SUCCESS IS NOT EASY
"I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy."
-- Marie Curie, Physicist
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
WE, NOT ME, WILL PREVAIL!
The following levels of team commitment comes an excellent book, "Championship Team Building" written by Jeff Janssen.
1. Resistant- player has not bought into the team goal, usually because he has his own agenda. The only reason the player may be working hard is for selfish reasons.
2. Reluctant- player is hesitant, disinterested or sometimes afraid to commit to the team goal. These are the players who usually do enough to get by when prodded, but cut corners when they thing they can get away with it.
3. Existent- team goal has little significance and the player is often participating for other reasons. These are the players who are on the team because their friends are or their parents want them to be. (This level occurs often in youth sports.)
4. Compliant- team goal is important and the player will do what is asked to achieve the team goal. This player understands and agrees with the team goal and will abide by the team standards to achieve it. They will do what is asked of them and usually no more or no less.
5. Committed- team goal is of high importance and the player is willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve it. These are the players who put in the extra time and energy necessary to help the team succeed.
6. Compelled- team goal is of utmost importance and the player is totally invested in making it a reality. These are the players who feel a true sense of mission and purpose in what they are doing. They seek to and enjoy putting in extra time because they view it as an important investment in achieving the team’s mission.
A WINNING CULTURE
- - Vince Lombardi, Hall of Fame Football Coach
Championship teams find a way to transform themselves into winners. No doubt, there needs to be talent, but there also needs to be a winning culture. Cultures are created outside individual abilities. In sports, the creation of a culture starts by the way the team prepares in practice. It is impacted by the way the team interacts with one another. It is solidified by the way the team conducts itself whether in competition or in the community, as well as the positive attitude every member of the team carries with him at all times -- during moments when things are going well and during those times when it would be easy to complain or blame.
Strong on and off the court leadership is going to be key for this team's success. You and your staff should work hard to ensure everyone is on board for what is required to achieve championship results in the upcoming season(s). Your team(s) may have plenty of young talent, but they need to mesh together (everyone) to create a winning culture that will take you all through a long, challenging season.
Selflessness, intensity and passion are common attributes of all championship teams. Leadership is needed at every turn to ensure these traits remain constant throughout a long season.
NOTHING OR NO ONE STOPS YOU BUT YOU
"The path of least resistance is the path of the loser. "
-- H.G. Wells, author
In the movie "A league of the Own," Jimmy Dugan (played by Tom Hanks) had a heated discussion with his star player Dottie Hinson (played by Geena Davis) about quitting the baseball team, and her decision to move back to Oregon in the middle of the playoffs. Towards the end of the discussion, Hinson said, "It (playing Baseball) just got too hard." Dugan's reply, "Its suppose to be hard... If it wasn't hard, then everyone would do it... The HARD is what makes it (Baseball) Great!"
In life adversity strikes us all. If we look for and take the easy way out, then we'll never truly experience long-term success and satisfaction because we are (in essence) running from the challenges. Whether you are an athlete, coach, lawyer, teacher, doctor, tax accountant, etc. you have a challenge(s), and those challenges are place in front of you to test you (and help you grow). So, face them... Meet them with confidence, overcome them, and press forward. Never run from them again! All the successful people you know and/ or have heard of did not do it and prevailed... So why should you?
PLAYING TO WIN IN CONNECTION TO HAVING FUN
In the pursuit of victory, there are times when we as competitors lose sight of the origin of why we began playing the game(s) we play, and that is we love and enjoy playing the game(s) we play. As a result, these competitors fall short of winning. If we as competitors take a step back and reflect on this, as well as letting go of that "win at all cost" approach, we can enjoy the experience more while pursuing victory. This applies to coaches, players, and parents!!!
When we talk about playing on a team (or working with others) the same principle applies. Your teammates will not enjoy being around you if you are all about winning because you are not a joy to be around. You want things to be perfect (which they are not), wants to be your way and your way only, and eventually distance and dissension will shine. So, go the opposite route. Relax, enjoy the moment, do your best, and don't worry about the end result. By doing this, you will perform better, be a better teammate, and have a good/ memorable experience.
REST
"It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it."
-- John Steinbeck, Author
Our bodies, as well as our minds, need to rest. Studies have shown that a good amount a sleep does wonders for both the body and the brain. Never neglect the importance of rest, no matter how hard you are working towards achieving a goal. At the same token, don't indulge in it too much as you won't achieve what you are striving.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
WHAT SETS DISCIPLINED
PEOPLE APART?
