Be aggressive and compete with passion! Coach Dwyer
Be POSITIVE in everything you do today! Coach Dwyer
Be Nice and Smile - Coach Dwyer
A leader is a dealer of hope. Be a champion of what's possible today... inspire others to keep going, share a positive vision for the road ahead... most of all believe in others more than they believe in themselves. - Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
6 Ways to Get Better:
Be humble and hungry!
Focus on your strengths and what matters most.
Tune out distractions.
See life and people as teachers you can learn from each day.
Help others get better!
Care more. Put more time, effort, and passion into your work/life.
- Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
Replace "I think" with "I will."
I WILL have a good day today!
Small choices can make a big impact. Live intentionally with a positive expectation today!
2 Truths to Remember This Week:
Failure is not meant to define you, it’s meant to refine you. Sometimes you have to lose a goal to find your destiny.
Ignore the critics. Show up and do the work. You are here for a reason. You have a purpose and you are meant to share it.
- Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
Three things you control every day are your ATTITUDE, your EFFORT and your ACTIONS.
It doesn’t matter what others are doing or who you think is being unfair. Every day you can focus on being positive, working hard and making others around you better.
- Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
If you have a dream, pursue it.
If you have a passion, live it.
If you face a challenge, conquer it.
And do it all with optimism and faith!
Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
One of the things that holds many of us back, as individuals and teams, is comparing ourselves to others. It's a trap. It causes us to focus on someone else's gifts, talents and purpose versus our own. Focus on being the best YOU that only YOU can be. - Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
You will never rise above the level of your belief! What you believe determines what you create. Believe bigger today. Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
Successful people discover what they are good at. Successful leaders discover what OTHERS are good at. - John C. Maxwell / @thejohncmaxwell Look for and bring out the good in others today!
You will never rise above the level of your belief! What you believe determines what you create. Believe bigger today. Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
A leader is a dealer of hope. Be a champion of what's possible today... inspire others to keep going, share a positive vision for the road ahead... most of all believe in others more than they believe in themselves.
Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
Your trust is greater than your doubt. Your faith is greater than your fear and your purpose is greater than your challenges.
Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
Don't worry about tomorrow.
Just win today.
Then win the next day, and the day after that.
That's how you win the future.
Day by day.
Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
"Reputation is the echo of your actions." James Clear
"Greed is wanting the benefits of community without contributing to it." James Clear
Fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien on being overlooked:
"Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised."
Source: As said by Aragon in The Return of the King
Novelist Chuck Palahniuk on memory:
"It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace."
Source: Diary
"Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds." Navy SEALS
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will." Mahatma Gandhi
"True champions aren't always the ones that win, but those with the most guts." Mia Hamm
"Don't talk, just act. Don't say, just show. Don't promise, just prove." Unknown
"I'm no miracle man. I guarantee nothing but hard work." Bear Bryant
"You never know how long your words will stay in someone's mind even long after you've forgotten you spoke them." Unknown
"Leadership is having people look at you and gain confidence from seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." Tom Landry
"Believing in people before they have proven themselves is the key to motivating people to reach their potential." John Maxwell
No more effort is required to aim high in life, to demand abundance and prosperity than is required to accept misery and poverty." Napoleon Hill
"Direction and discipline, not intention, determines one’s destiny and success." Sam Allen
"Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn't give you credit." Unknown
Your trust is greater than your doubt. Your faith is greater than your fear and your purpose is greater than your challenges. - Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
Don't worry about tomorrow.
Just win today.
Then win the next day, and the day after that.
That's how you win the future.
Day by day. - Jon Gordon / @jongordon11
"Reputation is the echo of your actions." James Clear
"Greed is wanting the benefits of community without contributing to it." James Clear
Fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien on being overlooked:
"Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised."
Source: As said by Aragon in The Return of the King
Novelist Chuck Palahniuk on memory:
"It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace."
Source: Diary
"Reputation is the echo of your actions." James Clear
"Greed is wanting the benefits of community without contributing to it." James Clear
Fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien on being overlooked:
"Deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised."
Source: As said by Aragon in The Return of the King
Novelist Chuck Palahniuk on memory:
"It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace."
Source: Diary
https://www.quotestoolbox.com/
"A lack of discipline quickly siphons away extra talent. That's why it's frequently the most disciplined rather than the most gifted who rise to the top." Unknown
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." Robert Brault
"You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks."
Winston Churchill
"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." Brian Tracy
"Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds." Navy SEALS
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will." Mahatma Gandhi
"True champions aren't always the ones that win, but those with the most guts." Mia Hamm
"Don't talk, just act. Don't say, just show. Don't promise, just prove." Unknown
"I'm no miracle man. I guarantee nothing but hard work." Bear Bryant
"You never know how long your words will stay in someone's mind even long after you've forgotten you spoke them." Unknown
"Leadership is having people look at you and gain confidence from seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." Tom Landry
"Believing in people before they have proven themselves is the key to motivating people to reach their potential." John Maxwell
No more effort is required to aim high in life, to demand abundance and prosperity than is required to accept misery and poverty." Napoleon Hill
"Direction and discipline, not intention, determines one’s destiny and success." Sam Allen
"Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn't give you credit." Unknown
"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none." Thomas Carlyle
"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build, end up building us."
Unknown
"You can't change what you refuse to confront." Daryl Daughtry
"You don't lead by pointing and telling people someplace to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case." Ken Kesey
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
"Adversity is the state in which people most easily become more acquainted with themselves."
John Wooden
"Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." Joe Henderson
"Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know."
Jim Rohn
"Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn't give you credit." Unknown
"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none." Thomas Carlyle
"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build, end up building us."
Unknown
"Mankind was created as a being who should constantly keep improving. A being who, on achieving one goal, sets a higher one." Ralph Ransom
"To go from good to great, it's all in the details. Everything matters. " Steve Kerr
"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
"Sometimes we are more limited by attitudes than by opportunities." William James
"It is always your next move." Napoleon Hill
"Communication builds trust. Trust generates commitment, commitment fosters teamwork. Teamwork delivers results." Jon Gordon
"Perhaps the toughest call for a coach is weighing what is best for an individual against what is best for the team." Tom Landry
"Success is not to be pursued. It is to be attracted by the person you become." Jim Rohn
"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." Harriet Beecher Stowe
"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
"If everyone would strive to be the captain of their team as opposed to the MVP, there would be a lot better teams. "I" loses games." Derek Jones
"The truth is, you don't break a bad habit; you replace it with a good one." Denis Waitley
"Positive thinking is more than just a tagline. It changes the way we behave. I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better, but it also makes those around me better." Harvey MacKay
"Success is not counted by how high you have climbed, but by how many people you brought with you." Wil Rose
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
Winston Churchill
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle
"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." Leonard Nimoy
"Positive thinking is more than just a tagline. It changes the way we behave. I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better, but it also makes those around me better." Harvey MacKay
"Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter: long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best." Michael Johnson
"You might know how to read, but more importantly, what's your plan to read?" Jim Rohn
"An effective leader develops the ability to correctly identify the pertinent detail or details--incidentals in a market, industry, or sport that might create an incremental advantage."
John Wooden
"If two people have the same goal, you know nothing about the similarity of their results. But if two people have the same daily habits, you can infer quite a bit about the similarity of their results. Your results are largely a byproduct of your habits."
Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence. Thomas Szasz
When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.
William Arthur Ward
"Things rarely get stuck because of a lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined." David Allen
"Expect challenges, criticism, rejection. and failure but have an even greater expectation that you will overcome them." Jon Gordon
"With supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, go after your dreams." Unknown
"Observation is so key to success and development. Always be on the look out and listen out to see and hear things that you can use." Kevin Eastman
"Competitors… A relentless, fearless, focused attitude overcomes all distractions and circumstances." Bruce Bowen
"Only by contending with challenges that seem to be beyond your strength to handle at the moment can you grow." Brian Tracy
"Don't let your learning lead to knowledge. Let your learning lead to action." Jim Rohn
"How competitive can you be without losing your discipline?" Doc Rivers
"When considering the consequences of not doing the little things, you realize that there are no little things." Brad Stevens
"Great players are not great because they are perfect, they are great because they have perfect reaction to their mistakes." Spencer Wood
"No one plays this or any game perfectly. It's the player who recovers from their mistakes who wins." Phil Jackson
"As a parent, I have a job as a role model to my children, and by extension, to other young people." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
"Teamwork doesn't come naturally. It must be taught." Pat Summitt
"There have been times when I have failed. But there have never been times when I thought I would fail." Michael Jordan
"Only by contending with challenges that seem to be beyond your strength to handle at the moment can you grow." Brian Tracy
"Education comes from within. You get it by struggle and effort and thought." Napoleon Hill
Anxiety and excitement feel the same, but how we interpret and label them can determine how we experience them.
Brené Brown Atlas of the Heart
"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't." Unknown
"He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak."
Michel de Montaigne
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't. Jerry Rice
"You measure a person by what it takes to discourage them." Bo Ryan
"You must contribute your whole self to the team, not just your athletic self." Phil Jackson
"We want to be the most enthusiastic and energetic team in the country. That's what we can control." Shaka Smart
"If you want to be successful, prepare to be doubted and tested." Unknown
"If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we do it. If anything goes really well, then they did it." Paul "Bear" Bryant
"Success depends less on the strength of body than upon strength of mind and character." Unknown
"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." Vince Lombardi
"If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does them day in and day out." Chuck Noll
"Don't let winning make you soft. Don't let losing make you quit. Don't let your teammates down in any situation," Larry Bird
"Confidence comes from being prepared." John Wooden
"Show me a person who's afraid to look bad, and I'll show you a guy you can beat every time." Lou Brock
"There is no substitute for work." Vince Lombardi
A true champion knows how to overcome doubts and manage those doubts and turn them into motivation." Misty Hyman
"When coaches learn, they should always try to learn in detail. But when they teach, they should teach with simplicity." Gary Curneen
"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant." Max de Pree
"Leadership isn't about getting your own way, and it's about helping others find theirs."
Unknown
"You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make." Gordon B. Hinckley
"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes." Peter Drucker
"Your job gives you authority. Your behavior earns you respect." Irwin Federman
"You can have results or have excuses, but you can't have both. Unknown
"You must fight through the bad days to earn the best days." Unknown
"All for One and One for All, United We Stand, Divided We Fall." Alexandre Dumas
"There is only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything. I do, and I demand that my players do." Vince Lombardi
"All great achievements have one thing in common--people with a passion to succeed." Pat Cash
"Life is an escalator: You can move forward or backward; you cannot remain still."
"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionable integrity, Without it, no real success is possible." Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change." Tom Clancy
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
"If you spend your time trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything."
Tom Rath
"Great things are not something accidental, but must certainly be willed." Vincent Van Gogh
"Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them." Vaibhav Shah
"People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude." John C. Maxwell
"The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else." Martina Navratilova
"It's not what you do once in a while; it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference." Unknown
"Unclear expectations lead to inefficient processes and subpar performance." Christine Lotze
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less." C.S. Lewis
"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him." Booker T. Washington
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Winston Churchill
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less." C.S. Lewis
"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him." Booker T. Washington
"When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know--but if you listen you may learn something new." JP McEvoy
"No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you." Althea Gibson
"Where focus goes, energy flows." Tony Robbins
"No one will make a good leader who wants to do it all themselves or get all the credit for doing it." Andrew Carnegie
"Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have." Norman Vincent Peale
"To accomplish excellence or anything outstanding, you must listen to that whisper which is heard by you alone." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"We get the best out of others when we give the best of ourselves." Harvey Firestone
"Winning isn't everything, but making the effort to win is." Vince Lombardi
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others? " Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"There's no growth in the comfort zone and there's no comfort in the growth zone." Tim Elmore
"You are the only problem you will ever have and you are the only solution." Bob Proctor
"For me, the starting point before everything-before strategy, tactics, theories, managing, organizing, philosophy, methodology, finished. talent, or experience is work ethic. Without one of significant magnitude you're dead in the water, finished." Bill Walsh
"Our life is what our thoughts make it." Marcus Aurelius
"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." Margaret Thatcher
"Good habits are important, but it's often our bad habits that prevent us from reaching our full potential...you're only as good as your worst habits." Amy Morin
"To defeat a weak opponent is not the problem. The problem is to win when your opponent is as good as or better than you. "Robert Neyland
"Reality is a product of our dreams, decisions, and actions." Unknown.
"Your excuses are nothing more than your fears coming to get you." Unknown
"Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together. Paul Ryan
"The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"I will prepare and someday my chance will come." Abraham Lincoln
"The days you are most uncomfortable are the days you learn the most about yourself." Mary L. Bean
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Winston Churchill
"We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities but its own talents." Eric Hoffer
The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking oneself seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous. Margot Fonteyn
"The more you take responsibility for your past and present, the more you are able to create the future you seek." Celestine Chua
"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. Nelson Mandela
"Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." Will Rogers
"Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength." Phil Jackson
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." Alex Karras
“Our emphasis is on execution, not winning.” Pat Summitt
"It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe." Muhammad Ali
“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it.” Knute Rockne
“Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can’t tell whether he won or lost when he carries himself with pride either way.” Jim Courier
“Victory or defeat is not determined at the moment of crisis, but rather in the long and unspectacular period of preparation” Anonymous
“If you only ever give 90% in training then you will only ever give 90% when it matters.”
Michael Owen
“The definition of courage is going from defeat to defeat with enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
"The trials on the road to world harmony are no greater than the courage of those who accept the challenge." Carl Lewis
“Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear” John Madden
“The interesting thing about coaching is that you have to trouble the comfortable, and comfort the troubled” Ric Charlesworth
“The interesting thing about coaching is that you have to trouble the comfortable, and comfort the troubled” Ric Charlesworth
“I can help, but in the end, it is up to you” David Kirby
“Leadership is giving out far more than one expects indirect return. The rewards are intangible, yet priceless.” T Jay Taylor
“I can help, but in the end, it is up to you” David Kirby
"Fight for your opinions, but do not believe that they contain the whole truth or the only truth." Charles A. Dana
Coaching doesn’t start with X’s and O’s. It starts with believing that players win games and coaches win players.” Bill Courtney
“A team goal requires a team effort.” George M. Gilbert
“It takes persistent practice to be skillful in the act.” Lailah Gifty Akita
“Success is CHOICE, not CHANCE” Ben Burlinson
“You must be personally reliable before you can coach your team to generate reliable results.” Lee Colan
"Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do."
- Shaquille O'Neal
“Don't stop at the first obstacle; have the endurance to keep on going and you will succeed.”
