by Jim Rohn
Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change.
We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.
We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today.
Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.
We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.
And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life - If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life - and it all begins with your very own power of choice.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Staying in Touch
By Larry D. Schultz
This is a great little story about staying in touch with friends. I hope you get a chance to read this and stay in touch with us!
My usual routine on a Sunday morning is to go for bicycle ride. Today I wanted to do something different so I stopped at the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I rode only a mile to where their headstone is and cleaned it up a little and reflected. I have only one memory from each of my grandparents that stands out. I remember my grandfather walking me to the corner store one morning for bread. He let me carry the money we were going to spend, and I even got to hand it to the clerk. My grandmother would often be found on the couch with her eyes closed as if she were sleeping. I asked one day why she always had her eyes closed, her response was that she was resting them. Nothing profound about either memory, but I am glad I have them.
As I continued around the cemetery I noticed small groups of people scattered throughout staring at the grave markers at their feet. I would imagine they too were reflecting.
One man bid me good morning as I rode by, so I stopped to wish him a good morning as well. He replied, 'yes it is a wonderful morning'. With that enthusiastic answer I felt an invitation to talk.
"Sir, I noticed you on the hill up the road, now you are down here. Can I ask you what you are doing?"
"Sure." He replied, as if he had something to tell me. "I come here every Sunday to visit my wife up on the hill, then I come down here to visit my life-long buddy. We were in three wars together you know." We talked for about 30 minutes, then I asked him. "John, (we exchanged names) what advice would you have to give people as we all grow old?"
"Well, Larry, we don't always have control over our health, or even our wealth. But we have control of keeping in touch with our friends. So, I say stay in touch. Whether you're sick or poor, healthy or wealthy, you can always stay in touch."
My eyes began to swell with tears as I looked at this old man and knew he was ri g ht. We talked a little longer then wished each other a good day, we shook hands and left.
My early morning bicycle ride made an impression on me today. I hope you got something out of this as well.
This is a great little story about staying in touch with friends. I hope you get a chance to read this and stay in touch with us!
My usual routine on a Sunday morning is to go for bicycle ride. Today I wanted to do something different so I stopped at the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I rode only a mile to where their headstone is and cleaned it up a little and reflected. I have only one memory from each of my grandparents that stands out. I remember my grandfather walking me to the corner store one morning for bread. He let me carry the money we were going to spend, and I even got to hand it to the clerk. My grandmother would often be found on the couch with her eyes closed as if she were sleeping. I asked one day why she always had her eyes closed, her response was that she was resting them. Nothing profound about either memory, but I am glad I have them.
As I continued around the cemetery I noticed small groups of people scattered throughout staring at the grave markers at their feet. I would imagine they too were reflecting.
One man bid me good morning as I rode by, so I stopped to wish him a good morning as well. He replied, 'yes it is a wonderful morning'. With that enthusiastic answer I felt an invitation to talk.
"Sir, I noticed you on the hill up the road, now you are down here. Can I ask you what you are doing?"
"Sure." He replied, as if he had something to tell me. "I come here every Sunday to visit my wife up on the hill, then I come down here to visit my life-long buddy. We were in three wars together you know." We talked for about 30 minutes, then I asked him. "John, (we exchanged names) what advice would you have to give people as we all grow old?"
"Well, Larry, we don't always have control over our health, or even our wealth. But we have control of keeping in touch with our friends. So, I say stay in touch. Whether you're sick or poor, healthy or wealthy, you can always stay in touch."
My eyes began to swell with tears as I looked at this old man and knew he was ri g ht. We talked a little longer then wished each other a good day, we shook hands and left.
My early morning bicycle ride made an impression on me today. I hope you got something out of this as well.
Embracing Adversity
Embracing Adversity by Chris Widener
“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.” Lou Holtz
Success in life depends upon being strong people with clear goals and indomitable spirits. Unfortunately most of us aren’t born that way. We grow that way. And that growth can either come from us entering willfully into situations that will cause us to grow, like subscribing to Made for Success, or from the way we react when circumstances come upon us without our consent. The latter is what we call adversity.
