Blog
Read Blog Posts by Category:
Passion: Articles that deal with the inner drive that we all need to want to MOVE from where we currently are to where we dream to be.
Preparation: These posts reference articles, books, documentaries, speakers, quotes, and other inspirational and formative ideas that I have found that helped me and the people around me.
Practice: Articles in this category have a heavy sports and performance training lean.
Performance: These articles focus on how you go about your work. From networking to communications to finding a better way to do what you do.
Perseverance: Articles in this category speak to the mechanics that we go through both mentally and physically to stay on track and not get STUCK.
The Truth
We all want the truth. We want the truth from our friends, family, employer, employees, politicians, the media. We just want to be told what is true and what is not. It doesn’t sound too difficult. Just tell the truth without adding any bias, innuendo, shading, or further explanation.
Speakers Toolbox: Believe In You
How many times are you in this situation?
You are asked to speak in front of a group of your peers. And you freeze up. My first question is, “Why?” The normal response is that there is a feeling of discomfort. This usually stems from the idea that they are not comfortable being the center of attention. Then there is a feeling of doubt about their knowledge and possibly being judged. And finally, the overwhelming feeling of speaking to a large group.
Let’s look at those fears and maybe I can help you get over some of your sticking points that might be the difference between you staying where you are at in your business, or possibly moving forward in your chosen profession.
Stuck – Stagnate – Die
We are born, we work, we die. If this is your timeline … we need to talk. Unfortunately, most people live their whole life working for someone else’s dreams, while their personal dreams die on the vine. How many people dream of breaking their body down day after day for a paycheck? Oh, Lord, please have me in so much pain that I can’t live a complete life. How many people pray this prayer every night? That’s right NONE!!!
So why do we do this? Why do we get into a job that is not what we had always dreamt of? Why do we toil for people who don’t care about our dreams day after day, year after year? I understand we need to make ends meet. But at what point did you decide your dreams weren’t important?
Loyalty
I then asked if those were the second and third traits of hiring the coaches, what is the most important trait. Jerry sat back and smiled. “You don’t know because it comes naturally to you, but the most important quality is: loyalty. Loyalty is the single most important quality that you need to find in an assistant or when you are being hired, your head coach must be loyal to you.”
The Path of the Elite Performer
All of the things that happen in your life count. They can alter your course. They can either push you farther or divert you from where you thought you wanted to go. For some, these changes in course can mean that they lose track of their dreams and goals. They go off on tangents that put them in a world that they never could have imagined being in.
Read more for three steps to become who you want to be.
Focus
To me “FOCUS” means to become entranced by the job that is at hand. It’s the FOCUS a batter has when they step into the batter’s box. It’s the attention given by a wide receiver when they are crossing the middle of the defense and are about to catch a pass. It’s the routine that a golfer goes through as he addresses the ball during his swing prep. It’s the ability of a corporate CFO to control their breathing and slow their mind as they are about to deliver a keynote speech at a stockholders’ meeting. It’s the stay-at-home parent who is about to stand in front of their school board and dozens of onlookers and television cameras and give a speech that will cause all around them to pause and consider their positions.
In any of these scenarios, whether it be in front of the entire world or just a few people, a lack of FOCUS may be so damning that you will never be trusted in that position again. We never want to be “that person”!
Faith
When was the last time that you told your spouse, child, friend, employee, co-worker, “I have faith in you, I believe that you are going to be successful?” Here is the sad part, when was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror and told yourself that you had faith in you and that you believed that you were going to be successful?
Deserve vs Earn
In one of my stops in coaching, I ran into a “defining moment”. A defining moment is one of those where you get to see firsthand the difference between two similar words.
I had been coaching for a while when a situation in the athletic department arose. A long-time head coach was moving up to an administration position within the athletic department. This left an opening. The three candidates were brought to interview for the head coaching opening. I was part of the hiring committee because I dealt with this sport and the players.
Relentless
How important is it for you to be the best? If you have the fire and passion then live a life of relentlessness!!
Consistency
I looked at the player and said, “What do you think of when you see me?” He pondered on the question for a second and said one word, “Consistency.” I smiled and said “Exactly! I have successfully completed what I set out to do.” He looked at me curiously and said, “What is that?” I said, “I am the same person every day. I don’t let emotion or my clothing make me stand out. I let my coaching be my hallmark. When you walk in here every day you see me, Coach C, Consistency. You don’t have to worry about who I’m going to be today; you don’t have to worry about if I am in a good mood, or a bad mood you know one thing, you are about to go to work to become better at your profession.”
Boxes
What I don’t carry with me is a lot of other people’s baggage. If we want to live our best life, we can not be burdened, and held back, by other people’s baggage. We need to release that which does not propel us forward. We must understand those who are around us that want to help us and those who want to hold us back.
Start Here: About the 5 Ps
Welcome to the 5 Ps of elite performance: Passion – Preparation – Practice – Performance – Perseverance
Football Players & Fighter Jets
Football and Fighter Jets. Who would have guessed? But then when you pull them apart to their single most important denominator: MOVEMENT, they aren’t that much different.
Passion
To be the best, one cannot just “hope” to be better. Being better isn’t just about the time that you commit to your time in the office. It’s not about what you have done in your past. It’s now about all the information you have acquired. Being the best, becoming successful, living out your life’s dreams begins with the hardest part of being an Elite Performer. Having an unquenchable PASSION!