Robert A. Schuller
May 2, 2022 It's not your goals that will lead to your success but your commitment to the process. - Jon Gordon | @jongordon11
The difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude. Alex Piccirilli
Use your superior attitude to lead you to success today and everyday! Coach Dwyer
"The best teams play FOR each other, not WITH each other." Jeff Van Gundy
“Believe you can, and you are halfway there.” Theodore Roosevelt
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." Alex Karras
Be aggressive and compete with passion! Coach Dwyer
“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” John Wooden
“The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves” Joseph Campbell
“Leadership is not about your ambition. It is about bringing out the ambitions of your team.” Cheryl A. Bachelder
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." Alex Karras
"Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." Will Rogers
“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” Arthur C. Clarke
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” Zig Ziglar
“Maturity is when you stop complaining and making excuses, and start making changes.” Roy T. Bennett
“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“What is love? Love is playing every game like it's your last.” Michael Jordan
The difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude. Alex Piccirilli
I wanted the win more for them than for myself. - Sean McVay (LA Rams Coach), #PowerOfPositiveSummit
Love was the most important factor for our team in accomplishing what we have. - Sean McVay (LA Rams Coach), #PowerOfPositiveSummit
Love is the only thing that's stronger than fear. - Sean McVay (LA Rams Coach), #PowerOfPositiveSummit
I am a good coach because I have great guys bringing the plays to life. - Sean McVay (LA Rams Coach), #PowerOfPositiveSummit
Repetition is the mother of learning. - Sean McVay (LA Rams Coach), #PowerOfPositiveSummit
If you know what your virtues, values, standards, philosophies, and non-negotiables are in your life. Your life will change forever. - @weatherford5 #PowerOfPositiveSummit
You have to get clear on who you are. - @weatherford5 #PowerOfPositiveSummit
If you dedicate time to develop yourself it will move mountains for you. - @weatherford5 #PowerOfPositiveSummit
“I am a member of the team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” Mia Hamm
“To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another.” John C. Maxwell
"Things rarely get stuck because of a lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined." David Allen
"The best teams play FOR each other, not WITH each other." Jeff Van Gundy
“Believe you can, and you are halfway there.” Theodore Roosevelt
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right,” Henry Ford
"The only way to maximize the potential for performance is to be calm in the mind." Brian Sipe
"People are remarkably bad at remembering long lists of goals. I learned this at a professional level when trying to get my high-performance coaching clients to stay on track; the longer their lists of goals, the more overwhelmed and off-track they got. Clarity comes with simplicity." Brendon Burchard
March 29, 2022 Your mindset causes the lens in which you view the world to narrow or open. Negativity narrows your perspective and causes you to focus on problems. Positivity broadens your perspective and allows you to see the big picture and find solutions. Positivity sees possibilities! - Jon Gordon | @jongordon11
"It is in identifying yourself with the hopes, dreams, fears, and longings of of others that you may understand them and help them." Wilfred A. Peterson
"Positive expectations are the mark of a superior personality." Brian Tracy
"Each day remember your purpose. Remember why you do what you do. We don't get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it." Jon Gordon
"Immature players think life is going to give in to their demands." Nick Saban
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is ." Lucille Ball
"Leadership is the capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence." Bernard Montgomery
"You have to fight through the bad days to earn the best days." Unknown
"If you are afraid of failure, you don't deserve to succeed." Charles Barkley
"Most coaches don't get fired for a lack of strategic knowledge, but rather for leadership deficiencies." Stephanie Zonars
"It's a very funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it." William Somerset Maugham
"There is no one giant step that does it...it's a lot of little steps." Unknown
"Great coaches...are a spark of energy and enthusiasm. They raise the level of everyone in their program, every day." Alan Stein
"The single most important aspect of coaching is running effective practices." Bob Knight
All the effort in the world won’t matter if you’re not inspired. Chuck Palahniuk
We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. Kenji Miyazawa
"The strongest people aren't always the people who win, but the people who don't give up when they lose." Unknown
"Truth is what stands the test of experience." Unknown
"The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I'd made my teammates play." Bill Russell
"I would like to be remembered as someone who did the best she could with the talent she had." - J.K. Rowling
"High expectations are the key to everything." Sam Walton
"The qualities of our expectations determine the quality of our actions." Andres Godin
"Competitors… A relentless, fearless, focused attitude overcomes all distractions and circumstances." Bruce Bowen
"By choosing to embrace and practice good values every day, you may not always get what you desire, but you will always be the person you desire to be." Unkown
"It's hard to be consistent at something if you aren't dedicated to it." Coach K
"The game of life is like the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy. Unknown
"Keep calm by making sure you don't concentrate on anything you can't control." Unknown
Play the right way' means play unselfishly, respect each other's achievements, play hard, fulfill your role." Gregg Popovich
"Be a player that cares more about letters (W/L) than numbers (individual stats)." Unknown
"Believing in people before they have proven themselves is the key to motivating people to reach their potential." John Maxwell
"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning." Pele
"Be a player that cares more about letters (W/L) than numbers (individual stats)." Unknown
"Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence." Sheryl Sandberg
"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
"Success is not counted by how high you have climbed, but by how many people you brought with you." Wil Rose
"Anything that causes you to overreact or underreact can control you and often does." David Allen
"The miracle is this: the more we share, the more we have." Leonard Nimoy
"To play the inner game is not really a matter of choice--it is always going on and it is played in various outer games. The only two questions are whether we play it consciously and whether we are winning or losing." W. Timothy Gallwey
"Players who are committed to the team first will find a way to help when things are going bad, they will do whatever it takes." Dick Bennett
"Deal with the world the way it is, not the way you wish it was." John Chambers
“Failure is success in progress." - Albert Einstein
"Leadership requires deep systematic, analytical thought. Today's environment is so fluid and unforgiving that deep thought is a must!" Kevin Eastman
"Never mistake motion for action." Ernest Hemingway
January 17, 2022 "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Discipline is doing what has to be done, when it has to be done, as well as it can be done, and doing it that way all the time." Bob Knight
"Teamwork is the only way to reach our ultimate moments and create breakthroughs that define our careers and fulfill our lives." Pat Riley
“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” - W. Clement Stone
"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Don't wish it were easier, work to get better." Jim Rohn
"Vision without Execution is hallucination." - Thomas Edison
"One secret of success is the consistency of purpose." Pat Riley
"Positive thinking is more than just a tagline. It changes the way we behave. I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better, but it also makes those around me better." Harvey MacKay
"Advice to leaders: Building trust is a journey, not a destination." Ken Blanchard
"Evaluate wins and losses objectively, focusing more on effort and execution rather than the outcome of the game." Morgan Wootten
"Either you run the day, or the day runs you." Jim Rohn
"Life is an escalator: You can move forward or backward; you cannot remain still." Patricia Russell-McCloud
“Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom.” - Jim Rohn
"If you want to be successful, prepare to be doubted and tested." Unknown
"If you do what we ask you to do, the victories will belong to you, and the losses to me."
Dean Smith
"We Must OUTLAST the offense on every defensive possession! Great defense takes consistent effort and commitment to excellence, every second of every practice and every game. Dick Bennett
"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." Brian Tracy
"If you want something different, you gotta do something different. ." Nathaniel Williams
"If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are an excellent leader." Dolly Parton
Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude. Viktor E. Frankl
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. Viktor E. Frankl
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” -Viktor Frankl.
"Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change." Tom Clancy
"In order to win the game, you must first not lose it." Chuck Noll
"Tomorrow's battle is won during today's practice." Dr. Jim Afremow
"Team leaders: You don't always have to say perfect words; just seeing your passion, confidence, and energy can be enough to rally a team." Unknown
"There are no secrets to success It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." Colin Powell
"Flexibility is a make-or-break component of motivation, the art of getting people to do what needs to be done." Bill Parcells
"As a coach, are our players 'in practice' or 'into practice?' We need to make practice a time they look to get 'into every day." Dennis Hutter
"Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing." Albert Schweitzer
The key to leadership is the desire to make a difference. John Maxwell
"You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make." Gordon B. Hinckley
"Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them. There is usually an inverse proportion between how much something is on your mind and how much it's getting done." David Allen
"Success trains, failure complains." Unknown
Follow effective action with quiet reflection from that quiet reflection will come even more effective action. Peter Drucker
"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win." - Roger Bannister
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine
"The willingness to ask questions coupled with the discipline to seek out answers separates leaders from followers." John Maxwell
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." John Wooden
"Talent sets the floor. Character sets the ceiling." Bill Belichick
"All great achievements have one thing in common--people with a passion to succeed." Pat Cash
"I do not think there is any quality so essential to the success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature." John Rockefeller
"It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste."
Henry Ford
Drum Teacher Stephen Taylor tells his students - Speed is a natural byproduct of learning something well. Get the motions down. Focus on the fluidity of the motion.
Everyday you have to plan – everyday. You’ve heard the saying that we don’t plan to fail, we fail to plan. Hard work works. Working really hard is what successful people do. And in this text, tweet, twerk world that you’ve grown up in, remember just because you’re doing a lot more doesn’t mean you’re getting a lot more done. Remember that, just because you’re doing a lot more doesn’t mean you’re getting a lot more done. Don’t confuse movement with progress. My mom told me, you can run in place all the time and never get anywhere. Continue to strive, continue to have goals, continue to progress. - Denzel Washington
"Leadership isn't about getting your own way, it's about helping others find theirs." Unknown
"All for One and One for All, United We Stand, Divided We Fall." Alexandre Dumas
"To play the inner game is not really a matter of choice--it is always going on and it is played in various outer games. The only two questions are whether we are winning or losing.” Timothy Gallwey
"Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount." Clare Booth Luce
The Nearer You Come to a Calm Mind, The Closer You Are to Strength. Marcus Aurelius
"Good talent with bad attitude equals bad talent." Bill Walsh
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." John F. Kennedy
"Champions fully grasp the difference between what they can and what they can't control in an event...and choose to focus on the former." Dr. Jerry Lynch
"There is something that is much more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability." Robert Half
"You might know how to read, but more importantly, what's your plan to read?" Jim Rohn
“I know what I can do so it doesn’t bother me what other people think or their opinion on the situation.” Jesse Owens
"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction." John F. Kennedy
In order to achieve your goals, you must apply discipline and consistency - and never confuse movement with progress, Denzel Washington
"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character." Unknown
"Leadership must be demonstrated, not announced." Fran Tarkenton
"Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken." Warren Buffet
"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes." Peter Drucker
A true champion knows how to overcome doubts and manage those doubts and turn them into motivation." Misty Hyman
"You have to fight through the bad days in order to earn the best days." Unknown
"Great things are not something accidental, but must certainly be willed." Vincent Van Gogh
"Expect the BEST, prepare for the WORST, forget what others THINK." Unknown
"Team leaders: You don't always have to say perfect words; just seeing your passion, confidence, and energy can be enough to rally a team." Unknown
"Basketball is one of those rare opportunities where you can make a difference, not only for yourself but for other people as well." Bill Walton
"Education comes from within. You get it by struggle and effort and thought." Napoleon Hill
"All kids need a little help, a little hope, and somebody who believes in them." Unknown
"A person is literally what they think, their character being the complete sum of all their thoughts." James Allen
"There have been times when I have failed. But there have never been times when I thought I would fail." Michael Jordan
"Teamwork doesn't come naturally. It must be taught" Pat Summitt
"As a parent, I have a job as a role model to my children, and by extension, to other young people."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
"If a coach has to beg a player into wanting to improve and get better, they are wasting two people's time." Gary Curneen
"There is no chance, no destiny, no fate that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul." Ella Wheeler Wilcox
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?" Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"If you spend your time trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything." Tom Rath
"If you spend your time trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything."
Tom Rath
"Being coachable is on the player. If you want to win, you will be coachable." Jeff Van Gundy
"There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses." Ken Blanchard
"Being coachable is on the player. If you want to win, you will be coachable." Jeff Van Gundy
"I'm too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful, and too determined to be defeated!" Amy Hauser
"Practice without improvement is meaningless" Chuck Knox
"If I always appeared prepared, it is because before entering an undertaking, I have meditated long and have foreseen what might occur. It is not genius where reveals to me suddenly and secretly what I should do in circumstances unexpected by others; it is thought and preparation." Napoleon Bonaparte
"Confidence comes not from always being right, but rather from not fearing to be wrong."
Unknown
"Give everyone more than they expect and you'll get more back than you expected." Unknown
"Great players are not great because they are perfect, they are great because they have a perfect reaction to their mistakes." Spencer Wood
"There is no success without hardship." - Sophocles
"He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak." Michel de Montaigne
"We want to be the most enthusiastic and energetic team in the country. That's what we can control." Shaka Smart
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't. Jerry Rice
"You can say whatever you want to say to try to get somebody to believe you. Probably won't work. At the end of the day, trust is gained." Bill Gates
"No one ever attains success by simply doing what is required of him." - Charles Kendall Adams
"Either life entails courage, or it ceases to be life." E. M. Forester
"Don't measure yourself by what you accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability." John Wooden
"You are the only problem you will ever have and you are the only solution." Bob Proctor
"People hear what they want to hear. That means our players' experiences and beliefs determine what they hear." Unknown
"One difference between average teams and very good teams is that good teams do not surrender to fatigue." Unknown
"I don't think there's a home way or a roadway to play. I think there's one way and I've said this many times. It's the right way." Alain Vigneault
"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the leader is a servant." Max de Pree
"If you believe in someone, let them know. They can gain tremendous strength and energy from your belief." Unknown
"We are judged by what we finish, not by what we start." Unknown
"When coaches learn, they should always try to learn in detail. But when they teach, they should teach with simplicity." Gary Curneen
"Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them." Vaibhav Shah
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less." C.S. Lewis
"Success depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character." Unknown
"If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then they did it." Paul "Bear" Bryant
"You can have results, or you can have excuses, but you can't have both." Unknown
"It has been my observation that most people get ahead during time that others waste." Henry Ford
"Your job gives you authority. Your behavior earns you respect." Irwin Federman
"You can talk about it all you want, but if you don't practice it, you won't do it in the games. You have to coach it every day." Monte Kiffin
"Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so." David Brooks
"A team's identity is one of the most important ingredients in winning." Scotty Bowman
"I am looking for people who have an infinite capacity to not know what cannot be done."
Henry Ford
"What will you do today that will make you proud in a year?" Unknown
One time when Henry Ford was asked if he didn’t stand to lose a great deal of money if certain things went wrong, he said one should not think about things going wrong. . .
“You must never, even for a second, let yourself think that you can fail,” said Mr. Ford. “Our first principal is that failure is impossible. You may not get what you’re trying to do right the first time or the second time or the tenth time or the 100th time, but if you shut out of your mind the possibility of being licked, then you are bound to win.”
"Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice." - Wayne Dyer
As Lao Tzu once said, " The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
"Create habits that will make for success in the most difficult situations." Jay Wright
"Review your goals twice every day in order to be focused on achieving them." Les Brown
"It's so important to know upfront that challenges exist in almost everything we are trying to accomplish. Worthwhile is often preceded by hard!" Kevin Eastman
"Only by contending with challenges that seem to be beyond your strength to handle at the moment can you grow." Brian Tracy
"The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else." Martina Navratilova
"If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does them day in and day out." Chuck Noll
"Don't let winning make you soft. Don't let losing make you quit. Don't let your teammates down in any situation," Larry Bird
"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." Vince Lombardi
"Leadership is about the eyes to see what needs improving & to set the vision; the ears to hear what's going on; & the heart to help when needed." Kevin Eastman
"Where focus goes, energy flows." Tony Robbins
"There is only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything. I do, and I demand that my players do." Vince Lombardi
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Winston Churchill
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”— HENRY DAVID THOREAU
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Winston Churchill
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”— HENRY DAVID THOREAU
"In the end, it's about teaching, and what I always loved about coaching was the practices. Not the games, not the tournaments, not the alumni stuff. Teaching the players in practice was what coaching was all about to me." John Wooden
"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionable integrity, Without it, no real success is possible." Dwight D. Eisenhower
"You'll be surprised how far you can go from the point where you thought it was the end."
Unknown
"For me, the starting point before everything-before strategy, tactics, theories, managing, organizing, philosophy, methodology, finished talent or experience is work ethic. Without one of significant magnitude you're dead in the water, finished." Bill Walsh
"Hold the vision, trust the process." - Unknown
"People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude." John C. Maxwell
"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him." Booker T. Washington
"We get the best out of others when we give the best of ourselves." Harvey Firestone
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Leonardo da Vinci
"A lesson young people need to learn is when to use others' comments to grow and when to let those comments go." Lori Morrison
"Culture has more impact than scheme. It has more to do with winning than scheme."
Kevin Stallings
"No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you." Althea Gibson
"When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know--but if you listen you may learn something new." JP McEvoy
"What we see depends mainly on what we look for." John Lubbock
"To accomplish excellence or anything outstanding, you must listen to that whisper which is heard by you alone." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." Unknown
"The strongest people aren't always the people who win, but the people who don't give up when they lose." Unknown
"No one plays this or any game perfectly. It's the player who recovers from their mistakes who wins." Phil Jackson
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
"See yourself with kind eyes. Try to forget completely all the idiotic things you’ve done, the pain you’ve given to others, the embarrassments you’ve suffered, the mistakes you’ve made in the past. Again, wipe the slate clean.” –EARL NIGHTINGALE
"We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands upon himself, and the latter who makes no demands on himself." Jose Ortega Y Gasset
"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't." Unknown
"Learn from the past, prepare for the future, and perform in the moment." Mike Van Hoozer
"I don't do things HALF-HEARTEDLY. I know that if I do, then I can expect HALF-HEARTED results." Michael Jordan
"People cannot directly choose their circumstances, but they can choose their thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape their circumstances." Napoleon Hill
"Good talent with bad attitude equals bad talent." Bill Walsh
"The need for solid and ongoing reinforcement never (ever, ever, ever) ends." Unknown
"While you're sitting back complaining about a situation, another coach is out there finding a solution to it." Trevor McLean
"Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong." Peter T. McIntyre
"It is what it is. But it will be what you make it." Pat Summitt
"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." Edmund Hillary
"Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." Vince Lombardi
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total, all those acts will be written in the history of this generation." Robert F. Kennedy
"You must contribute your whole self to the team, not just your athletic self."- Phil Jackso
"One of the most important keys to success is having the discipline to do what you know you should do, even when you don't feel like doing it.” Unknown
"He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak." - Michel de Montaign
"If the action is foolish. The reaction should be intelligent." Abdullah Bin Bayyah
"Complaining causes you to focus on everything but being your best." Jon Gordon
"Often it's not the daily increase, but the daily decrease that makes the difference. Hack away the unessential." Bruce Lee
"When a group of over-protected, under-corrected players meets a team of tough-minded, disciplined competitors, it is a mismatch." Proactive Coach
"Your comfort zone is a place where you keep yourself in a self-illusion and nothing can grow there but your potentiality can grow only when you can think and grow out of that zone.” Rashedur Ryan Rahman
"Coaching is taking a player where they can't take themselves." Unknown
"The pain of discipline is far less than the pain of regret." Sarah Bombell
"Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember--the only taste of success some people get is to take a bite out of you." -Zig Ziglar
"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit." Vince Lombardi
"Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change." Margaret Thatcher
"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." Margaret Thatcher
"No one will make a good leader who wants to do it all themselves or get all the credit for doing it." Andrew Carnegie
"Good habits are important, but it's often our bad habits that prevent us from reaching our full potential...you're only as good as your worst habits." Amy Morin
"A bad shot is the first pass of your opponent's fast break." Jay Bilas
"Success seems to be connected with ACTION. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they DON'T QUIT."- Conrad Hilton
"Teamwork is the only way to reach our ultimate moments and create breakthroughs that define our careers and fulfill our lives." Pat Riley
"It's what you're doing when you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing that's the problem." Wyatt Smallwood
"Winning isn't everything, but making the effort to win is." Vince Lombardi
"Make each day your masterpiece." - John Wooden
"Success isn't just about what you accomplish in your life; it's about what you inspire others to do." - Unknown
"There's no growth in the comfort zone and there's no comfort in the growth zone." Tim Elmore
"Confidence...thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live." Franklin D. Roosevelt
"What sets disciplined people apart? The capacity to get past distractions. Focus on the task at hand." Bill Parcells
"Being busy does not always mean doing real work." Thomas Edison
"You'll be surprised to know how far you can go from the point where you thought you couldn't go any more." Unknown
"Don't let your learning lead to knowledge. Let your learning lead to action." Jim Rohn
Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, whatever misfortune you may have suffered, the music of your life has not gone. It's inside of you- if you listen to is, you can hear it.
"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." -Truman Capote
"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." William James
"You must learn how to hold a team together. You must lift some up, calm others down until finally, they've got one heartbeat. Then you've got yourself a team." Paul "Bear" Bryant
"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Opportunities don't happen. You create them." - Chris Grosser
"Sometimes you learn more from losing than winning. Losing forces you to reexamine." Pat Summitt
"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you." John Wooden
"People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily." Zig Ziglar
"What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise." -Oscar Wilde
"Your excuses are nothing more than your fears coming to get you." Unknown
"The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together. Paul Ryan
"Good habits are important, but it's often our bad habits that prevent us from reaching our full potential...you're only as good as your worst habits." Robert F. Kennedy
"How you look at the world is how you treat it. How you treat the world is what the world becomes for you." – Ted Larkins
Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total, all those acts will be written in the history of this generation." Robert F. Kennedy
"Hold the vision, trust the process." - Unknown
You see things, and you say "Why?" but I dream things that never were, and I say "Why not" George Bernard Shaw
"You measure a person by what it takes to discourage them." Bo Ryan
"You've done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination." Ralph Marston
"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat so that we can know who we are." Maya Angelou
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." Unknown
"You become like the five people you spend the most time with. Choose wisely." Unknown
"However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at." - Stephen Hawking
"Success is not counted by how high you have climbed, but by how many people you have brought with you." Wil Rose
"Failure is success if we learn from it."- Malcolm Forbes
"You cannot achieve what you have not defined." John Maxwell
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." John F. Kennedy
If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward. Martin Luther King Jr.
"To defeat a week opponent is not the problem. The problem is to win when your opponent is as good as or better than you." Robert Neyland
"However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at." - Stephen Hawking
"Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt
"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races, one after another." Walter Elliot
"Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding." Jim Valvano
"Continue to invest in your personal development. Expand your occupational horizons by constant study. Take time to think. The dimensions of most jobs are constrained only by the mind of the uncreative worker." J. Richard Clarke
"Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Work at it, early and late, in season and out of season, leaving no stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now." P.T. Barnum
"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it that does." Lou Holtz
Jedi Master Yoda, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”
“It takes patience to run fast in track & field.”– Vince Anderson
“Posture is the first most important aspect of speed.” – Tom Tellez
“Create as much horizontal displacement as possible at take off in the triple jump.” -Boo Schexnayder
“Track & Field is the ultimate athletic event. There are football players, basketball players, tennis players but we are track & field athletes.” – Paul Souza
"Answer these questions often: What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Where is it going?" Jed McKenna
"Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity." Will Smith
"Every person is enthusiastic at times. One person has an enthusiasm for 30 minutes; another person has it for 30 days, but it is the person who has it for 30 years who makes a success in life." Edward Butler George
"We cannot accept in victory what we would not accept in defeat." Dick Bennett
"A coach's words become a player's reality. The best choose carefully. We instead of I Yes instead of No And instead of But Enhance instead of Improve." Gary Curneen
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." John F. Kennedy
"Opportunity follows struggle If follows effort. It follows hard work. It doesn't come before." Unknown
"Anything that is measured and watched improves." Bob Parsons
"Excellence is never an accident'; it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution, and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities." Unknown
"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance." Bruce Barton
“The Five C's of Coaching:
1- Clarity
2- Communication
3- Collaboration
4- Commitment
5- Culture”
― Farshad Asl
"You must do one thing every day which makes you feel uncomfortable." Richard Parkes Cordock
"Things rarely get stuck due to a lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined." David Allen
"To become a master of any skill, it takes the total effort of your: heart, mind, and soul working in tandem." Maurice Young
“I am a member of the team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” Mia Hamm
"Leaders are those who empower others." Bill Gates
"The cyclone derives its power from a calm center. So does a person." Norman Vincent Peale
"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most people succeed because they are determined to." George Allen
"Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us." Earl Nightingale
"If you want to have good ideas, you must have many ideas. Most of them will be wrong, and what you have to learn is which ones to throw away." Linus Pauling
"We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents." Eric Hoffer
"Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again." James R. Cook
"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. Neldon Mandela
“When you expect the best from people, you will often see more in them than they see in themselves.” Mark Miller
“Everyone has the fire, but the champions know when to ignite the spark.” Amit Ray
"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen." Frank Lloyd Wright
“If you only ever give 90% in training then you will only ever give 90% when it matters.” Arthur C. Clarke
“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” Arthur C. Clarke
"Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it." Marian Anderson
"Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have." Norman Vincent Peale
"The distance between who I am and who I want to be is separated only by my actions and words." Unknown
"Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event." Brian Tracy
"I will prepare and someday my chance will come." Abraham Lincoln
"The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses It is won behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road long before I dance under those lights." Muhammad Ali
"Confidence comes from being prepared." John Wooden
"A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning." Chuck Noll
“There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” Derek Jeter
"You have to play so hard that it hurts." Kyle Johnson
"Our life is what our thoughts make it." Marcus Aurelius
I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. Stephen Covey
"Difficulties show what people really are." Epictetus
"The more you take responsibility for your past and present, the more you are able to create the future you seek." Celestine Chua
“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it.” Knute Rockne
"A bad day coaching is better than a good day doing almost anything else." Bob Hurley Sr.
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” Zig Ziglar
“Leadership is giving out far more than one expects an indirect return. The rewards are intangible, yet priceless.” T Jay Taylor
“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” John Wooden
“The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves” Joseph Campbell
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Winston Churchill
No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction. - Charles Francis Adams
“Win without boasting. Lose without excuse.” Albert Payson Terhune
“You must be personally reliable before you can coach your team to generate reliable results.” Lee Colan
“To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another.” John C. Maxwell
“Warriors respect each other. They give dignity to each other either in a win or in a defeat.”
Avijeet Das
“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall
"Your attitude is either the lock on or the key to the door of success." Dennis Waitley
“Don't stop at the first obstacle; have the endurance to keep on going and you will succeed.” Robert A. Schuller
“Maturity is when you stop complaining and making excuses, and start making changes.” Roy T. Bennett
"Your attitude is either the lock on or the key to the door of success." Dennis Waitley
“Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear” John Madden
“Success is a CHOICE, not CHANCE” Ben Burlinson
"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Do not look where you fell, but rather where you slipped." African Proverb
"Quote to share with your players regarding their choices of people to hang out with. "You can't do A+ work with D+ people." Pat McAfee
"Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." Will Rogers
"To be great we need to win games we aren't supposed to." Julius Erving
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln
"It's hard to be consistent at something if you aren't dedicated to it." Coach K
"No one ever attains success by simply doing what is required of him." - Charles Kendall Adams
"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." Alex Karras
"The smartest person in the room is the one asking the questions” Steve Siebold
"To be great we need to win games we aren't supposed to." Julius Erving
"First, we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits or they will conquer you." Rob Gilbert
"You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you." James Allen
"Hard work doesn't guarantee success, but a lack of hard work guarantees failure." Unknown
"The greatest day in your life and in mine is the day we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up." John C.Maxwell
"Actions express priorities." Mahatma Gandhi
"I Can't = I Certainly Am Not Trying." @CoachMottoon Twitter
"One day you will wake up and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now." Paulo Coelho
"Everything depends upon execution; having just a vision is no solution." Stephen Sondheim
"The moment you accept total responsibility for everything in your life is the moment you claim the power to change anything in your life." Hal Elrod
"All it takes is one person who is committed, focused, and on a mission to spark an entire team into believing in themselves." Bruce Brown
"Are you green and growing or ripe and rotting?" Ray Kroc
"There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing
something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses." Ken Blanchard
"Playing second fiddle isn't always easy, but it's always important." Unknown
When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.
William Arthur Ward
"Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair." Unknown
"You are the only problem you will ever have and you are the only solution." Bob Proctor
"Leaders are those who empower others." Bill Gates
"Fight for your opinions, but do not believe that they contain the whole truth or the only truth." Charles A. Dana
"Maybe my greater fear should not be fear itself, but what I will lose should I submit to fear." Craig D. Lounsbrough
"The days you are most uncomfortable are the days you learn the most about yourself." Mary L. Bean
"What simple action could you take today to produce a new momentum toward success?" Tony Robbins
"You need to decide whether you want a life of comfort or a life of accomplishment." Unknown
"Direction and discipline, not intention, determines one's destiny and success" Sam Allen
"Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you." Unknown
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there." John Wooden
"Few persons have the courage to appear as good as they really are." John Wooden
"What gets scheduled gets done." Michael Hyatt
"You are greater than your circumstances. More courageous than your fears. The struggle is real but you are strong. Life is tough but you are tougher."- Jon Gordon
"It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results." Warren Buffet
"I make more mistakes than anyone else I know. And, sooner or later, I patent most of them." Thomas Edison
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller
"I can help, but in the end it is up to you" David Kirby
The one important thing I have learnt over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking oneself seriously. The first is imperative and the second disastrous.
Margot Fonteyn
"Victory or defeat is not determined at the moment of crisis, but rather in the long and unspectacular period of preparation" Anonymous
"It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe."