1) The capacity to get past distractions.
There are players who get thrown by less than optimal conditions;
they need perfect weather, a perfect playing surface, perfect health.
There are other players who can’t be distracted. They can play on grass, turf,
or the parking-lot blacktop —the only thing they focus on is the competition.
2) The willingness to condition the mind and body for the task at hand.
After a leader supplies the needed direction and knowledge base,
it comes down to that old cliché:
- Who wants it more?
- Which side is prepared to push itself forward and seize the day?
3) The ability to keep your poise when those around you are losing theirs.
Mature players will absorb these excesses in stride, even when
After a leader supplies the needed direction and knowledge base,
it comes down to that old cliché:
- Who wants it more?
- Which side is prepared to push itself forward and seize the day?
3) The ability to keep your poise when those around you are losing theirs.
Mature players will absorb these excesses in stride, even when
they’re out-and-out flagrant. I tell my players to put their emotions on hold,
to stone-face their opponents. Once the opposition knows what you’re
to stone-face their opponents. Once the opposition knows what you’re
Thursday, January 24, 2013
HOW TO PROFIT FROM FAILURE
1. Change Your Attitude
Business staffing pioneer Robert Half observed, “Laziness is a
secret ingredient that goes into failure. But it’s only kept a secret
from the person who fails.” People who success develop an attitude
of tenacity. They refuse to quit, and they are determined not to let
failure defeat them. If you desire to fulfill your dreams, achieve your
goals, and live life to the fullest, that’s the kind of attitude you need
to cultivate.
2. Change Your Vocabulary
A noted psychiatrist once remarked that the two saddest words in
the human vocabulary are “if only.”
Failure isn’t failure if you do better the next time. In Leaders on
Leadership, Warren Bennis interviewed seventy of the nation’s
top performers in numerous fields. None of them used the word
failure to describe their mistakes. Instead they referred to learning
experiences, tuition paid, detours, or opportunities for growth. You
may think that’s a small difference, but that small difference can
make a big difference. The way you think determines how you act.
3. Pay Little Attention to the Odds
Every person who has ever achieved something significant had
to overcome the odds. The problem for most people isn’t the odds.
It’s that they sell themselves too short. R. H. Headlee
observed, “Most people think too small, aim too low, and quit
too soon.”
When it comes to the thing you love to do, the things you were
made to do, aim high. The odds matter little. Whether you fall
down along the way matters little. You fell when learning to
walk, didn’t you? Maxwell Maltz, developer of psycho-cybernetics,
says, “You are champion in the art of living if you reach only
65 percent of your goals.” Remember, if at first you don’t
succeed, then know that you’re running about average.
4. Let Failure Point You to Success
5. Hold on to Your Sense of Humor
One of the best things you can do for yourself when you fail is to
learn to laugh.
6. Learn from Your Mistakes
Successful restauranteur and celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck
said, “I learned more from the one restaurant that didn’t work
than from all the ones that were successes.”
“Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.” (Robert Kiyosaki,
Rich Dad, Poor Dad) That’s the mark of a great attitude! You don’t
lose—you learn.
7. Don’t Lose Your Perspective
Failure is just like success—it’s a day-to-day proves, not some-
place you arrive one day. Failure is not a one-time event. It’s how
you deal with life along the way.
8. Don’t Become too Familiar with Failure
9. Make Failure a Gauge for Growth
Successful people understand the role failure plays in achievement.
That’s true in any life endeavor. Inventor Thomas Edison said, “I’m
not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is another
step forward.” And gold-medal-winning gymnast Mary Lou Retton
asserted, “Achieving that goal is a good feeling, but to get there you
have to also get through the failures. You’ve got to be able to pick
yourself up and continue.” The farther you go, the more failures
you experience.
Psychologist Joyce Brothers observed, “The person interested in
success has to learn to view failure as a healthy, inevitable part
of the process of getting to the top.” As actor Mickey Rooney said,
“You always pass failure on the way to success.”
10. Never Give Up
Author, lawyer, economist, and actor Ben Stein says, “The human
spirit is never finished when it is defeated. It is finished when it
surrenders.”
From "The Difference Maker" by John Maxwell
YOUR THOUGHTS
-Robin Roberts
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