Most of us spend our lives trying to avoid adversity, and I guess that is just as well. We shouldn’t pursue adversity, but when she arrives, we should welcome her as a foe who, though our interaction with her, will make us into better people. Every contact we have with adversity gives us again the opportunity to grow personally and professionally and to forge our character into one that will achieve much later on.
With that in mind, here are some thoughts on adversity, and how it can help you to succeed in every area of your life and achieve your dreams.
Adversity brings out our resources.
Horace said “Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it.” When everything is going well, we coast. There isn’t a lot of stress, and we don’t have to draw too much on the resources that reside within us. But when adversity comes we begin to draw upon each and every resource that we have in order to conquer the circumstances at hand. Adversity then, keeps us sharp. It keeps us using our personal muscle, if you will. That is a good thing because we grow through the use of our resources.
Adversity brings us together with others.
Sure a team can have their problems with each other, but when they step on the court, when they experience the adversity of facing another obstacle, they pull together. One for all and all for one, as they say. The next time you experience adversity of some kind, keep your eyes open for how it can bring you together with your family, your co-workers or your team. Then when you are through it, you will find a bond that was created that wasn’t there before. Adversity makes us better people with stronger characters. Never underestimate the power of adversity to shape us inwardly. How will courage, discipline and perseverance ever flourish if we are never tested? After adversity, we come out stronger people and able then to use our character and influence in an even greater way to lead those around us and to improve their lives as well as our own.
Adversity makes life interesting.
John Amatt said, “Without adversity, without change, life is boring.” How true. Have you noticed that while we are in the middle of adversity we only long to get out of it, but we then spend a lifetime recounting it to anyone who will listen? This is because it spices life up a little. Imagine how boring life would be if everything always went well, when there was never a mountain to be climbed.
Here are some questions for you to reflect upon before I close:
Q. If you are in the middle of some adversity right now, what resources are you drawing on? Who are you drawing closer to and working with? What part of your character is being tested, and built up? What can you do to view this adversity as one who will be better for it on the other side?
"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." – Napoleon Hill
“Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.” Lou Holtz
Success in life depends upon being strong people with clear goals and indomitable spirits. Unfortunately most of us aren’t born that way. We grow that way. And that growth can either come from us entering willfully into situations that will cause us to grow, like subscribing to Made for Success, or from the way we react when circumstances come upon us without our consent. The latter is what we call adversity.
Most of us spend our lives trying to avoid adversity, and I guess that is just as well. We shouldn’t pursue adversity, but when she arrives, we should welcome her as a foe who, though our interaction with her, will make us into better people. Every contact we have with adversity gives us again the opportunity to grow personally and professionally and to forge our character into one that will achieve much later on.
With that in mind, here are some thoughts on adversity, and how it can help you to succeed in every area of your life and achieve your dreams.
Adversity brings out our resources.
Horace said “Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it.” When everything is going well, we coast. There isn’t a lot of stress, and we don’t have to draw too much on the resources that reside within us. But when adversity comes we begin to draw upon each and every resource that we have in order to conquer the circumstances at hand. Adversity then, keeps us sharp. It keeps us using our personal muscle, if you will. That is a good thing because we grow through the use of our resources.
Adversity brings us together with others.
Sure a team can have their problems with each other, but when they step on the court, when they experience the adversity of facing another obstacle, they pull together. One for all and all for one, as they say. The next time you experience adversity of some kind, keep your eyes open for how it can bring you together with your family, your co-workers or your team. Then when you are through it, you will find a bond that was created that wasn’t there before. Adversity makes us better people with stronger characters. Never underestimate the power of adversity to shape us inwardly. How will courage, discipline and perseverance ever flourish if we are never tested? After adversity, we come out stronger people and able then to use our character and influence in an even greater way to lead those around us and to improve their lives as well as our own.
Adversity makes life interesting.
John Amatt said, “Without adversity, without change, life is boring.” How true. Have you noticed that while we are in the middle of adversity we only long to get out of it, but we then spend a lifetime recounting it to anyone who will listen? This is because it spices life up a little. Imagine how boring life would be if everything always went well, when there was never a mountain to be climbed.
