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.
Live Your Best Life
It’s totally up to YOU. If you aren’t moving towards your plan, the only person you can blame is the person who you are looking at in the mirror. If you are accomplishing the steps to make the plan real, it’s the person you are looking at in the mirror that needs to get the credit. Trust yourself. You can do this!
Be Unique
I thought about this revelation. Eventually it began to make sense. Being “unique” isn’t about genetics - or talent - or skill - or environment - or race - or religion - or gender … being unique is about US … getting the fuck out of our own way. Once we stop making excuses for our shortcomings, lack of effort or self-imposed limits we can ALL become unique.
The Value of a Mentor
Things get hard. We begin to feel like we are all alone. We try to subtly reach out … but no one is picking up.
Life Lesson: WE CAN’T DO THIS BY OURSELVES
What about our Quarters can’t they help? Sure, sometimes they can help, but at other times it’s out of their realm of understanding so all they offer is encouragement.
QUESTION: So, now what?
ANSWER: Find a mentor!!
Trust: The Essential Ingredient
I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with some of the greatest athletes that have been in their sport. I’m not afraid to say that I pushed them hard. And I am proud to say that they answered the call … again and again and again. Why?
Because they TRUSTED me!
TRUST is the key ingredient to any successful venture.
When you have trust there is nothing that cannot be achieved. When we don’t believe in each other hard times will follow.
Time: Use It or Lose It
86,400 seconds a day. That’s all you get. No more. No less.
How do you use yours? How much time did you really need today?
Rusty Trucks: Part I – Sports
The “Rusty Trucks” show up early. They show up prepared. They don’t complain. They come to work. They’re not high-maintenance.
They don’t play for the money; they play for the love of the game. You never see a “Rusty Truck” holding out. They get what they have “earned”. They don’t talk about what they “deserve”.
Are You Willing to Bleed?
My question to you is, “Are you willing to bleed?”
Are you willing to do what it takes to be the best at what you do?
I’m sure you all will say, “I work hard.”
Working hard is just the entry fee into the “game”. So, don’t give yourself a medal.
I asked, “Are you willing to bleed.” To give everything you have. Collapse into bed at the end of the day. Wake up, excited about your challenges, and then outwork everyone in your profession … EVERY DAY?
I didn’t say, “outwork everyone in your office”, I asked if you were ready to outwork everyone in your profession? EVERY DAY. Not just with one customer. Not just one day. I’m talking EVERY DAY!
That is “bleeding”. Emptying yourself out to obtain what you have always dreamt of.
Growing Pains
When we change, we have to get away from being comfortable. We need to get off schedule as we make a new schedule. We must change the way we think about and speak to ourselves. We need to change the people we hang out with. We may need to be the “dumbest” person in the room. We will need to step out of our comfort zone and change the way we interact with other people.
Three People You Need in Your Life: Lifters – Guides - Challengers
This life is hard. It’s too big for us to try to do it on our own. For those who are “lone wolves” let me remind you that the lone wolf doesn’t survive long on its own. There are too many pitfalls. Too many problems that we can’t solve on our own.
What we need are people around us that lift us, that guide us and those that will challenge us.
Forever a Student
Let me ask you, “When was the last time that you learned something new?” Hopefully it was just a minute ago. “Where did you learn this new something?” Probably from reading or watching someone do this task.
Life is constantly happening around us. If we stop learning (EVERY DAY) then life will pass us by. Have you ever seen someone who has never used an iPhone (or whatever you use) try to navigate through an app? It’s like showing a monkey a road map … they just stare at it. How does this happen?
Dualism: Comfort vs Courage
Comfort to me is something that is safe. Courage is taking steps to be less than safe. Comfort is where you go when you want to slow down. Courage is where you go when you want to move forward. Comfort is when you stay in the same job that you hate. Courage is reaching farther than you ever could have imagined.
Which one are you? How have you lived your life? Comfort or Courage.
Never Doubt Yourself Again
The biggest killer of your dreams is … the person you see in the mirror everyday of your life!
The biggest reason for your success is … the person you see in the mirror everyday of your life!
You have all the control.
Did you know that? If you did, are you where you always dreamt you would be at this time of your life? If not, maybe you didn’t really know that you were the reason for your present situation.
Chase Your Passion
Why is it that some people are constantly moving towards achieving their dreams and others just dream about their dreams?
It’s simple … each of us is wired differently.
Dualism: Trust and Faith
I was watching a movie the other night about the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. It took the Israelites 40 years to travel from Sinai to Canaan. If you were to walk it today. It would take you ELEVEN DAYS!
Why did it take them 40-years? The people who followed Moses had a lack of Trust and Faith.
They did not trust their leaders – who led them out of the slavery of the Pharaoh.
And they lacked faith in their God. The One who opened the Red Sea allowing them to escape the army of Egypt. The One who, when they were thirsty, brought water from a rock. The One who, when they were hungry, provided manna from the heavens.
Because of a lack of Trust and Faith it took the Israelites 40-years to go a distance that should have taken them 11-days, to get to their promised land.
This Trust and Faith thing is a constant battle in our lives, just like it was to Moses.
Trust is something that you control.
Faith is an inner belief.
Answer vs Reason
In your profession you are either the ANSWER to the problems or you are the REASON for the problems.
Dualism: Good vs Great
After the event, he was getting the pats on the back from the people who had just watched him speak for an hour. He turned to me with a big smile and said, “Well, how did you like it?” I nodded and said, “It was good.” His reflex was to say “thanks” and move on. Which he did.
And then he stopped and turned back to me and said, “Did you just say “good”?”
I nodded and I said, “Yep, you were good.”
He was the pulled away by organizers of the event, and I went my way.
The next day I got a call from my friend. Before we could even get into the pleasantries he said, “What do you mean I was, just good?”
For the next 20 minutes WE talked about the holes in his talk. And then he said, “You’re right, I mailed it in.”
Dualism: Win or Learn vs Win or Lose
When I was younger, I was so focused on not losing that I couldn’t enjoy the victories. This all changed when I studied Nelson Mandela. When he said, “I never lose, I either win or I learn”, it struck me like a lightning bolt.
I put down the book I was reading and just stared into space. These words were fighting an internal battle with what I had taken for granted since my first memories.
Dualism: Get To vs Got To
Life is a Get To vs a Got To proposition. I have used these two terms (Get To vs Got To) for 40 years. I have asked countless athletes and clients to help them understand the truth about their commitment to being successful.
Comprehending the “Get To vs Got To” concept will lead you directly to understanding “who” you truly are.
Dualism: Ancestors vs Ghosts
I went to New York to watch Bruce Springsteen on Broadway. During his show he spoke about Ancestors and Ghosts.
It took me a while to work this through, but when I did it made perfect sense.
Ancestors are those who came before us that we lean in to when we are growing in our personal or professional lives. They are the people who taught us the basics. How to pray, how to drive, how to work on an engine, how to cook. The taught us what it looked like when you were doing things right and how to push through the hard times.