Muhammad Ali
"Success is CHOICE, not CHANCE" Ben Burlinson
"Culture consists of the shared purpose, attitudes, values, goals, practices, behaviors, and habits that define a team or organization." Jon Gordon
"A coach's words become an athlete's reality." Gary Curneen
“Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” ~Nido Qubein
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there." John Wooden
"Wisdom is always an over match for strength." Phil Jackson
"Adversity causes some to break; others to break records." William Ward
The first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself. Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, and humility. -Nelson Mandela
"Few persons have the courage to appear as good as they really are." Unknown
"In a competitive environment, to stay the same is to regress." Bill Parcells
"The definition of courage is going from defeat to defeat with enthusiasm." Winston Churchill
"It takes persistent practice to be skillful in the act." Lailah Gifty Akita
Each day remember your purpose. Remember why you do what you do. We don't get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it. Jon Gordon
"Every season is a journey. Every journey is a lifetime." Mike Krzyzewski
"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all of your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement." -Golda Meir
"The key is not to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." Stephen Covey
To make a difference in someone's life, you don't have to be brilliant, rich, or perfect. You just have to care.-- Mandy Hale
"We all need a check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin' thinkin' which leads to hardening of the attitudes." Zig Ziglar
"Difficulties in your life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realise your hidden potential and power, let difficulties know that you too are difficult." Abdul Kalam
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -Maya Angelou
"Your opponent isn't the other guy. Your opponent is human nature." Bob Knight
A lot of people run a race to see who's the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts.
Steve Prefontaine
"Success isn't just about what you accomplish in life. It's about what you inspire others to do." Unknown
"All in means you bring it every day, every time! You can't coast to greatness." Unknown
"All in means you bring it every day, every time! You can't coast to greatness." Michael Catt via @coachmotto on Twitter
"Teamwork is the only way to reach our ultimate moments and create breakthroughs that define our careers and fulfill our lives." Pat Riley
"It's not what you do once in a while; it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference." Unknown
"Great things are not accidental, but must certainly be willed." Vincent van Gogh
"Worry is wasting today's time cluttering up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles." Unknown
"Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happnes to you."
Aldous Huxley
"You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside." Wayne Dyer
"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." Unknown
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." Robert Louis Stevenson
"Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happnes to you." Aldous Huxley
"Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made." Wayne Dyer
"Keep calm by making sure you don't concentrate on anything you can't control." Unknown
"Discipline is doing what has to be done, when it has to be done, as well as it can be done, and doing it that way all the time." Unknown
"A person really doesn't become whole, until he becomes a part of something that's bigger than himself." Jim Valvano
"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are." Anais Nin
"If you want people to be flexible, adaptable, and open to feedback, so must you." George Raveling
"My message to my team: I'm not here to make you feel good about bad play. I'm here to get you to understand how good you can be." John Calipari
"Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount."Clare Booth Luce
"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." Anais Nin
"We cannot accept in victory what we would not accept in defeat." Dick Bennett
"The best leaders immerse themselves in both teaching and learning. Growth comes by both." Kevin Eastman
"Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, the habits you are developing now will be with you for the rest of your life." John Wooden
"It's not your goals that will lead to your success but your commitment to the process."
Jon Gordon
"A person's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
"More games are won during practice than during the game." George Raveling
"Lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action." Anthony Robbins
"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's." Henry Moore
"A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life." -John Wooden
"Being coachable is on the player. If you want to win, you will be coachable." Jeff Van Gundy
"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's." Henry Moore
"A person's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." Oliver Wendell Holmes
“The longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will never actually do it.” - John C Maxwell
"The game of life is like the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy." Unknown
"More games are won during practice than during the game." George Raveling
Once you have established the goals you want and the price you're willing to pay, you can ignore the minor hurts, the opponent's pressure and the temporary failures. ~Vince Lombardi
"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another."
- William James
"A word of encouragement after failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success." Unknown
"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." Milton Berle
"You'll never find a better sparring partner than adversity. "Golda Meir
"Body language never whispers. It SCREAMS!" Buzz Williams
"The culture precedes positive results. It doesn't get tacked on as an afterthought on your way to the victory stand. Champions behave like champions before they're champions; they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners." Bill Walsh
You are greater than your circumstances. More courageous than your fears. The struggle is real but you are strong. Life is tough but you are tougher. -Jon Gordon
"It's the little things that make the big things possible. Only close attention to the fine details of any operation makes that operation first class." J. Willard Marriott, Sr
"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny." C. S. Lewis
"There's no substitute for guts." Bear Bryant
"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. "Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I am not remotely interested in just being good." Vince Lombardi
"Don't measure yourself by what you accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability." John Wooden
"There are no great teams without great teammates." Unknown
"You won't be good enough to ever beat another team by yourself. But you can destroy your own team with a bad attitude."
"People do not decide their futures. They decide their habits and their habits decide their future." F.M. Alexander
"Don't count the things you do, do the things that count." Zig Ziglar
"Confidence comes not from always being right, but rather from not fearing to be wrong." Unknown
If you take a close look at the most successful people in life, you'll find that their strength is not in having the right answers, but in asking the right questions. -John Chancellor
"A coach can help you with your mistakes, but nobody can help you with your excuses." Buzz Williams
"Good teachers know their lesson plans. GREAT teachers know their students." Jon Gordon
"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." Bruce Lee
"Coaching points inform athletes. Questions engage them. Enthusiasm inspires them. Jargon confuses them. Negativity loses them." Gary Curneen
"There's always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his or her attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning." Pat Riley
"You want to create an environment where they'll let you coach them." Chuck Daily
"People do not decide their futures. They decide their habits and their habits decide their futures." F. M. Alexander
"You can look for difficulties in your opportunities OR you can look for opportunities in your difficulties. Whatever you seek, you will find." DL Ward
"Inches make champions." Vince Lombardi
"If you tell the truth, it become a part of your past. If you tell a lie, it becomes a part of your future." Unknown
"Tough teams aren't fooled by winning. They're able to clearly evaluate areas for improvement, and never lose sight of their standards." Jay Bilas
"It's my experience that people rise to the level of their own expectations and of the competition they seek out." Pat Summitt
"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's." Henry Moore
"There's always somebody saying you can't do it, and those people have to be ignored." Bill Cartwright
"Bad players want to show the world what they can't do. Good players stay within themselves and do what they can do." Bob Huggins
"Good teachers know their lesson plans. GREAT teachers know their students." Jon Gordon
"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy." -Normal Vincent Peale
"...To be an athlete, you first must learn-- that it's ‘self-respect' you'll have to earn. You must conquer you, or you'll surely get beat, ‘cause you are the one, against whom you compete" Robert L. Kleine
"The will must be stronger than the skill." Muhammed Ali
"Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the axe." Abraham Lincoln
"How can you know what your limits are if you've never pushed them?"Herbert Simon
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." Colin Powell
"We should remember that just as a positive outlook on life can promote good health, so can every act of kindness." Unknown
"Courage is the ability to do the right thing, all the time, no matter how painful or uncomfortable it might be." Tony Dungy
"Hard work doesn't guarantee success, but it does improve its chances." B.J. Gupta
"Have goals so big that your problems pale in comparison." Grant Cardone
"Instead of always thinking about what you 'want' for yourself, also put in the forefront of your thoughts what you 'expect' of yourself." Kevin Eastman
"I can't sacrifice integrity for talent."Dick Bennett
"How competitive can you be without losing your discipline?." Doc Rivers to his players
"By becoming a little better each and every day, over a period of time, you will become a lot better." John Wooden
The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot. Michael Althsuler
Positive Self Talk Link is below - Clickable under Useful Links!
https://trackandfieldtoolbox.net/mental-skills/positive-self-talk
6 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE POSITIVE SELF-TALK
-Self-talk should be practiced ahead of time (outside of competition).
-While there are best practices, the focus should be less about negative/positive, or good/bad self-talk, and more about what is PRODUCTIVE for athletes in certain situations.
-Individual preferences are okay.
-Self-talk should be focused on what should be done, rather than what should be avoided.
-Different situations might call for different types of self-talk.
-It is difficult to turn off self-talk. For most people, self-talk is going to happen, for the good or the bad, regardless of whether you work on it. Knowing that, you may as well make the monologue in your head helpful… and positive!
"Success is on the same road as failure; success is just a little further down the road."Jack Hyles
A few thoughts from Enzo - A positive mindset changes everything! You must stay very focused and take action everyday. You need to be passionate, persistent and purpose driven. Your Time is Now! D.I.A.}>Decide in Advance that you are going to be great.
"Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so." David Brooks
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Unknown
"Ships don't sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don't let what's happening around you and weigh you down." Alan Stein
"A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” – Jim Watkins
"You will never change your results unless you change something that you do daily." John Maxwell
"Lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action." Anthony Robbins
When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. Confucius
"Do, Or do not. There is no try." Yoda a Jedi master
"Hustle never goes in a slump." Adam Eaton
"Words are words; explanations are explanations, promises are promises, but only performance is reality." Harold S. Geneen --- What do you think?
"Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable." Theodore N. Vail
"Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change." Jim Rohn
"The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, but in what direction you are moving." Oliver Wendell Holmes
SMILE! - A smile activates mirror neurons -- special signals that fire when we act and when we observe others acting--making grins literally contagious. Smiles are like parties for the brain. They activate neuropeptides that work to reduce stress and spread happy messages through the body. Both the smiler and the “smilee” usually feel a mood boost.
"One difference between average teams and very good teams is that good teams do not surrender
to fatigue." Unknown
"Every person, every setback, every experience in your life can teach you something if you are open to learning from it. When you view life from this perspective, class is always in session." Unknown
"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face...we must do that which we think we cannot." Eleanor Roosevelt
Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward. Henry Ford
"If you can’t fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward." MLK
"There's no such thing as coulda, shoulda, or woulda. If you shoulda and coulda, you woulda done it." Pat Riley
Only the prepared individual deserves to be confident. Dale Carnegie
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle
"You can't always be the strongest, or most talented, or most gifted person in the room, but you can be the most competitive." Pat Summitt
"Adversity is the state in which people most easily become more acquainted with themselves." John Wooden
To succeed, we must believe we can!
It's not about perfect, it's about effort. When you give effort in your life, that's how change occurs. Keep going and remember why you started. Jillian Michaels
"To go from good to great, it's all in the details. Everything matters. "Steve Kerr
"Sometimes we are more limited by attitudes than by opportunities." William James
"Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine." - Roy T. Bennett
"No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction. " -Charles Francis Adams
There are no shortcuts. To be a big success. Start a little earlier, work a little harder and stay a little later. Brian Tracy
"High expectations are the key to everything." Sam Walton
"How competitive can you be without losing your discipline?" Doc Rivers
"By choosing to embrace and practice good values every day, you may not always get what you desire, but you will always be the person you desire to be." Unkown
"Competitors... A relentless, fearless, focused attitude overcomes all distractions and circumstances." Bruce Bowen
"The qualities of our expectations determine the quality of our actions." Andres Godin
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts." - Eleanor Roosevelt
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts." - Eleanor Roosevelt
"Education comes from within. You get it by struggle and effort and thought." Napoleon Hill
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford
"Do. Or do not. There is no try." - Master Yoda
"Success depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind and character." Unknown
"If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does them day in and day out." Chuck Noll
"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." Vince Lombardi
"Don't let winning make you soft. Don't let losing make you quit. Don't let your teammates down in any situation," Larry Bird
"All great achievements have one thing in common--people with a passion to succeed." Pat Cash
"Where focus goes, energy flows." Tony Robbins
It's not where you place, it's how hard you worked to get there!
Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the coverage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill
"You have to fight through the bad days in order to earn the best days." Unknown
"Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together." Paul Ryan
Toughness is coming face to face with your limitations, whatever they may be, and having the courage to acknowledge them and still keep going.
The difference between ordinary and extra ordinary is the little extra.
"Words are words; explanations are explanations, promises are promises, but only performance is reality." Harold S. Geneen
Amanda DiDonato submitted "Yard by yard can be very hard! Inch by inch is a cinch! Start your day with a glass of water and put on a song that makes you move!" -Coach Dwyer
"Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event." Brian Tracy
You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. Zig Ziglar
"What we see depends mainly on what we look for." John Lubbock
"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." William James
“When it comes to luck, you make your own.” – Bruce Springsteen
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”– Eleanor Roosevelt
"The pain of discipline is far less than the pain of regret." Sarah Bombell
Patience and discipline, as well as the confidence in yourself, your teammates and your coaches will help you to become a true competitor. Coach Dwyer
"The pain of discipline is far less than the pain of regret." Sarah Bombell
Patience, as well as the confidence in yourself, your teammates and your coaches will help you to become a true competitor. Coach Dwyer
"Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward."- Henry Ford
"Winning isn't everything, but making the effort to win is."Vince Lombardi
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
"I will prepare and someday my chance will come." Abraham Lincoln
"It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe." Muhammad Ali What do you think?
"There may be people that have more talent than you, but there's no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do." Derek Jeter
"Adversity causes some to break; others to break records." William Ward
"Maturity is when you stop complaining and making excuses, and start making changes." Roy T. Bennett
"Leadership is not about your ambition. It is about bringing out the ambitions of your team." Cheryl A. Bachelder
"Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be
sent to you. You have to win it." Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Running, however hard it feels at the time, gives you strength and self-belief.” Tina Chantrey, coach and mental health advocate
"The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them
into the impossible." Arthur C. Clarke
"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." -Tim Notke (popularized by Kevin Durant) So Coach Dwyer says, Just Keep Working Hard!
"What is love? Love is playing every game like it's your last." Michael Jordan
"Everyone has the fire, but the champions know when to ignite the spark." Amit Ray
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there." John Wooden
"I am a member of the team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion." Mia Hamm
"To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing
with one another."John C. Maxwell
"Warriors respect each other. They give dignity to each other either in a win or in a defeat."-Avijeet Das
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams
"The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen." Lee Iacocca
"If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it over?" - John Wooden
Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you. — Mary Lou Retton
Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not. — Oprah Winfrey
If you believe it will work out, you will see OPPORTUNITIES, if you believe it won't you will see OBSTACLES-Jessica Smith
“Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Grit and persistence are common traits of successful people.
Grit-courage and resolve; strength of character.
A positive trait based on passion, persistence and motivation.
It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always. - Oprah Winfrey
Yard by yard can be very hard! Inch by inch is a cinch! Start your day with a glass of water and put on a song that makes you move!
"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination"
- Tommy Lasorda
Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes. - Benjamin Franklin
Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. - John R. Wooden
Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.
- Oprah Winfrey
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
The ones who believed in themselves the most were the ones who won.
– Florence Griffith Joyner
Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage and confidence in the doing. - Theodore Roosevelt
Be who you are and say what you feel, because in the end those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter. - Theodor Seuss Geisel
We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. - J.K. Rowling
No one is born a perfect runner. And none of us will become one. But through incremental steps, we can become better runners. And that’s the beauty of our sport: There are no shortcuts, nothing is given to us; we earn every mile, and we earn every result. -Peter Magill, 2010 USA Masters 5K champion
Awesome Quote-Thanks Noreen
A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence. - James N. Watkins
Caring about the happiness of others, we find our own. - Plato
Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. - Theodor Seuss Geisel
You just can't beat the person who never gives up. - Babe Ruth
Vision without action, is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. Japanese Proverb
Set Your Goals - I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. - Thomas Jefferson
It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. - Bill Gates
Set Your Goals-The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. - Amelia Earhart
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples. - Mother Teresa
Olympic Inspiration
It's all about the journey, not the outcome. - Carl Lewis
Don't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the further you get. - Michael Phelps
There's always a point where you get knocked down. But I draw on what I've learned on the track: If you work hard, things will work out. - Lolo Jones
If you fail to prepare, you're prepared to fail. - Mark Spitz
Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. - Babe Ruth
If we push on, we begin to feel a vague, tingling sense of who, or what, we really are. It’s a powerful feeling, strong enough to have us coming back for more, again and again. – Adharanand Finn
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.
