Lance Allred the official website of the Lance Allred who is not the professional Poker player

Goodbye, my Friend-

My former teammate at Weber, Brad Barton died yesterday, from what is believed to be a diabetic seizure. He was currently head coach at Eastern Utah after leading them to a 23-7 record last year as an interim coach. Brad was one of my all-time favorite teammates, and I only got to play with him during my redshirt year at Weber. I had always wished I could have had an actual season to play alongside of him. I have always said that to this day, if I was in charge of putting together a pro basketball team, Brad Barton would have been my first pick. No one played harder, nor smarter than Brad Barton. By far the most intelligent teammate I have ever had, who understood every little thing about basketball. As well, he was the only man I that I have met, that have never been able to beat in a game of chess.
But more than that, he was the hardest working player I ever saw. It was inspiring.
Simply put, he was the most beautiful basketball player I have ever seen.
Before every game, his senior year, he and I would recite Dylan Thomas' "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." It seems more fitting now than it ever has been. Whatever gods may be, took him far too soon. I will miss my friend.

Basketball Gods: The Transformation of the Enlightened Jock

The sequel to the critically acclaimed memoir, Longshot, Lance Allred returns with, Basketball Gods: The Transformation of the Enlightened Jock, where his story left off in 2008, sharing his time and experiences in the NBA as well as dealing with a major publisher for his first book, while life continues to take him around the world through the game of basketball, challenging his dreams and reality at every turn. Much to his disillusionment, he discovers that reality seldom lives up to our fantasies, especially in these hard financial times that have been felt by everyone, even professional athletes.

Basketball Gods is a book about acceptance, about picking up the pieces as you go along, while providing insight into the supposedly glamorous world of professional sports. It is a story about basketball. A story about spirituality, as well as forgiveness. Most importantly, it is a story about life.

Now Available-

For print copy in hardback or paperback visit my lulu site:

Enter coupon code BIG305 to save 20% off either purchase.

(Both books in 8"x11" formatting, using fewer but bigger pages to cut down on printing costs.)

Digital Downloads:

Purchase directly through Amazon Kindle-

Purchase directly through Nook/B&N-

For direct downloads from my site, please to don't be afraid to ask for help with any issue. Only a handful of buyers have had download issues, which have been quickly resolved, and I am more than happy to continue to assist in any potential problems.

Basketball Gods Audiobook $1.79

Basketball Gods Epub File to work with iPad, Nook and other readers $.99

Basketball Gods Mobi File to work with Kindle Reader $.99

Basketball Gods PDF File to work with Adobe and other readers via computer $.99

July 12, 2011

Basketball Gods: The Transformation of the Enlightened Jock, will be released this coming Tuesday, July 12th, 2011. The PDF and Epub file will be available for purchase through my website for .99 cents. The Audiobook will be available as well for download at $1.79. You can also purchase through kindle, nook and itunes, through their respective outlets.
Furthermore, I am currently formatting for print to order through lulu.com, in both paper and hardback, for those who prefer to hold the old fashioned book in their hand. The pricing will be 7.99 for paperback and 20.99 for hardback cover. This is the lowest I could get. If it was a huge bulk order the books would be cheaper. But single orders are a bit more pricy.
To coincide with the release of Basketball Gods, USA Today will be doing a feature on me and the book on the same day, this coming Tuesday, in both the print and online edition.
Thank you always for your support, as well as helping to spread the word, recommending and sharing through your friends and family, email contacts, facebook and blogs.
Again, thank you,
Lance

Charlotte Bobcats Media Updates-

Thanks to Scott, from Ridiculous Upside, as well the Bobcats media crew:

Bobcats Media Interview

Charlotte Bobcats Article

Ridiculous Upside Article

What will be, will be.

Publicity Push-

I have recently hired a publicist and will now be working to release BASKETBALL GODS, in mid July, allowing for a few weeks of reviews and publicity to coincide with the release. Thanks for your patience.

AudioBook Sample-

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As I am editing this on my own, one of the best ways to do so, is to read aloud. I figured I would kill two birds with one stone and record the editing, so that those who unable to read due to blindness, dyslexia and other issues would be able to listen to the stories I want to share. Most of the recording has been done in one take not bothering to fix any slip ups, as again I am editing and thus tripping over syntax errors and typos throughout. But, I figured I would at least record it and sell it for 99 cents when the time comes for the release.