Here are some questions for you to reflect upon before I close:
Q. If you are in the middle of some adversity right now, what resources are you drawing on? Who are you drawing closer to and working with? What part of your character is being tested, and built up? What can you do to view this adversity as one who will be better for it on the other side?
"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." – Napoleon Hill
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The 10 Most Common Traits of SUCCESSFUL People
1. How you think is everything. Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.
2. Decide upon your true dreams and goals. Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.
3. Take action. Don't be afraid to get started, just do it.
4. Never stop learning. Go back to school or read books.
5. Be persistent and work hard. Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.
6. Learn to analyze details. Get all the facts, all the input you can. Learn from your mistakes.
7. Focus your time and money. Don't let other people or things distract you.
8. Don't be afraid to innovate. Be different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.
9. Deal and communicate with people effectively. No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others. Be Fair!
10. Be honest and dependable. Take responsibility. Otherwise, 1-9 won't matter.
2. Decide upon your true dreams and goals. Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.
3. Take action. Don't be afraid to get started, just do it.
4. Never stop learning. Go back to school or read books.
5. Be persistent and work hard. Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.
6. Learn to analyze details. Get all the facts, all the input you can. Learn from your mistakes.
7. Focus your time and money. Don't let other people or things distract you.
8. Don't be afraid to innovate. Be different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.
9. Deal and communicate with people effectively. No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others. Be Fair!
10. Be honest and dependable. Take responsibility. Otherwise, 1-9 won't matter.
Top 6 Ways to Stay MOTIVATED
Great Article by Chris Widener! Enjoy the read and take action - MGL!
I receive many emails from people that basically ask the same question: How can I keep myself motivated long term?
This seems to be quite a common dilemma for many people so I want to address it because it can be done!
Here are my tips for staying motivated:
Get motivated every day.
Zig Ziglar was once confronted about being a “motivational speaker.” The guy said to him, “You guys come and get people hyped up and then you leave and the motivation goes away. It doesn’t last, and then you have to get motivated again.” Zig reminded the gentleman that baths are the same way but we think it is a good idea to take a bath every day! It is true that motivation doesn’t last. We have to renew it each and every day. That is okay. It doesn’t make motivation a bad thing. We simply have to realize that if we want to stay motivated over the long term, it is something we will have to apply to ourselves each and every day.
Have a vision for your life.
The root word of motivation is “motive.” The definition of motive is, “A reason to act.” This is the cognitive or rational side of motivation. It is your vision. You have to have a vision that is big enough to motivate you. If you are making $50,000 a year, it isn’t going to motivate you to set your goal at $52,000 a year. You just won’t get motivated for that because the reward isn’t enough. Maybe $70,000 a year would work for you. Set out a vision and a strategy for getting there. Have a plan and work the plan.
Fuel your passion.
Much of motivation is emotional. I don’t know quite how it works but I do know THAT it works. Emotion is a powerful force in getting us going. Passion is an emotion, so fuel your passion. “Well, I like to work on logic,” you may say. Great, now work on your passion. Set yourself on a course to have a consuming desire for your goal, whatever it is. Do whatever you can to feel the emotion and use it to your advantage!
Work hard enough to get results.
You can build on your motivation by getting results. The harder you work, the more results you will get and the more results you get, the more you will be motivated to get more. These things all build on one another. If you want to lose weight, then lose the first few pounds. When the belt moves to the next notch you will get fired up to get it to the notch beyond that!
Put good materials into your mind.
I can’t say this enough – listen to tapes. I still listen to tapes regularly. I buy tape clubs from other speakers and I learn and grow. Their successes motivate me to get my own successes! Read good books. Read books that teach you new ideas and skills. Read books that tell the stories of successful people. Buy them, read them, and get motivated! Buy great music and listen to it. I just did a spinning class at the club today. Whenever a good song came on I was actually able to get motivated to ride faster! It gets you going and motivates you!
Ride the momentum when it comes.
Sometimes you will just be clicking and sometimes you won’t. That is okay. It is the cycle of life. When you aren’t clicking, plug away. When you are clicking, pour it on because momentum will help you get larger gains in a shorter period of time with less energy. That is the Momentum Equation! When you are feeling good about how your work is going, ride the momentum and get as much out of it as you can!