Full effort is full victory. – Mahatma Gandhi
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination. – Tommy Lasorda
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. Muhammad Ali
I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.' Muhammad Ali
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Jim Ryun
It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great. – Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan in “A League of Their Own”
Experience has taught me how important it is to just keep going, focusing on running fast and relaxed. Eventually pain passes and flow returns. It's part of racing. Frank Shorter
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."
How you do anything is how you do everything. - Kristin Armstrong
To give anything but your best is to sacrifice the gift. - Steve Prefontaine
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't. Jerry Rice
Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results. -- Gen. George S. Patton
To become a courageous leader, you must realize that accepting responsibility is not optional – it's mandatory. -- David Cottrell
We're given a code to live our lives by. We don't always follow it, but it's still there. -- Gary Oldman
Feedback is the breakfast of champions. -- Ken Blanchard
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do. -- Andrew Carnegie
You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. -- Margaret Thatcher
No I don't understand my husbands Theory of Relativity. But I know my husband, and I know he can be trusted. --Elsa Einstein
One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears. -- Dean Rusk
To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end in life. --Robert Louis Stevenson
I'm continually amazed at the number of business people I meet who complain about spending "so much time" selecting a new employee, yet are often willing to spend twice that time researching a new copy machine. -- Barbara "BJ" Gallagher
Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell. -- Unknown
Go for singles rather than home runs. They're a lot easier to hit. Besides, every four singles equals a run…and the bases are still loaded! -- Eric Harvey
It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance. -- Thomas H. Huxley
As we sail through life, don't avoid rough waters, sail on because calm waters won't make a skillful sailor. -- Unknown
When the wind goes out of the sail, the boat drifts with the current. --Old sailor's truth
The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. --Moliere
…..never forget that getting big things done all year long isn't about magic. It's about leadership. --Santa Claus
Being good means being good all the time. There are no time-outs…no crossing your fingers behind your back. Everything counts. --Santa Claus
I pay attention to what my elves (and others) feel. Perceptions are realities for those that hold them… and I must deal with those realities in order to lead effectively. --Santa Claus
Today’s Topic: A Message From Santa: Share the Milk and Cookies!
One of the biggest benefits of being Santa Claus is the fact that
I’m on “the point.” Although most everyone works his or her little
ears and antlers off to make sure our mission is accomplished, I’m
the one usually in the spotlight.
Who are the zillions of letters we receive each year addressed to? Me.
Who gets the credit for the elf-made presents found under all those
trees each year? Me. Who enjoys milk and freshly-baked cookies in warm
homes while the reindeer try to catch their breaths on cold rooftops?
You guessed it: me again.
Those benefits (and many more like them) are a large part of what gets
and keeps me motivated. They’re great – great, that is, if you happen
to be me. But, unfortunately, there’s only one Santa. And with the
exception of an occasional field trip, most of the elves and reindeer
don’t get to see and experience the same things that I do. So their
feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment must come in different
ways from other sources. As the leader, I play a critical role in
making that a reality.
A key strategy I apply in performing that role is to help each elf
and reindeer see the positive differences that he or she is making
for those we serve…and for each other; I help them see their part
of the big “making-people-happy” picture.
Nothing motivates employees more than knowing they’re making a difference.
Find ways to make that happen in your workshop.
Obviously, our job is to give people what they’re looking for. And as their wants and needs change, we have to change along with them. Doing that starts with accepting the fact that the customer is truly in charge of our business…--Santa Claus
I’ve learned that recognizing employees-doing right by those who do right – is one of the best things I can do for my elves and reindeer…and for myself as well. --Santa Claus
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. --Helen Keller
Ability may get you to the top--but it takes character to keep you there. --John Wooden
You can increase your brain power three- to fivefold simply by laughing and having fun
before working on a problem. --Doug Hall
The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to extraordinary success. --Marquis De Vauvenargues
It’s not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It’s the customer who pays the wages. -- Henry Ford
There is no magic in magic, it's all in the details. -- Walt Disney
Difficulties mastered are opportunities won. --Winston Churchill
Good leaders must first become good servants. --Robert Greenleaf
We must be the change we wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
When a man blames others for his failures, it is a good idea to credit others with his successes. --Howard W. Newton
To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others. --Jimmy Carter
When you receive a kindness, remember it; when you do a kindness, forget it. --Greek Proverb
While we may never be completely free of all bias, we can work toward communicating in bias-free ways.-- Leslie C. Aguilar
We become what we think about.-- Earl Nightingale
We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world. -- Helen Keller
The first key to greatness is to be in reality what we appear to be. -- Socrates
Starting right now, work on adopting the mind set that you're a huge stake holder in the success of your organization. Fact is, you really are one. -- Steve Ventura
While bias-free communication takes ongoing effort, it will help you build a foundation of trust with your listeners. -- Leslie C. Aguilar
The best leader is the one who has the sense to surround himself with winning people. -- Unknown
The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it! -- Alan Saporta
Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not permanent. -- Mignon McLaughlin
The time is always right to do what is right. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence, but by oft falling. -- Lucretius
The more proactive you are, the less reactive you'll need to be! -- Eric Harvey and Paul Sims
The signs of outstanding leadership are found among the followers. -- Max DePree
I've come to realize that the difference in success or failure is not how you look, how you dress, or how you're educated. It's how you think! -- Mac Anderson
What separates winners from losers is the courage to persist long enough to win. -- David Cottrell
The human mind is the last great, unexplored continent on earth. -- Earl Nightingale
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. -- George S. Patton
Triumph often is nearest when defeat seems inescapable. -- B.C. Forbes
Never stop. One always stops as soon as something is about to happen. -- Peter Brook
When did you last evaluate the tasks you do every day against what’s most important to you?
-- Sam Parker
The game of business is very much like the game of tennis. Those who fail to master the basics of serving well, usually lose. -- Unknown
Don't be so busy making a life that you forget how to live. -- David Cottrell and Mark Layton
Living according to our "guiding principles" – and those of the organizations for which we work – takes conscious effort, persistence, some courage, a good-size helping of commitment, and a ton of self-discipline. -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
Start each new day with a commitment to do what's right – regardless of what may come your way. -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns. -- J.M. Clark
People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy after. -- Oliver Goldsmith
You get the best efforts from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within. -- Bob Nelson
Sometimes I feel like I'm standing at the corner of WALK and DON'T WALK! -- Unknown
Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish. -- Sam Walton
Knowledge is the best eraser in the world for disharmony, distrust, despair, and the endless deficiencies of man. -- Orlando Battista
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you'll never cease to grow. -- Anthony J. D'Angelo
There's always room for improvement – it's the biggest room in the house. -- Louise Heath Leber
It's the final steps of a journey that create an arrival.
-- Sam Parker
It's your life. You are responsible for your results. It's time to turn up the heat. -- Sam Parker
It's not enough to merely believe in recognition. You also have to behave like you believe in it! -- Eric Harvey
Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize. -- Elizabeth Harrison
Today I am going to give you two examinations, one in trigonometry and one in honesty. I hope you will pass them both, but if you must fail one, let it be trigonometry. -- Madison Sarratt
Perseverance is not a long race: it is many short races, one after another. -- Walter Elliot
To say "well done" to any bit of good work is to take hold of the powers which have made the effort and strengthen them beyond our knowledge. -- Phillip Brooks
Like you, I am a human being filled with joys, fears, frustrations, and hopes. And, like you, I want to be understood, accepted, and appreciated. -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
Just one person taking action can inspire others to do the same. -- Leslie C. Aguilar
Language has power. Based on the way you choose to name and describe people, you send different messages. -- Leslie C. Aguilar
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances. -- Martha Washington
In life, change is inevitable. In business, change is vital. -- Warren G. Bennis
Some time, in the not-too-distant future, these will probably be known as "the good old days." -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
I don't care to be involved in the crash landing unless I can be in on the takeoff. -- Harold Stassen
It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. -- Chinese Proverb
The best executive is the one who has enough sense to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. -- Theodore Roosevelt
A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit. -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. -- Abraham Lincoln
Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty. - Henri Frederic Amiel
Our comfort zones can be our greatest enemy to our potential. -- David Cottrell
It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life…we can never help another without helping ourselves. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Be thankful for problems. If they weren't so hard, someone with less ability might have your job! -- Unknown
Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit. -- Henry Brooks Adams
If you're doing everything right, but can't seem to come out on top, be patient. Hold
the course. Success is rarely an immediate, overnight thing. -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
Relationships matter most in life.
It takes two to quarrel, but only one to end it. -- Spanish Proverb
We are not put on this earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are always there for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you. -- Jeff Warner
We will forget and forgive any judgment error that you make, but integrity mistakes are forever. -- David Cottrell
Appreciative words are the most powerful force for good on earth. -- George W. Crane
It’s not about what happens. It’s about perspective. I may not be able to change what takes place, but I can always choose to change my thinking. -- Michelle Sedas
The most important part of defining (and understanding) a performance problem is separating the facts from your judgments and opinions. -- Eric Harvey and Paul Sims
Golden Rule principles are just as necessary for operating a business profitably as are trucks, typewriters, or twine. -- James Cash (J.C.) Penney
It takes all sorts to make a world. -- English Proverb
Remember that who you're being is just as important as what you're doing. Focus on the attitude behind your behavior. -- Barbara "BJ" Hateley
It’s not the way the wind blows, it’s how you set your sails. -- Unknown
Chaos is a friend of mine. -- Bob Dylan
Success is more attitude than aptitude. -- Unknown
Criticize the act, not the person. -- Mary Kay Ash
Be nice to people on your way up. You might need them on the way down. -- Jimmy Durante
Integrity is not a ninety percent thing…not a ninety-five percent thing. Either you have it, or you don’t. ~Peter Scotese~
The price of greatness is responsibility. -- Winston Churchill
Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude…and in actions. -- Harold S. Geneen
You may not always be able to turn up the heat and hit the boiling point, but that doesn't
mean you shouldn't make the attempt. -- Sam Parker & Mac Anderson
When it comes to bringing values to life – to doing the good, right, and appropriate thing…we're always working at it, we're never totally there, and the challenge starts all over again with each new tomorrow. -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
The best mind-altering drug is truth. -- Lily Tomlin
I've always been a sucker for attention! -- Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Have the courage to seek the truth. -- David Cottrell
Who among us can't improve a little (or a lot) as a parent, spouse, friend, partner, citizen, employee, or leader? -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
The only place you will find success before work is in the dictionary. -- May V. Smith
As a leader, your word is only as good as your last promise kept…or broken. -- Barbara "BJ" Gallagher
An optimist is the human personification of spring. -- Susan J. Bissonette
Coaches have to watch for what they don't want to see and listen for what they don't want to hear. -- John Madden
It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed. -- Napoleon Hill
To get what we've never had, we must do what we've never done. -- Anonymous
Every person I work with knows something better than me. My job is to listen long enough to find it and use it. -- Jack Nichols
In order to be mahvelous, you must look mahvelous! -- Fernando (Billy Crystal), Saturday Night Live
Differing views, opinions, and beliefs add texture and color to the world's tapestry….Controversial times, while difficult to weather, can change the world. -- Michelle Sedas
If you don't have the facts, get them…before you talk! -- Eric Harvey and Paul Sims
If you want to get out of the pit, stop digging. -- Ernesto Santos-DeJesus
Be it furniture, clothes, healthcare…industries today are marketing nothing more than commodities – no more, no less. What will make the difference in the long run is the care and feeding of customers. -- Michael Mescon
You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't enough, in the second half you give what's left. -- Yogi Berra
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
The highest compliments leaders can receive are those that are given by the people who work for them. -- James L. Barksdale
I may not be better than other people, but at least I'm different. -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream of things that never were and say why not. -- John F. Kennedy
In today’s Daily Motivation, we mistakenly attributed the quote “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream of things that never were and say why not,” to John F. Kennedy. It should have, in fact, been attributed to Robert F. Kennedy, who was actually quoting George Bernard Shaw.
In hindsight, a better quote for today would have been: The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. -- John Powell
The art of communication is the language of leadership. -- James Humes
Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. -- Thomas Edison
How many opportunities have you missed because you were not aware of the possibilities that would occur if you applied a small amount of effort beyond what you normally do? --Sam Parker
What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are. -- Epicletus
Emerson said it best: “To share often and much…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; this is to have succeeded.”
The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.-- Nelson Henderson
Find what makes your heart sing and create your own music. -- Mac Anderson
If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. -- Martin Luther King, Jr
In all things, be willing to listen to people around you. None of us is really smart enough to go it alone. -- John Clendenin
When the best leader’s work is done, the people say “we did it ourselves.” -- Lao Tzu
Adopt the 10% Rule - set a personal goal to improve everything you're involved in by merely ten percent. Small improvements add up quickly. --Eric Harvey & Al Lucia
We can't do really big things every day. If we're really serious about walking the talk all the time, we have to focus on the small stuff. Let the journey begin. --Eric Harvey & Al Lucia
Acting in accord with our beliefs and values - walking the talk - is one of the greatest challenges each of us faces every day. --Eric Harvey & Al Lucia
There are no real secrets to success. Success in anything has one fundamental aspect - effort...Take action with commitment. --Sam Parker
Very strange is this quality of our human nature which decrees that unless we feel a future before us we do not live completely in the present. --Phillips Brooks
To open your heart means risking it all – to experience great joy and profound sorrow. -- Tom Mathews
Life can be seen through your eyes, but it is not fully appreciated until it is seen through your heart. -- Mary Xavier
The purpose of life is a life of purpose. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
The human spirit is nurtured by praise, as much as a seedling is nurtured by the soil, the water and the sun. -- Mario Fernandez
Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t. -- Margaret Thatcher
I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me… all I ask is that you respect me as a human being. -- Jackie Robinson
Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not. -- Oprah Winfrey
Earn the right to expect others to keep their word by keeping yours. -- Steve Ventura
...in order to be a leader, you must do the things that leaders do … and you must do them well. -- Steve Ventura
...the only thing that stands between a person and what they want in life is the will to try it
and the faith to believe it possible!. --Unknown
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. --Robert Collier
For true success, ask yourself these four questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now? --James Allen
Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey. -- Charles S. Lauer
No, I don’t understand my husband’s theory of relativity. But I know my husband, and I know he can be trusted. -- Elsa Einstein
We have committed the Golden Rule to memory. Let us now commit it to life. -- Edwin Markham
It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever -- the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it. -- Vince Lombardi
When you wake up, seek the courage and strength to do the right thing. Decide that this will be another day in which you… Walk The Talk. -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
Words to live by are just words… unless you actually live by them. -- Eric Harvey and Steve Ventura
I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us… if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do. -- Christopher Reeve
Goals are for the future; values are for now. Goals are set; values are lived. Goals change;
values are rocks that you can count on. -- Sheldon Bowles
You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life. -- Zig Ziglar
Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of falling? -- Mother Eagle
The road to success is not always a road. -- Mac Anderson
Awareness is the first step to positive change. -- Leslie C. Aguilar
We must be the change we want to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi
Little value comes out of the belief that people will respond progressively better by treating them progressively worse. -- Eric Harvey
The hallmark of a well-managed organization is not the absence of problems, but whether or
not problems are effectively resolved. -- Steve Ventura
St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time – a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic. -- Adrienne Cook
People hear what we say but they see what we do. And seeing is believing. -- Eric Harvey and Al Lucia
If we’re really serious about walking the talk all the time, we have to focus on the small stuff.