Here is a sample, hope you enjoy.

chapter 24

Sneak Peak-

Basketball Gods, the sequel to LONGSHOT, will be released later this month, June 2011 via kindle and ebook, but in the meantime, here is a sample. Thank you for your support and enjoy.

******

Chapter 12

In the final week of the 2009 basketball season my agent, John Greig, called me up to let me know a dirty little secret:
I was a finalist for the ABC TV series “The Bachelor.”
It was all news to me as I had no recollection of applying for such a job. Was I recommended or did they just have an eye on me from all the press the year before, as well with a forthcoming book due to be released shortly in May? I don’t know.

To clarify, I was not one of many bachelors for “The Bachelorette.” No, I was in contention to be the Bachelor, the head man, the most eligible bachelor in America. The sexiest man alive.
Word soon got out that I was in the mix to which I had many people calling and pulling for me. But I downplayed it, not enjoying talking about myself in such a promotional venue, but part of me still liked the attention. I could not help but envision all the beautiful women lining to fall in love with me, emaciated from lack of food, fed only with alcohol to distort reality and confuse emotions. Trap anyone in a house for a month with no contact with the outside world, creating me as the center of their universe, ingraining into their heads that I am the man of their dreams and they will eventually begin to lose touch. With enough isolation and dozens of women competing for the same object, along with enough alcohol, any man could become the most desirable on the planet.
The sensible man in me knew that true love does not come from such a controlled environment. Infatuation maybe. But not love.
But to this point I had struck out in the art of love and thus I would be willing to take what little romance I could get. Beggars can’t be choosers. Though I disparaged the situation amidst the inquiries piling my way, claiming I felt the drama would maybe be too much for me, I secretly desired it. I wanted me some Hollywood drama:
The tears, the fighting, the make up sex. It’s the best!
I could only imagine the late night hot tub sessions, regardless of a camera over my shoulder, where nameless beautiful girl and I talk about our hopes and dreams. While speaking beautiful prose about my darkest fears, I look into her misty eyes, full of affection, as she then tries to kiss me. But alas, with pained regret, I refuse her, claiming that in good conscience and fairness to the other girls, I could only kiss the final girl, chivalrous man that I am. Of course, this only makes said nameless girl fall more in love with me after witnessing such integrity.
Integrity captured on camera is the most powerful, no doubt.
I could already see the cat fights in the kitchen, wine glasses shattering overhead against cupboards, with rival women vying for my affection they now so badly craved, even more than the air to breathe.
Though I was no longer of polygamist denomination, I still liked the idea of being desired by dozens of women at the same time. Like so many of my teammates throughout the years, I was now rationalizing that I could actually be comfortable living an unbridled form of polygamy. What man does not want to be adored by countless women? It is flattering to our fragile egos to believe that we are desired by many, confirming our dominance and masculinity. We crave it.
Conversely ladies, what woman does not want to be desired by countless men? No double standards please.
Yet more visceral than all the superficial ego flattery of physical love and desire was the looming potential of fame. If I were to become the Bachelor and a sudden, overnight sensation for the tabloids, my picture lining grocery lines across America, think of all the free press it would generate for my upcoming book!
It would sell millions. I would suddenly become a millionaire, not only because of the Bachelor, but from my book as well. I would be a rags to riches story not only in the business of love, but in finances as well. I would be able to retire from basketball and become a full time writer and live a comfortable life. I would no longer have to travel around the world, from job to job, but from vacation to vacation.
The potential benefit from being named the Bachelor was exciting. Yet, there was a part of me that also wanted my book to stand on its own merit. The artist in me wanted the integrity of my work to shine through and sustain itself on its own, not from tabloid gossip.
But again, an artist will take any break he can get.