These are the top six ways to stay motivated:
Get motivated every day.
Have a vision for your life.
Fuel your passion.
Work hard enough to get results.
Put good materials into your mind.
Ride the momentum when it comes.
These are simple principles, that when you put them to work regularly, will change your life by keeping you motivated all the time! Get going!
I receive many emails from people that basically ask the same question: How can I keep myself motivated long term?
This seems to be quite a common dilemma for many people so I want to address it because it can be done!
Here are my tips for staying motivated:
Get motivated every day.
Zig Ziglar was once confronted about being a “motivational speaker.” The guy said to him, “You guys come and get people hyped up and then you leave and the motivation goes away. It doesn’t last, and then you have to get motivated again.” Zig reminded the gentleman that baths are the same way but we think it is a good idea to take a bath every day! It is true that motivation doesn’t last. We have to renew it each and every day. That is okay. It doesn’t make motivation a bad thing. We simply have to realize that if we want to stay motivated over the long term, it is something we will have to apply to ourselves each and every day.
Have a vision for your life.
The root word of motivation is “motive.” The definition of motive is, “A reason to act.” This is the cognitive or rational side of motivation. It is your vision. You have to have a vision that is big enough to motivate you. If you are making $50,000 a year, it isn’t going to motivate you to set your goal at $52,000 a year. You just won’t get motivated for that because the reward isn’t enough. Maybe $70,000 a year would work for you. Set out a vision and a strategy for getting there. Have a plan and work the plan.
Fuel your passion.
Much of motivation is emotional. I don’t know quite how it works but I do know THAT it works. Emotion is a powerful force in getting us going. Passion is an emotion, so fuel your passion. “Well, I like to work on logic,” you may say. Great, now work on your passion. Set yourself on a course to have a consuming desire for your goal, whatever it is. Do whatever you can to feel the emotion and use it to your advantage!
Work hard enough to get results.
You can build on your motivation by getting results. The harder you work, the more results you will get and the more results you get, the more you will be motivated to get more. These things all build on one another. If you want to lose weight, then lose the first few pounds. When the belt moves to the next notch you will get fired up to get it to the notch beyond that!
Put good materials into your mind.
I can’t say this enough – listen to tapes. I still listen to tapes regularly. I buy tape clubs from other speakers and I learn and grow. Their successes motivate me to get my own successes! Read good books. Read books that teach you new ideas and skills. Read books that tell the stories of successful people. Buy them, read them, and get motivated! Buy great music and listen to it. I just did a spinning class at the club today. Whenever a good song came on I was actually able to get motivated to ride faster! It gets you going and motivates you!
Ride the momentum when it comes.
Sometimes you will just be clicking and sometimes you won’t. That is okay. It is the cycle of life. When you aren’t clicking, plug away. When you are clicking, pour it on because momentum will help you get larger gains in a shorter period of time with less energy. That is the Momentum Equation! When you are feeling good about how your work is going, ride the momentum and get as much out of it as you can!
These are the top six ways to stay motivated:
Get motivated every day.
Have a vision for your life.
Fuel your passion.
Work hard enough to get results.
Put good materials into your mind.
Ride the momentum when it comes.
These are simple principles, that when you put them to work regularly, will change your life by keeping you motivated all the time! Get going!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Three-peating wasn't enough for Oerter
This is a story that I first heard from Stewart Banner when I was at Holiday Inn. Unfortunately, Al died last year at the age of 71. In his later years he was an accomplished artist.
by Ron Flatter, ESPN.com
Fortune Gordien. "Rink" Babka. Ludvik Danek. Jay Silvester. Between 1956 and 1968, they were supposed to win discus gold medals in the Olympics. Al Oerter overcame all of them.
Perhaps more impressive, Oerter overcame his own body telling him to stop. Instead, he won four consecutive gold medals, making him the first athlete to four-peat in any Olympic event.
Oerter's flair for the dramatic may not have been intentional. After all, who would want to go into the Olympics with rib trouble, a pulled thigh muscle or even an injury that required the wearing of a neck brace? Oerter won despite all these handicaps, twice on his last throw.