-- Eric Harvey and Al Lucia
You earn the right to expect recognition by giving it! It’s that simple. -- Eric Harvey
I can live two months on one good compliment! -- Mark Twain
There is only one boss–the Customer. And he can fire anybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. -- Sam Walton
You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb it himself. -- Andrew Carnegie
Coaching isn't an addition to a leader's job, it's an integral part of it. -- George S. Odiorne
I can't imagine a person becoming a success who doesn't give this game of life everything he's got. -- Walter Cronkite
Success doesn't come to you – you go to it. -- Marva Collins
Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking. -- Bernard M. Baruch
Look for every opportunity to go the extra mile. That's how you become extra special… and extra successful. -- Steve Ventura
The Power of Attitude: One Little Difference That Almost Always Makes a Big Difference
By Mac Anderson Excerpted from The Power of Attitude:
A Native American boy was talking with his grandfather. “What do you think about the world situation?” he asked. The grandfather replied, “I feel like wolves are fighting in my heart.
One is full of anger and hatred; the other is full of love, forgiveness, and peace.” “Which one will win?” asked the boy. To which the grandfather replied, “The one I feed.”
(Origin Unknown) This simple story provides the essence of a life-changing law of the universe…You become what you think about. The words are almost too simple to “feel important.” However, if you “get it,” if you truly understand their meaning, you can forever harness the power of a positive attitude. Simply stated…if we choose to think positive thoughts, we’ll get positive results; if we think negative thoughts, we’ll get negative results. Pretend for a moment that every thought is a seed you sow in your fertile mind. Therefore, as I once heard someone say, “If you plant crabapples, don’t expect to harvest Golden Delicious.” You will reap the fruit of the thoughts you sow.
Today's Topic: Focus on Continuous Improvement
Walking the talk – acting in accord with our beliefs and values – is a journey, not a destination. The fact that you never fully arrive is not important. What’s important is for you to continue moving in the right direction:
Adopt the 10 % Rule – set a personal goal to improve everything you’re involved in by merely ten percent. Small improvements add up quickly.
Focus on people as well as processes. Keep in mind that quality is ultimately a matter of individual performance. It happens one day at a time, one person at a time.
Recognize and reward those who make improvements to products, processes, and services. What gets celebrated gets repeated.
Remember, we can’t do really big things every day. If we’re really serious about walking the talk all the time, we have to focus on the small stuff. Let the journey begin!
Today’s Topic: The Five Key Principles of Walking The Talk
Some time, in the not-too-distant future, these will probably be known as “the good old days.” But for now, they’re just the times in which we live. And they are challenging times, indeed. More and more we find ourselves facing situations which test our human fiber…and our moral compass. Temptations to do what’s convenient, easy, and self-serving come at us like waves rushing to the shore.
How do we deal with this reality? How can we ensure that we stay on the right path and avoid compromising our values and beliefs? We do it by continually reflecting on the following five key principles of walking the talk…and acting accordingly.
Principle 1: Words to Live by Are Just Words…Unless You Actually Live by Them
Principle 2: You Are What You Do
Principle 3: Everything You Do Counts
Principle 4: The “Golden Rule” Is Still Pure Gold
Principle 5: Character Is the Key
Finally, start each new day with a commitment to do what’s right – regardless of what may come your way. Decide that this will be another day in which you WALK the TALK.
Today’s Topic: Keep Your Commitments
Dependable. Reliable. Trustworthy. Do those words describe you? If asked, would your team members say that your word is “good as gold”? The answer to each of those questions needs to be a resounding “yes” if you are going to be the kind of leader that others will follow.
All successful leaders place a premium on keeping their promises and commitments. If they say they’ll do something – whether “important” or seemingly insignificant – they remember it…and they DO it. They count on the fact that people can count on them. And they understand that statements like…
I was gonna,
I meant to,
I haven’t forgotten,
I’ll get to it soon…
all translate the same way: I JUST DIDN’T DO IT!
Those are excuses. They’re close to meaningless. Each time they’re uttered, they chip away the trust and confidence employees have for their management. And when those two factors are gone, so is your ability to lead.
The good news: With few exceptions, all leaders really do intend to keep “their word” and their promises. The bad news: Good intentions alone won’t take you very far. You get no “points” for them. Points come only when you deliver.
So don’t make promises lightly…don’t make ones you can’t (or really don’t intend) to keep…don’t mislead the people that ultimately will determine your success. And when you do make commitments, write them down, check them frequently, do whatever it takes to make good on them. Earn the right to expect others to keep their word by keeping yours.
Today’s Topic: The Responsibility of Being Our Leader
Even though we work for an organization, you are our leader. We don’t follow the company’s mission statement, senior management memos, annual reports, or what the stock market watchers say about us as much as we follow you. And, like it or not, you’re not only our leader but also a large part of our career success. Our job happiness depends on our relationship with you.
Please don’t take this lightly. Sometimes we lie awake nights worrying about you and how you feel about things. We wonder why you pass us in the hall without even acknowledging our presence. We wonder why you take some of us behind closed doors while leaving others outside. As our leader, you influence all of us!
Believe it or not, we DO understand that leadership isn’t easy. We watch every day and see you assume incredible responsibilities. You’re accountable for your actions and for our actions, plus all the fiscal requirements, employee problems, feedback, training, technology changes, hiring, de-hiring, communicating, staff development, prioritizing, eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy, and much more. Your job is tough. But it is the job you chose.
What we ask of you is to accept responsibility for being the very best at your job so we can be the best at our jobs.
When you became a manager, supervisor, or team leader, the game changed. You’re now held to a higher level of accountability than before. In fact, everything you do is exaggerated; you are under a magnifying glass. And when you’re down, we’re down. When you’re up, we’re up. You set the tone…you shape the environment in which we can be successful.
Because of this, we expect more from you than from anyone else in our organization. And we need you to lead us without excuses.
The leadership you display and the decisions that you make contribute more to our success than all other factors combined.
Everything you do counts.
Make it count!
Today’s Topic: Let Them Know How They’re Doing
It’s been said that “feedback is the breakfast of champions.” Well, if that’s true, then a lot of employees out there are going hungry. And it’s time they got fed!
Ask any group of people how often they receive detailed feedback on their performance at work and it’s not unusual to hear: “Only at annual review time…or if I really screw up bad.” And that’s truly unfortunate. It’s unfair for those team members who are left in the dark, and it’s yet another self-inflicted wound by leaders who are blowing opportunities to help their people achieve and succeed.
The more employees know how they stack up against your expectations, the easier it is for them to keep their performance on track.
That’s why providing specific, detailed feedback needs to be an ongoing process rather than a once-a-year “event.” Failure to do that makes about as much sense as a professional sports coach telling his or her players: “I’ll let you know how you’re doing with those plays at the end of the season.” Not only would that be a ridiculous thing for a coach to do, it would also be CAREER LIMITING!
Today is Two Twelve! This 12th day of February is the perfect day to be inspired by the 212° message:
At 211 degrees, water is hot.
At 212 degrees, it boils.
And with boiling water comes steam.
And with steam, you can power a train.
Make today be the day when you incorporate 212° into your life: give that extra effort…go the extra degree…and you’ll ultimately achieve results beyond your wildest expectations!
212° Commitment
Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to hear Jim Cathcart speak to a corporate audience. Jim is a good friend, and a great speaker. He told the story of how listening to a radio program over 25 years ago changed his life forever, and with his permission I’d like to share it with you.
In 1972, Jim was working at the Little Rock, Arkansas, Housing Authority making $525 a month, with a new wife and baby at home, no college degree, no past successes, and not much hope for the foreseeable future.
One morning, he was sitting in his office listening to the radio, to a program called “Our Changing World” by Earl Nightingale, who was known as “the Dean of Personal Development.” That day, Nightingale, in his booming voice, said something that would change Jim’s life forever: “If you will spend an extra hour each day of study in your chosen field, you will be a national expert in that field in five years or less.”
Jim was stunned, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. Although he had never given a speech, he had always wanted to help people grow in areas of personal development motivation. He began his quest to put Nightingale’s theory to the test by reading books and listening to tapes whenever he could. He also started exercising and joined a self-improvement study group. He persisted through weeks of temptations to quit, just by doing a little more each day to further his goal. Within six months, he had learned more than he had in his few years of college, and he began to believe he could turn his goal of becoming a motivational speaker into reality. All the hard work, the discipline, and study paid off. Jim now has delivered more than 2,500 speeches worldwide and has won every major award in the speaking industry.
Just like companies have market value, so do people. In the simplest terms, your market value increases by knowing and doing more. You see, Jim really understood one of my favorite laws in life…you cannot get what you’ve never had unless you’re willing to do what you’ve never done.
He understood the power of 212° commitment.
212° Choices
OUR CHARACTER IS SHOWN BY…
The jokes we CHOOSE to share…and not to share.
The derogatory terms we CHOOSE to use…and refuse to use.
The promises we CHOOSE to break…and the ones we keep.
The rumors we CHOOSE to spread…and those we ignore.
The resources we CHOOSE to waste…and those we use wisely.
The lies we CHOOSE to tell…and not to tell.
The responsibilities we CHOOSE to accept…and those we shirk.
The courtesies we CHOOSE to extend…and fail to extend.
The efforts we CHOOSE to put forth…and not put forth.
The quality we CHOOSE to provide…and the corners we cut.
The information we CHOOSE to share…and that which we hoard.
The listening we CHOOSE to do and not do.
The respect we CHOOSE to give…and fail to give.
The helpful hands we CHOOSE to extend…and those we keep in our pockets.
Now, turn up the heat…212°
212° Teamwork
So I was watching my favorite pro sports franchise lose a must-win game on television last night. They’re out…they’re history…the season is over. “How in the world can that happen,” I ask myself, “with all the talent we have?” Then, the coach answers my question in a post-game interview: “We’re loaded with superstars, but today, we just didn’t work together…as a team.” What a loss – what a lesson.
Business, like many of the games in athletics, is a team “sport.” You have a collection of individuals who must work together to accomplish a common goal. While the players contribute in varying degrees, no one person can produce a victory on his or her own. Each member of the team has a role – a position. And each position has a variety of responsibilities: sometimes you shoot, sometimes you assist, sometimes you block…sometimes you’re in the spotlight, sometimes you’re in the trenches. And two things are for sure: 1) Everyone on the team ends up being an equal winner or an equal loser, and 2) Limelight-grabbing ball hogs don’t last very long.
Are you a team player at work? Do you give your best effort regardless of the role you play? Are you willing to do the things that are needed to help the group succeed? Do you work at being cooperative and communicating well with your coworkers? Are you considerate of others? Do you accept and value others’ ideas – especially when those ideas are different from yours? Can you be counted on to carry your share of the load?
If your answers to the above questions are all “yes,” success is definitely in your future. More interested in only being the star? Just remember that even they get traded when teams lose!
Now, turn up the heat…212°
212° Diversity
Ever find yourself thinking that people who are different from you (different skin color, religion, ethnicity, way of speaking, way of thinking, etc.) are strange, wrong, or perhaps something worse (i.e. derogatory)? If so, it’s time to unscrew the top of your head, throw out some of the garbage in there, and catch up with the human race – not to mention the laws of our land.
Here’s the reality: Each of us is unique…no two people are exactly the same. So, if being different equated to being wrong, everyone would be wrong – including YOU! That would definitely be bad. But you know what would be worse? If everyone were exactly alike! In that case, we’d all look, sound, and act the same. We’d only need one type of food, one way of thinking, one sport, one channel on our televisions, one kind of music, one make of car, one style of clothes, one political party – simply one of everything.
So, work on maximizing your respect for diversity. Appreciate individuals who are “different” – especially those of other races, cultures, creeds, and national origins. It’s the legal thing to do…it’s the moral thing to do…it’s the smart thing to do.
Now, turn up the heat…212°
212° Conviction
Be valuable. Encourage the principle. You sit talking with someone – listening to the rationalizations, the excuses, the reasons why it’s “okay” to do something or not do something you know to be against what is right or what is sound.
“After all, we’re only human.”
“We have to choose our battles.”
“We can’t fix everything.”
“We don’t want to upset anyone.”
We let the rationalizing pass, the excuse for the lesser action taken with a supportive “that’s true,” “the most important thing is you tried,” or some other affirmation of what we know to be false.
212° approach
You challenge the rationalization. You awaken someone to their excuse. You call them on the contradiction.
“Yes Men,” “Yes Women” provide no value.
Be valuable to your family, friends, and associates. Once more each week, avoid the simple path for its ease and create 52 more possibilities of “the right thing” being done each year.
212° commitment
Encourage the principle. Encourage the virtue. Encourage character. Once more each week. Be valuable.
Now, turn up the heat…212°
Excerpted from Walk the Talk
A Poem of POSSIBILITIES
If every person walked the talk,
Can you imagine how it would be?
A world filled with good intentions
That all became reality.
We could count on one another,
And coexist respectfully.
There would be no broken promises,
And no hypocrisy.
We’d have no problem spotting heroes,
They’d be everywhere to see.
Just by looking in the mirror,
We all would find integrity.
If everybody did what’s right,
Most rules we wouldn’t need.
Conscience, trust, and common sense
Would be the things that we’d all heed.
There would be no hurtful actions
In the news that we would read.
Only story, after story
Of yet another noble deed.
And when it came to raising children
With young characters to mold and feed,
The best lessons they could ever learn
Would come by merely following our lead.
If each of us behaved beliefs
There’d be little cause for fear.
All actions would be honorable,
Our values would be clear.
Just by watching what it is we DO,
One could tell what we hold dear.
For our principles would be acts you see,
Not merely words you hear.
It’s a challenging task to Walk the Talk
Every hour, day, and year.
And we ALL can do a better job,
Let’s start RIGHT NOW…RIGHT HERE!