After the season was over I was to make a short video presentation of myself, with the caveat that I at least have one scene with my shirt off to which the producers could gage if I was hot tub worthy. I felt I was. Although at the time, coming out of basketball season, I was white, leaning towards the pasty white. But my skin will tan if I put the effort.
I have zero interest in tanning.
My friend Jared and I compiled an amazing video. I was proud of it. Plus, I was honest in giving them a glimpse of my personality, not trying to be someone who I wasn’t. The video gave a quick background of my parents and the situation from which I was raised, followed with a good interview in a basketball gym. I then went with a humorous skit to close out the video, in which I went around town to my favorite stores deducing my choices of purchase, to show that I could also apply it to a line of objectified women.
I was happy with the work we put together.
I sent the resume back and waited. A few weeks later, I got my rejection notice. According to them I was not quite the fit of what they were looking for, as they said it is a very complicated and precise process. I would have preferred they been more honest. Again, I like honesty.
I would have liked to have known what was it that was missing. Was it one thing? Several things? Was it because I didn’t drink therefore would be cause for less sensational drama? Was it because my humor was too dry, and my sarcasm too cutting? Was it because I was not rich? Was it because my personality would be difficult to reign in and fit to a script? Was it because I didn’t get a tan before filming?
I guess I will never know. But they did ask to keep my record on file if the need should ever arise. I wasn’t too upset. I had fun with the video and playing fantasies in my head through the process. It was a welcome distraction from basketball.
As well, I could rest easy justifying to myself that I did not sell out. Even though I would have. Piety is often nothing more than self-soothing posturing within unfortunate circumstances.

******

Basketball Gods available late June, 2011 via ebook and kindle.

Gratitude-

Through facebook and twitter, we find an easy outlet to complain about events and circumstances in our lives, creating feedback loops in which all we begin to see is what we don't have or want. The mentality of lack is a hard cycle to break. Instead of focusing on what you don't have, focus on what you do have, and not just material possession or monetary worth. Those things fade. Money says nothing of a man's character.
Instead, think of what you do have; mostly, this temporary body that you have been given. Have gratitude for it. Fake it until you make it, which is what most all of us have to do until the new paradigm actually starts to take shape.
Slowly, you will begin to notice the little things that you are grateful for, like being able to take a walk outside on a nice day, or even in the rain. Gratitude is the most powerful of emotions, and often the most grating for those who choose to be unhappy, because they know they have a choice in the matter. But instead, they often choose to be unhappy for it is easier to blame other people or circumstances for their situation in life, rather than accepting full accountability for their thoughts and behavior, and ultimately their life. I was in this mindset for the first 30 years of my life, until I just couldn't deal with the self-fulfilling prophecies anymore.
Happiness is a choice, a daily choice. It is a state of being, a perspective. It is not some point or destination you arrive at.
Having gratitude in your life does not guarantee that your external, financial situation is going to change. It does mean that the way you look at life will change, so much so that those material things no longer matter as they once did and thus you are free. Free from the game of the material arms race that we have been tricked into playing, as you realize you can have peace and happiness at any moment. And no amount of money can buy that. (Don't mistake temporary material and monetary satisfaction with happiness and tranquility.)
My new affirmation in life is merely:
"I am thankful for this gratitude in my heart today, and I only ask for more of it."
Each day grows a little bit better than the one before.

Blame-

"Someone made me angry today." A common enough declaration we hear almost daily, mostly from ourselves.
But the truth is "someone" did not make you angry: They merely performed an action to which you then allowed to trigger your thought patterns, creating a story, a perspective in your mind, allowing you to feel angry, betrayed or hurt. You chose it.
You chose to view and interpret another's actions through your own perspective and told a story in your head.
It is easy to blame someone else for how you are feeling, your emotions and behavior or even your position in life. But blame is an excuse. It serves you nothing more than a role to play. Being a victim can be fun, otherwise we wouldn't do it. But it is fun only to a certain point.
Someone may have even consciously, intentionally and blatantly wronged you, but it is up to you to decide the "Story" you choose to see and most importantly remember in your head. Was it an momentary even that has since passed, or were you and are you still a victim?
You choose. Just as you choose how you perceive every event in your life. You are the story teller, the common denominator in all of your experiences. If you are commonly the victim, you will continue to be so, for that is the story that your habitual thought patterns have been conditioned to see and seek out. Reality perpetuates itself.
Why is this happening to me AGAIN?!
Newflash: You are the common denominator. Find and consciously be aware of your thought patterns and triggers today. And when you do, be honest with yourself about the role you instinctively choose to take in your story of life.

Failure-

Take today to learn to appreciate failure.
An oxymoron, if viewed through the western, capitalistic perspective, yet failure ultimately is what allows us to learn and to grow. Welcome failure into your life today, viewing him as an old friend, the prankster, who always makes you laugh at your own silliness. Do not be afraid to fail, for fear of failure in and of itself is already failure, as you are prohibiting yourself from being open and daring to grow, learning and most importantly, living.
Failure does not truly reflect your worth as a being, nor does anything in this material earth. We all are of infinite worth beyond measure.
Welcome failure into your life today, and do so with gratitude.