign up.

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Why didn't Derek mention Bindi Irwin in his book? Koren Book was published in Bindi was on Dancing in See 1 question about Taking the Lead…. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Words of wisdom from The Celebrity Whisperer. If you've watched the popular reality competition, Dancing with the Stars , then you're aware of Derek Hough.

He is an extraordinarily gifted dancer and award-winning choreographer.

But that's not all he is. Hough also possesses a virtually preternatural skill for pulling remarkable performances out of skittish famous people. Actors, singers, comedians, athletes - those who, for the most part, got skunked by an agent into signing on - find their fe Words of wisdom from The Celebrity Whisperer.

Actors, singers, comedians, athletes - those who, for the most part, got skunked by an agent into signing on - find their fear pretty quickly when tossed a pair of ballroom shoes and told to lace them up. The network knows, of course, that pairing a crew of highly-competitive and devoutly narcissistic professional dancers with a group of insecure, B-list celebrities looking to increase their exposure is a recipe for a delightful amount of melodramatic disaster and there are meltdowns every single week. Yet as the many seasons of this program have unfolded, Derek Hough has emerged as the coach among coaches; the fierce and fiercely-compassionate pro-of-choice to lure your inner butterfly from its imprisoning chrysalis.

It was only a matter of time before Mr. Hough's advisors nudged him toward the writing of this book. The pleasant surprise here is how earnestly he's taken up the challenge. A dancer's chosen mode of expression is bodily movement. The written word is a secondary means of communication for him and, as such, will not convey his ideas as effectively as the one he's made his life's work. He knows this, every dancer knows this, but he gives it his best shot anyway and has produced a perfectly respectable sketch of an autobiography enhanced with motivational strategies that have proven helpful to him over time.

The best way to gain a better acquaintance with Derek Hough is not through reading this book. It's to experience his dancing. That's where and how he's going to tell you all you could ever wish to know - and likely knock your socks off in the process. View all 4 comments.

Derek Hough's 'Taking the Lead': 'DWTS' Pro Reveals Life Lessons in New Book

Aug 24, Cheryl rated it liked it. Of course like any one else in the world, I am familiar with who Derek Hough is. So I wanted to read this book. First off what I learned but already knew is that Derek is humble, kind, a hard-worker, and talented.

In essence, Derek is just like the person you see on television. This is so refreshing. A big part of this comes from his family upbringing. For example there was a quote by his mother that I liked: You can be a garageman, a mechanic, a plumber-whatever you want! Just be the best at it. One lesson at a time. It was nice to read all of the different people share their experience being and working with Derek.

Of course, if you are a fan of DWTS and are looking for some juicy gossip, you will be disappointed. This is not that type of book. Feb 14, Mediaman rated it it was ok. This should have been a great book but instead it's Hough's really dull retelling of his successes, filled with all sorts of bragging and very little insight into himself or his life. Yes, he admits that he's hyper and a bit of a rebel. But he doesn't go into any depth about his upbringing, his Mormonism, his rebellion, his living away from his parents in England at age 11, etc.

This guy must have a fascinating story but you won't find it here. He tries really, really hard to "inspire" with littl This should have been a great book but instead it's Hough's really dull retelling of his successes, filled with all sorts of bragging and very little insight into himself or his life. He tries really, really hard to "inspire" with little summaries at the end of each chapter meant to "teach" you something from his life. The problem is that almost all that he says is trite and he hasn't given any depth to stories to back up what he has learned.

There are only so many times you can hear him talk about how he was sick or injured, yet somehow pulled through to win the world ballroom championship or win Dancing With the Stars! That's the whole book, over and over. Looking for anything about his beliefs in Mormonism? You won't find it here. Instead he preaches Eckhart Tolle! Looking for an explanation of how parents can let an year-old boy and 9-year-old girl live in England with unrelated strangers?

Nope--other than him saying how devastated he was by his parents divorce he acts like riding the London subway by himself late at night as a little kid is normal! Looking for anything about how he and his sister really get along? You won't find it here--he claims they always love and support each other! Looking for any idea about his sexual experiences or even preferences? You won't find that here either. He doesn't have anything in the book about dating and only makes passing references to thinking some of his teen dance partners were pretty.

In the end it's not inspirational at all. It does prove that a hyperactive rebel who is allowed to live a world away from his parents at age 11 can turn into a success without much education. But I'm not sure that can inspire the average reader. Aug 06, Beverlee rated it liked it Shelves: This little book was a pretty good read, better than I'd actually expected. It was straightforward and plainly written, very appropriate for this story. Derek Hough, for a man not yet 30, is an introspective thinker and that leads him toward his perceptions and how he acts on them.

It feels a little peculiar to read the lessons he's learned because at first glance he doesn't appear to be someone who has had time to have learned so many lessons. But he makes a good case for each, and seems totall This little book was a pretty good read, better than I'd actually expected.

But he makes a good case for each, and seems totally sincere when he shares them. I enjoyed the book. Sep 22, Colleen Houck added it Shelves: This was such an easy and fun read. I love watching Derek and getting to meet him on the Move tour was an awesome experience.

He's an inspiring teacher and an inspiring writer. Lessons from a Life in Motion has reignited a fire within me to dream new dreams, view obstacles in a positive light, and creatively overcome challenges. You can find passion in many small ways, on a day to day to day basis. It weighs you down, it holds you back, and you start to lose respect for yourself. Opening up to someone is the ultimate act of courage and faith.