Excerpted from What It Takes To Be Number One
Running a football team is no different than running a business. Results are the bottom line. What running any organization comes down to is the consequences that are brought about by your leadership. The absence of positive results render your leadership a failure. Bookstores are full of books regarding the debate about organizational structure: hierarchical or flat, central or decentralized, and everything in between. Yet it’s not structure, but results, that make a leader. Leadership isn’t a position, it’s a process that produces the desired results. If you don’t produce results, if you don’t execute – you’re not a leader.
Leaders get paid for results, not for being right. Results come from mistakes – being wrong – and leaders must possess Coach Lombardi’s mental toughness to handle mistakes, take accountability for them, and quickly abandon efforts that fail to produce results.
If you are right all the time you aren’t taking enough risks. Results require a willingness to act, even if you are unsure of what lies ahead. And, almost always, you will be unsure. Only through risk and action can you take your organization to the next level.
Results, specific and measurable, come from having a clear vision, defining what improvement and adaptation look like and having a beginning and an end in mind. Results come from knowing what you are achieving today and having a clear, specific strategy for closing the gap between today’s reality and your vision for tomorrow.
“Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will all be judged on one thing: the result,” said Coach Vince Lombardi. This Sunday, the world will await the result of the Super Bowl to see which team will be awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy. As the NFL’s most prestigious award, this trophy is a symbol of everything that Vince Lombardi stood for: excellence, discipline, commitment, and of course, winning.
To get you ready for Sunday, here’s the What It Takes To Be Number One movie containing vintage photos, great quotes, and rare audio segments of Vince Lombardi’s famous speech. Below, you’ll also find an excerpt from the book written by Vince Lombardi, Jr.
You can’t teach someone to smile, you can’t teach someone to want to serve, you can’t teach personality. What you can do, however, is hire people who have those qualities and then teach them about your products and culture.
With clever life lessons that are sure to make you think, You Can’t Send a Duck to Eagle School captures this fundamental truth of leadership. Today I’m sharing with you a delightful movie, based on the book, that will bring a smile to your face while demonstrating how one great idea can change your life forever!
Today's Topic: Set the Example…And the Tone
LEADING BY EXAMPLE. It’s both a management responsibility and a moral obligation. And, it’s the most powerful tool in your leadership toolbox.
You have a strong influence on the thoughts and behaviors of your employees – probably much stronger than you think. Regardless of what appears on job descriptions or in employee handbooks, your behavior is the real performance standard that team members will follow. They’ll rightfully assume that it’s okay and appropriate to do whatever you do. Why wouldn’t they? So it’s critical that you set the proper example and desired tone…that you model the performance and behavior you expect from others. Do otherwise, and you’re a hypocrite. Ouch!
There’s no rocket science here – it’s pretty simple stuff. Just pretend that everyone on your team is from Missouri (“The SHOW ME State”). From conduct to commitment…attendance to attitude…respect to responsibility…work ethic to ethics at work – SHOW your people what you want them to do. Let employees know that, in order to be successful, all they have to do is play a game. The name of that game is…
“FOLLOW THE LEADER!”
Today's Topic: We want to know where we’re headed!
Dear Leader,
Why “Listen Up” about direction? Ever boarded a plane without knowing the destination? Ever driven a car blindfolded? Absurd, you say! Yet, these questions summarize the frustrations of many employees today. Why do we need specific direction? Read on!
Want to know one reason why people leave our company? They’re confused about the direction we’re going (or not going)! It may be hard to see from your position, but there’s not a lot of clarity – not a lot of direction – in what we’re supposed to be doing. Too often, the mission statement hanging on the wall says one thing, you can tell us another, and our compensation rewards us for something else.
On top of that, many of our “current” job descriptions were written years ago – in another time, for another purpose. And then when performance reviews come around, you sometimes tell us we should have been doing something completely different. No wonder we’re confused! Believe it or not, many on our team waste as much as five and a half hours a week because of unclear communication about where we’re headed and what we’re supposed to do. That’s seven weeks per year – per person!
If you want to achieve better results and improve our morale, clearly communicate where we are going and why.
Sincerely,
Your employees
Today's Topic: Walk The Talk Customer Service: Why Bother?
Here’s a question: When it comes to Walk The Talk Customer Service, why bother? Why make any kind of special effort with customers if (and that’s a BIG “if”) mediocre service is enough to protect your job and paycheck? Well, the way we see it, when it comes to providing Walk The Talk Customer Service:
You owe it to the customer – the one who has chosen to give their hard-earned money to your business. They deserve the best you have to offer.
You owe it to your organization – the one that not only gives you money, but also entrusts you with its livelihood and future. It deserves the best you have to offer.
You owe it to yourself – the one who enjoys the pride, satisfaction and reputation that comes from giving your all. YOU deserve the best you have to offer.
Today's Topic: Responsibility
Ever wonder who THEY are? THEY seem to be everywhere. THEY must be a big and powerful group with a great deal of influence, because we sure do talk about them a lot:
“They should know better!”
“That’s their problem!"
“They need to do something about this!”
“It’s all because of them!”
“They’re the ones who fouled things up!”
No need to ask if those sound familiar. Who among us hasn’t pointed a finger at THEM before? “They” and “them” are common pronouns – part of normal, everyday speech. We utter them all the time. And when it comes to building good character and walking the talk, they may be the absolute worst words in our language. Why? Just look at what “they” and “them” mean: OTHER PEOPLE, SOMEONE ELSE. You don’t have to be a genius to know that those words are dripping with non-responsibility.
Maybe it’s time we all did some word switching. Imagine what would happen – think of how our perspectives might change – if we stopped using “they,” “them,” and “their” altogether, and instead used “we,” “us,” and “our.”
Let’s see:
“THEY WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!”
“THAT’S THEIR OUR PROBLEM!”
“IT’S UP TO THEM US!”
“THEY WE NEED TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT!”
See and feel the difference?
So, the next time you catch yourself starting to say or think the T-word (“they”), use “we” instead. After all, the first step in meeting our responsibilities as adults is acknowledging that we have them. You know, pointing the finger at them probably is a waste of time, anyway. We’re beginning to think they don’t exist. Because…
Every time we’ve gone looking for “them,” all we’ve found is US!
Today’s article is written by Mac Anderson and is excerpted from The Dash.
He was in the Oklahoma City Airport when he saw a young woman walking along with three little girls. They were skipping and singing, “Daddy’s coming home on a big jet! Daddy’s coming home on a big jet!” All excited! Eyes lit up like diamonds! Wild anticipation! They had never before met Daddy coming home on a jet. Their mother was so proud of them and their enthusiasm. You could see it in her eyes.
Then, the plane arrived, the door opened and the passengers streamed in. You didn’t have to ask which one was Daddy. The girls’ bright eyes were glued on him. But his first look was for his wife and seeing her, he yelled, “Why didn’t you bring my top coat?” and walked right past his adoring daughters. Here was a man who had an opportunity to be great and he didn’t recognize it.
Forty years ago, I heard Charlie Cullen tell that story and I never forgot it.
How many times a day, a week, a month do we have the opportunity to be great through simple acts of kindness? In your Dash, never underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, or an honest compliment. All have the potential to turn a life around.
Today's Topic: Top 10 Excuses for NOT Giving Recognition
“I don’t know how."
No doubt this can be an honest and valid concern. Most folks never receive any type of training on giving recognition. But, it is a skill that can be learned.
“I don’t have time."
For sure, most of us have more stuff to do than time to do it in. But somehow we all manage to do the things that are really important to us. Maybe, you just haven’t made recognition high enough of a priority. Besides, how much time does it take to say, “Thank you”?
“People don’t care about it all that much.”
Yeah, right! Okay, if you look hard enough, maybe you can find one or two people who couldn’t give a flip about being recognized. But for every person like that, there are hundreds who like being stroked for their efforts and contributions. Play the odds.
“It’s not MY job!”
Think that giving recognition is strictly a top-down thing that only bosses are responsible for? THINK AGAIN! It’s one of the biggest reasons why recognition doesn’t happen as often as it could. Fact is, supporting an environment in which people are acknowledged and truly appreciated is everyone’s job.
“I don’t believe in rewarding people for just doing their jobs!”
Me neither! A “reward” is something special and should be reserved for special achievement. But recognition is an acknowledgement, a favorable notice, and a reinforcement that increases the likelihood that people will keep doing their jobs…and making work that much easier for you!
“It becomes meaningless if done too much!”
Maybe so, but most organizations have a looooooong way to go before the meter reads “Too Much Recognition Happening Here.” Actually, it’s insincerity rather than quantity that tends to devalue recognition.
“I’m very limited in what I can do.”
Chances are that you’re limited mostly by untapped imagination. Okay, so you don’t control or even have access to money and formal award programs. Those only represent the tip of the recognition iceberg, anyway. Get creative!
“Sometimes it’s awkward and uncomfortable.”
So was the first time you drove a stick shift! But the more you did it, the easier it got (hopefully). And the more you liked doing it! If you’re uncomfortable with recognition, there’s a good chance you’re not doing it enough. Go forth and PRACTICE!
“People will think they’ve ‘made it’ and stop working hard.”
NOT! Think about it: Do you slow down when others show appreciation for your contributions? Enough said on this one.
“I don’t get it. Why should I give it?”
Because it’s the right thing to do! You know how it feels to have your efforts and achievements overlooked. You know how it feels to be taken for granted. It stinks! Don’t let one wrong become your rationale for doing another.
Today's Topic: Coaching the Falling Stars
Here’s something to consider: Even in the very best organizations, almost every manager will have to deal with at least one problem employee – uncooperative, emotionally unstable, chronically late, “just getting by” performance, etc. – each year. It may not make it easier, but you are not alone when it comes to the uncomfortable task of addressing performance problems.
Falling stars represent only a small percent of any team. Yet some managers spend a great deal of their time with people in this group. That means that the super stars and middle stars are not receiving the valuable coaching and other forms of attention from you that they need. And spending so much time dealing with performance problems doesn’t do a whole lot for the coach’s job satisfaction either.
Sometimes when a team member consistently underperforms, the manager assumes that he or she has failed as a coach. That’s not necessarily true. A good coach helps employees get to where they need to be. But, ultimately, it’s each employee’s responsibility to decide whether to be a super star, a middle star, or a falling star. Truth is, you can influence that decision but you can’t control it.
If you have established a positive work climate, you have a decision to make with each problem. You can close your eyes, live with the situation, and accept the negative impact of your falling stars’ lower performance. Or, you can conduct a performance improvement session in which the employee will either commit to your standards – or choose to ignore the problem and face the logical consequences.
Today’s article is excerpted from Welcome The Rain.
Welcome Mistakes
My grandmother was born in a small West Texas farming town on August 26, 1929, two months and three days before Black Tuesday, the Stock Market crash that started the Great Depression. As the youngest daughter of sharecroppers, who earned their living by picking cotton, she knew the meaning of barely getting by. Times were tough and she learned to never waste anything.
Her Uncle Jess was a compassionate man who always treated her with kindness. Each time she would visit him, she always left with the same feeling: I am special. After all, she was the only person who was allowed to drink from his special pink drinking glass. One day, she took the pink glass out to the water cooler, a special room that stored and cooled the water generated from the windmill. Out in the water cooler, she dropped the glass. Looking down at the hundreds of glass fragments, she began to cry. She had been entrusted with this special glass and now it was broken.
Her crying was interrupted when she heard Uncle Jess call out, “Ruby Nell, I was thinking. I’m tired of that silly old pink glass. Would you please break it for me?” She ran back to him calling out, with the enthusiasm that only a six-year-old can summon, “I did it, Uncle Jess! I did it!”
The way we choose to respond when others make mistakes can cause them to feel ashamed or can allow them to remember our kindness and share our stories with future generations. We choose our legacy that gets passed down to others.
I expect to pass through this life but once.
Therefore, if there be any kindness I can show,
or any good thing I can do for another human being,
let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.
~William Penn
Scenario: Speaking up
I was at a party, relaxed, enjoying myself when the joke telling began: “There were three ______ who went to the …” The joke progressed. It was clearly demeaning to a group of people.
The face of my close friend and colleague popped into my mind – he is a member of the group being debased. Two different voices – the proverbial angel and devil on my shoulder – filled my head.
“Leslie, say something! You know you don’t support this!”
“Relax it’s a party! Have fun…lighten up. People won’t like you if you can’t take a joke.”
“Speak up, you coward! You can’t talk about valuing diversity all day at work and then stereotype people for entertainment at night. Be true to yourself.”
In those long seconds while I twitched and struggled with what to do, the disk jockey, who was sitting with us on a break, simply said, “Whoa! I’m not going there. I think I'd rather get something to drink.” He got up and walked across the room. I hopped up and followed him: “Great idea.”
I’ll never forget what happened next. Others in the group joined us at the bar, leaving only two people to hear the joke’s punch line. I was amazed. Few of us wanted to hear the joke, but we went along anyway. It took just one voice – one person casually speaking up against disrespect – to shift the entire conversation.
Today's Topic: Communication Recovery – Six Step Model
Have you ever said something unintentionally offensive and wished you could take it back? If so, you know how awkward it feels when communication goes awry. And it does from time to time. Even with the best of intent to be inclusive, you might say something biased, stereotypical, or exclusionary. You can choose to ignore it and hope no one notices. (Guess what – it was noticed!) Or, you can employ a strategy for recovery.
“Communication Recovery” involves acknowledging your mistake, sincerely apologizing, and then moving on in a more inclusive way. Communication Recovery is an underutilized skill. When things go wrong in communication, many people shy away from trying to recover. They are afraid of making things worse. They don’t know what to do. The good news is Communication Recovery is possible, it’s not that difficult to do, and it has a big payoff.
Communication Recovery allows you to acknowledge your mistake when things go wrong – when you have unintentionally demeaned, discounted, or excluded others. This gives you the chance to rebuild communication with your listener(s) and enhance your own credibility. Communication Recovery includes six quick steps and takes thirty seconds or less. It’s relatively painless.
Accept the Feedback – Give some sign that you are open to the input, such as listening to and thanking the gift giver.
Acknowledge Intent and Impact – The most important thing here is to recognize the negative impact of your statement or behavior on the listener, regardless of your good intent.
Apologize – Say “I’m sorry” or “I apologize,” and do so sincerely.
Ask Questions for Clarification – If you don’t understand the feedback you’ve been given, ask questions for greater clarity.
Adjust / Change – State or demonstrate what you will do differently. A clear sign that you’ve accepted the feedback is to not repeat the offense.
Move Forward – Recovery is a quick process. You don’t need to linger. Move on once the listener is ready.
Of all of these, Accept the Feedback and Apologize may be the most powerful. In its simplest form, recovery sounds like this:
“Thanks for telling me. I’m sorry.”
Today's Topic: Welcome Stress!
Your heart begins to race; you can feel the rush of adrenaline. As your palms perspire and your mouth goes dry, you feel the butterflies in your stomach. You are keenly aware that this is the moment you have prepared for. You gaze upon the crowd and see that all eyes are watching you with anticipation. After a deep inhale and a slow exhale you begin…
The executive who is sharp, mentally focused, and able to deliver a killer presentation and the athlete who performs better in competition than in practice can tell you that stress can be used to one’s advantage. On the field or in the boardroom, stress can become our ally. Moderate levels of stress help us get out of bed in the morning, give us motivation, and supply us with the drive to complete a difficult task. Stress can provide us with inspiration for performing our jobs well. In fact, a lack or inadequate amount of stress can cause a person to feel depressed.
Cavemen depended upon these physical reactions to stress in order to survive. When confronted with anything that posed a threat, the body’s reaction to stress allowed the cavemen to be more alert, focused, and ready to fight or flee. It is this survival response that we still feel today when faced with stressful situations. Stress can be useful in numerous ways. Engineers test a material’s strength by applying stress. During testing, the engineer is able to find the material’s weak spots. These weak spots can then be reinforced to make the material stronger. Similarly, cardiac stress tests measure the heart’s blood flow during exercise (stress) as opposed to during periods of rest. Doctors are able to detect some types of heart disease—weak spots in the heart muscle—after a patient undergoes stress testing. In nature, continual wind on a tree can cause it to become very strong. This ever-present stress forces the tree to stay grounded, dig deep, and remain firmly planted in the ground.
Whether it is just enough to keep us motivated, or strong enough to expose our weak spots, stress can give us opportunities to improve ourselves.
Today's Topic: Pause and Reflect
You skim the material.
“Great stuff.”
“Really makes sense.”
“I like that a lot.”
You move on.
Quickly.
212° approach:
You read the material. You pause. You reflect. You give it thought. Deeper thought. You embrace it or toss it aside but you do so after pausing – after reflecting on it for more than an inattentive moment. Thought is more important because it is thought that generally precedes action.
Pausing and reflecting – investing thought beyond an instant twice more each week on a particular topic creates more than 100 additional possibilities of action and/or improvement each year.
212° commitment:
Pause and reflect – deeper – twice weekly.
Today's Topic: Make Sure They Have the “Tools” They Need
Imagine this scenario: We’re out in the middle of a field. I’m the supervisor and I give you an assignment to dig a trench. After explaining why the trench is necessary, I give you the go-ahead to start digging. You inquire, “Where’s the back hoe?” I respond, “It’s in the shop.” You then ask, “So how am I supposed to dig this trench?” I hand you a shovel, and then I leave. I return two hours later and find that you haven’t made much progress. You’re tired and frustrated…and I’m ticked off.
A far-fetched story? Maybe so. But it does make a simple and important point: it’s tough for people to do a good job – to do their best work – when they don’t have the “tools” (resources) they need. That’s something your team members may be facing more often than you think. And as a leader, you need to do your best to do something about it.
Ask yourself, What do my people need in order to meet or exceed my expectations? Better yet, ASK THEM! Maybe it’s a new piece of equipment – or the fixing or updating of an existing one. Perhaps it’s a new software program, additional training, or an expanded supplies inventory. Or it could be that what they really need is more time, more help, or more information. Whatever your team needs, get it for them. And if you can’t, tell them why, look for other ways to support their efforts, and appreciate the fact that many of their achievements are happening in spite of how they are equipped, rather than because of it.
Everyone wants it, everyone needs it. It’s a critical building block of good character…and it’s something that most of us could stand to ratchet up a little.
It is RESPECT.
As we see it, there are two types of respect. First is basic human respect – the kind you’re entitled to merely by being born. Everyone deserves it equally because through birth, everyone is equal – we’re all living, breathing human beings. The first type of respect is based on the fact that other people’s needs, hopes, rights, dreams, ideas, and inherent worth are just as important and valuable as our own. And it’s demonstrated by treating others with dignity and courtesy.
The second type of respect is one that we EARN by our actions. This is different from the first type because it’s based on who we are (the quality of our characters) rather than what we are (human beings); it comes from behavior rather than mere birth. Accordingly, if we want our judgment, opinions, and skills respected, we have to earn that by demonstrating judgment, opinions, and skills that are respectable. If we want to be respected for dependability, we must earn that respect by consistently BEING dependable. And, if we wish to be respected as values-driven people, we must earn that respect as well – by continually “walking our talk.”
Today's Topic: Conflict: What Leaders Can Do
Certainly, when it comes to interpersonal conflicts, employees have the primary responsibility for resolving issues that develop with coworkers. But leaders play an important role as well.
First and foremost, every leader must encourage cooperation and open communication within his or her work group. Doing so will help to reduce the number of conflicts that otherwise might occur and increase the overall effectiveness of the team. If you’re a leader you may be thinking: “That’s great. But how do I do it?” Here are a few ideas that should help:
Clarify your expectations. Make sure each team member knows that cooperation and communication are job requirements.
Set the example. Model the behaviors you expect from others.
Reinforce desired performance. Recognize and reward team members who work well with others.
Hold everyone accountable. Include “teamwork,” “cooperation,” and “open communication” as feedback categories on all performance reviews you conduct. And make sure there are consequences for failing to meet expectations.
Being a good listener takes a tremendous amount of discipline and determination. There are several common listening challenges you should be aware of in order to improve your listening ability.
Roadblocks to Effective Listening
Lack of Discipline – You have a hard time staying focused on what your client is saying. Instead, your mind wanders and you begin planning what you’ll say next while your client is talking.
Uncontrolled Passion – You are so eager and excited about your product, you interrupt before your customer can finish his or her statement.
Ego – You want to let your customer know you are smart and good at what you do. So, you do most of the talking – including telling the person what he or she needs.
Impatience – You simply do not want to wait to let your customer speak. In fact, the only thing you are actually listening for is the next opportunity to get a word in.
Assumptions – You assume you already know what your client is about to say, so you interrupt and finish his or her sentences.
And worst of all…
Unconscious Habits – You are so accustomed to monopolizing conversations that it has become as natural as breathing. You are completely unaware of how you come across.
Today's Topic: "Redefining Discipline"
According to traditional (“old school”) thinking, punishment is the most direct way to deal with performance problems. The theory is quite simple: If you inflict enough pain on those who misbehave, you’ll eventually get their attention and they’ll start doing what you want them to. And the message is clear: “Since you screwed up, I’m going to do something bad to you. And if you don’t get better, you’re gonna get something even worse!”
While both the theory and message may work in some life situations, they tend to backfire when applied to adults on the job. Why? Because they’re based upon the fallacy that people will respond progressively better when treated progressively worse. Think about that for a moment. It’s just not realistic! Fact is, punishment typically produces feelings of rejection, frustration, and humiliation.
Rather than motivating employees to become better performers, it’s more likely to teach them that they should merely avoid getting caught! Some “retire on the job” and do as little as they can get away with. Worse yet, others decide to “get even” and do things intended to cause problems for you, your team, and your entire organization.
So, punishing employees can actually make things worse – by creating a whole new set of problems that you and others must deal with. And that’s not all!
Addressing performance problems is also where you and your organization face some huge risks and liabilities if not handled properly. Some of these risks are legal (i.e., lawsuits). Others involve employee morale, productivity, and your organization’s reputation. And all of this affects the level of trust that you enjoy – or miss out on – with your people. That’s why punishment needs to be seen (and used) as a last resort rather than a primary strategy.
Today's Topic: Focus on the Facts When Dealing With Performance Problems
The most important part of defining (and understanding) a performance problem is separating the facts from your judgments and opinions. Facts are observable – the things you know for sure because they are seen or heard. Judgments, on the other hand, represent opinions and conclusions. They are relative and subjective. They attack a person rather than the problem – increasing the odds that the employee will respond defensively. And that gets in the way of effective problem solving.
But what if my judgment is correct and accurate? you may ask. Well, that really doesn’t matter! Opinions are debatable (“I don’t do that a lot”…“There’s nothing wrong with my attitude”), but it’s hard to dispute facts. So don’t get hung up with judgments and generalities. If you have the facts, stick to them. If you don’t have the facts, GET THEM…before you talk! That way, you and the employee can spend your time working on solutions rather than debating the existence of problems. And that’s one less headache for you!
Today's Topic: Managing Performance in the Virtual Workplace
The virtual work environment provides unique performance management challenges. Addressing these proactively will have a positive impact on productivity, morale, and results. At the same time, the virtual workplace offers some distinct advantages to the performance management and evaluation process.
Gone are the days of “face time” and the perceived sense that you know they’re working because you can see them sitting at their desk or workstation. In reality, the way you know that someone is working – and doing the right things the right way – is to have clear outcomes. In other words, you don’t really know that work is getting done unless you know what’s expected, how it’s to be done, and how it will be measured. This is where the virtual workplace has a positive impact on your need to manage performance effectively by requiring that clear expectations, behaviors, and measures be defined.
When team members work remotely, you can’t totally control how they do their jobs, but you still need to manage their overall performance and results. It can be difficult – for leaders and employees – to discuss performance issues from a distance. Having a clear process with specific steps provides a guide and keeps everyone on track.
Practical tips to increase customer satisfaction,
loyalty, and retention
Today’s message comes from
Customer Service Tool Kit
ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVES. Make a conscious effort to minimize the use of negative words and phrases in your service interactions. Customers do not appreciate words like: can’t, won’t, don’t, not, no, and sorry. You need to look for every opportunity to say: can, will, do, yes, you bet, and absolutely.
LISTEN TO YOURSELF. Periodically tape-record your side of customer service phone calls. (Set the microphone close to your phone so you’ll pick up your voice, but the customer won’t be heard or recorded.) Play the tapes and analyze your performance. Hear yourself as the customer heard you. What did you do poorly that you need to correct? What did you do well that you need to continue doing? Consider asking a few coworkers to listen to the tape and give you feedback.
Little Things: Southwest Airlines insists on capitalizing the word “customer” wherever it is used – in ads, brochures, the annual report, etc. The practice may seem picayune, but what better way to flag employees and the public that the Customer matters. ~Fortune Cookies, Vantage Books
Today's Topic: Everyone Is a Leader to Someone
Everyone is a leader to someone. Whether that someone be an employee (or thousands of employees), your spouse, a child, or at the simplest level, oneself; you are a leader. ~ Tracy Brinkmann
If you think “leadership” is a concept that only applies to certain people in business, governmental, and civic organizations, think again! Fact is – no matter our age, gender, occupation, education level, or station in life – each of us touches and influences other lives … each of us is a leader to someone.
Certainly, that “someone” can be an employee (or a group of employees) we might supervise at work. But it can also be a coworker we interact with or a customer we serve…a spouse we honor or a child we nurture …a relative we care for or a friend we care about …a student we teach or a player we coach…a fellow member of our church, club, league, or association…or anyone for whom we have made a positive difference through our actions and example. That’s why LEADERSHIP is something we all must be concerned with. That’s why leadership applies to YOU! Your “someone” is counting on you for leadership. Don’t let him, her, or them down.
Today’s excerpt is from Monday Morning Customer Service, an inspirational story about a manager and his mentor. Below, you’ll find a summary checklist from their first mentoring session.
Listen Up:
Customer service is critical to a successful operation. Most unhappy customers will not tell you they were not pleased, but will simply take their business elsewhere.
It is a good investment to spend resources in an effort to retain your existing customers. Your best customer is your current customer.
It is important to have a complete closed-loop process to gather feedback, take action, and then respond to the customer.
Use a combination of internal-feedback tools and external resources to obtain a good balance of data. An independent assessment is a good way to obtain an accurate picture of how you are doing.
All leaders should schedule regular time with frontline workers and customers to stay in touch with the issues and challenges.
Excerpted from Finish Strong by Dan Green
It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
Going into the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, expectations were very high for Paul Hamm. He was the reigning world champion – the first U.S. man to ever win a world all-around title. No American had ever won the men’s all-around gold medal in gymnastics and Paul was expected to change that. The only U.S. gymnast to ever medal was Peter Vidmar in the 1984 Olympics. Paul Hamm seemed destined to at least join Vidmar by winning some sort of medal and the expectations were high that he may even win the all-around title.
Hamm started strong in the first three events and held a first place lead in the all-around by .038 points. Then, disaster struck. During his vault performance, he under-rotated and missed his landing, causing him to sit down and nearly fall off the platform.
His score reflected the “cardinal sin” of gymnastics and after the vault competition was over Hamm found himself in twelfth place. I remember watching the telecast and seeing him sitting on the sidelines with a pale look on his face. It was pretty clear by his reaction that at that point in time he believed he had blown his chance of making history.
But, this is where Paul Hamm demonstrated the difference between mediocrity and greatness. He decided at that point in time to put his fall behind him and move forward, giving his best effort to finish strong. His next event was coming up and he was first up. During the next rotation, a few of the competitors in the 6-11 places struggled. His great performance on the parallel bars coupled with the struggles of his competitors helped to move Hamm into fourth place in the all-around with his last and strongest event left to play out – the high bar.
Paul was determined to take advantage of this positive turn of events and make sure that he at least won the bronze medal. He was a master of the high bar and he scripted a highly technical routine in order to have a shot at earning the most points possible. The die was cast as the other competitors had finished their routines. Paul was the last to go. As I sat and watched the broadcast I could see Paul pour his heart into his routine – you could feel his energy, focus and determination. When he nailed his dismount it was electrifying and even before his score was revealed, you could see on Paul’s face that in his own mind he had won; regardless of the outcome. He came back from a crushing failure on the vault and proved to himself that he could execute beyond failure. And as it turns out, in one of the most dramatic comebacks in all of sports he won the gold medal in the men’s all-around by 0.012 points, becoming the first U.S. man to ever win the Olympic title. Talk about finishing strong.
Weekly tips to help you and your colleagues become more effective and respected leaders.
Today's Topic: The Importance of Consistency
Here’s a truism to remember: rules and guidelines are meaningful only when they are followed…when they are enforced. So, when it comes to setting boundaries, stating your expectations of employees is only half the battle. The other half involves “delivering” on what you tell employees to expect from you. You must walk the talk. And the key to doing that is consistency – holding ALL the people accountable for following ALL the rules (boundaries), ALL the time.
It’s critically important that you address each policy, procedure, or behavioral guideline violation as soon as you become aware of it. The type of meeting you have with the employee – and the resulting consequences – may vary based on the history and severity of the problem. What must not vary, however, is your practice of confronting issues. Let some things (or people) slide, and you run many risks, including:
-Sending mixed and confusing messages to the people who depend upon you for guidance and direction.
-Creating a workplace where employees decide which rules are important and which ones can be “stretched” or ignored.
-Exposing yourself to charges of favoritism or discrimination.
-Losing the respect of the members of your team.
-Facing negative consequences from your boss for not doing your job.
The truth is, in order for employees to see and accept you as the leader, you must BE the leader. And that means not only talking about boundaries, but consistently enforcing them as well.
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