Start moving and keep moving. Align yourself with your fear and use it to propel you to progress. How do you handle yours? Do you let them hold you back? Aug 28, Elizabeth rated it it was ok Shelves: I honestly just picked this up to annoy my friend Nikki, who is not the world's biggest Derek Hough fan, and then somehow found myself reading the whole darn thing. There is nothing bad about the book per se - it's just not particularly good, either.

It's just the working definition of bland. I don't fault Hough for the lack of depth - I just don't get the sense that he has fully internalized many of the "life lessons" he tries to impart to his readers. Probably only a good choice for die-hard D I honestly just picked this up to annoy my friend Nikki, who is not the world's biggest Derek Hough fan, and then somehow found myself reading the whole darn thing.

Jul 24, Elizabeth rated it really liked it. As a lifelong fan of ballroom dance, this book was a pleasure to read. But even more so because Derek Hough comes across as a genuinely happy guy and I wanted to learn more about what drives and inspires him. I would like an updated book with a chapter on Bindi Irwin, because it was clear that partnership fed off positive, unbridled enthusiasm! Derek has learned the power of NOW nod to Eckhart Tolle and the immense joy found in serving others and helping them succeed. I appreciated the numerou As a lifelong fan of ballroom dance, this book was a pleasure to read.

I appreciated the numerous life lessons in this book. My respect for Derek increased tenfold. It was surprisingly well written, and interesting, although I would have preferred more "behind the scenes" details, which were lacking. Loved the early stories of young Derek growing up in Utah and then London. His relationships with his family and friends and the glimpse into his DWTS partners. Reading it you know why he's a winner. Positive mind set, flexibility and taking charge to overcoming obstacles for himself and his partners.

I would love to let him lead me on the dance floor. Aug 17, DonnaJo Jo Pallini rated it really liked it. Always love to watch Derek dance with his positive attitude. Oct 14, Mary rated it liked it. This book was fun to read because not only is Derek funny, but I am a dancer so it was easy to relate to all of his dancing stories he shared. This was a quick easy read and I loved all his motivational quotes and life lessons. I enjoyed his positive outlook and how he approaches those around him with love.

It also kind of made me want to go sky diving and then go chase after my dreams. I appreciated how honest he was and that he shared some low points and embarrassing moments in his life. Overa This book was fun to read because not only is Derek funny, but I am a dancer so it was easy to relate to all of his dancing stories he shared. Overall it was a fun little read.

Sep 18, Adriana M rated it liked it Shelves: I was very interested in reading this book when I saw this at a book store. I am a dancer and had known who Derek Hough was. I really look up to all his work he has created and how well of a dancer he is through different varieties of dance. His choreography is exceptional and his creations are so moving. I wanted to learn more about how he became a dancer and what it took for him to be known around the world.

This book is all about how Derek Hough grew up and eventually became one of the top I was very interested in reading this book when I saw this at a book store. This book is all about how Derek Hough grew up and eventually became one of the top ballroom dancers in the world. This did happen very quickly to Derek. He grew up in Utah with four sisters.

His sisters would always be at dance class except for him. One day he tried dance, and eventually fell in love with the sport. He was bullied as a kid and shared many stories of how this made him always feel depressed. It eventually made him skip school and dance classes. His parents did not know at the time and recently found out right before this book came out. It was very moving to read and all the struggles he had faced and changing schools several times because of this.

One day something changed, the Ballas family came to his dance studio to teach a class for a period of time. Shirley and Corky Ballas saw something special in Derek. They were world champion ballroom dancers and had won many other titles as well. They offered to have Derek come back to England and train with them. He stayed with the Ballas family in England to add to his dance abilities and train hard to win many titles.

They also had a son named Mark, that was about the same age as Derek. How difficult was it during the first few seasons of "Dancing with the Stars" when you were competing against Mark and Julianne? Those days, it was hard-core competition. This felt a little more like fun competition for us.

Obviously being on national TV, we want to avoid these fashion emergencies, so the women wear these things called pasties. Who has been your favorite guest judge so far on "DWTS" and why? Have you ever had to change a dance last minute? Amber is a great example. There was a move where she was supposed to grab me and I did a backflip. In rehearsal, I knocked her in the head. It made her too nervous, so we took it out right before we went onstage to perform it. I used to be very set in my routines, but experience has taught me that you have to be able to change things at the drop of hat to get it done.

Do you hang out with the "DWTS" pros after the show? Are you guys friends? We definitely all get along and support one another, out and about. At the premiere of my movie, Val came to the after party. Val could sense how uncomfortable I was and he knows how self-critical I am. Are you gonna win an Oscar for it? I keep all of mine downstairs in my office tucked away on some shelves. Who comes up with those crazy team names—and what has been your favorite? You have the gift of bringing out the absolute best in your partner, no matter who she is.

Any tips for the rest of us? How can we learn to bring out the best in our own partners? I will choreograph the dance, building on that natural ability. Appreciate what makes them unique and special. You have a lot of great motivational quotes, but is there one book that is your favorite? A saying that you always live by? I was living so much in the future and had such anxiety, and that book came along and those four words were life-changing.

In the midst of all the success that you have encountered, how have you managed to remain so normal and genuine? How do you not let fame get to your head? My family definitely keeps me grounded. Nobody is any better than anybody else. Everyone has a song that hits them at an important time in their life. Every time I hear it, I feel hopeful. It reminds me of dusk. It makes me feel happy to be alive. Do you have a bucket list? And if so, what are some of the things on that list? My bucket list is never-ending! I want to get my Indiana Jones hat on and travel the world. I want to try cave diving—kind of like scuba diving, but you go into these massive caves underwater with a flashlight.

It would be terrifying, but incredible. From the book Taking the Lead: Play Taking the Lead. Kate Hudson is Weight Watchers' newest ambassador.

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