Then again, Oerter always set his goals high. After winning his first gold medal in 1956, the 20-year-old brashly vowed: "I'm not going to quit until I win five gold medals."
Alfred Oerter Jr. was born on Aug. 19, 1936, in Astoria, N.Y., to parents of German and Czech extraction. Growing up in New Hyde Park, Oerter showed he was a special athlete when he threw the lighter discus used in high school 184 feet, 2 inches, a national prep record at the time.
Oerter continued to make a national name for himself by setting an NCAA record early in his career at the University of Kansas. Still, he had never won a major international competition when he went to his first Olympics in Melbourne as a college sophomore in 1956.
Ranked only sixth in the world, Oerter unleashed a throw of 184-10 1/2, an Olympic record and a personal best, on his first toss in the finals. Everything else in the competition was academic, since no one came within five feet of that mark. Not even Gordien, the world-record holder. Oerter finished with the three best throws.
Less than a year later, Oerter's hopes for future gold or future anything almost ended in a near-fatal auto accident. But he recovered fully and was back in shape before long. While he made the 1960 Olympic team, he found himself in the shadow of another world-record holder -- American teammate Richard "Rink" Babka, who beat him at the Olympic Trials. That was Oerter's first defeat in more than two years.
Although he had one practice throw before the qualifying round that went beyond the world-record marker of 196-6, Oerter appeared headed for defeat when they started firing for real in the Rome Games. Headed into the last round of the finals, Babka led Oerter by 15 inches, 190-4 to 189-1. That lead might have held up had Babka not given Oerter some advice. Studying his teammate's technique, Babka noticed Oerter's left arm was out of position before he threw.
Oerter heeded Babka's suggestion, adjusted his windup and threw the discus 194-2 for another Olympic record and personal best. He thanked Babka and wished him luck on his last throw, but Babka's attempt came up short. Oerter had his second gold medal.
He did not set a world record until May 18, 1962, when his 200-5 mark in Los Angeles made him the first athlete to throw the discus more than 200 feet. He set three more world bests -- 204-10 1/2 later in 1962 at Chicago, 205-5 in 1963 at Walnut, Cal., and 206-6 again at Walnut in 1964, the year he and Vladimir Trusenyov of the Soviet Union traded the record back and forth over a 27-day period.
Six days before Oerter would compete in the 1964 Games in Tokyo, he suffered torn cartilage in his lower ribcage while practicing. Doctors advised him to wait six weeks before competing in order to avoid the risk of internal bleeding. But he ignored the medical warning. Danek, a Czechoslovakian who had won 45 consecutive meets, inherited the favorite's role when Oerter showed up for the Games covered with ice packs and bandages and shot full of pain killers. In the preliminary round, he set an Olympic round with a throw of 198-8. Before the competition, Oerter said, "If I don't do it on the first throw, I won't be able to do it at all." In the finals, Oerter was unable to make good on his own prediction when he didn't "do it" on the first throw. He was in third place going into his fifth throw, behind Danek and David Weill. Laboring and spinning more slowly than he had on his first four tries, Oerter somehow uncorked a throw of 200-1, two feet better than his previous best that day and, again, an Olympic record. Danek would wind up waiting eight more years for his gold medal.
With only one strong season in the next four years, Oerter was an underdog again when he went to the 1968 Games in Mexico City. Silvester finished first at the U.S. Olympic Trials and held the world record at 224-5. In the qualifying round, Silvester broke Oerter's Olympic record with a throw of 207-10, several inches better than Oerter's top heave. But Silvester was dogged by Oerter's mere presence, saying: "When you throw against Oerter, you don't expect to win. You just hope." Again, Oerter appeared in no shape to compete, let alone win. He had a pulled thigh muscle, and he wore a neck brace because of a chronic disc problem. Rain the day of the finals didn't help, either. After a bad throw and a foul, Oerter threw away the brace, as he put it, "to worry the opposition." On his next throw, Oerter set his fourth Olympic record -- 212-6. He beat both the competition and his previous personal best by more than five feet. He finished with the three best throws, adding tosses of 212-5 and 210-1. Silvester came in a disappointing fifth, at 202-8.
Oerter retired to family life after 1969. But by 1976, he was divorced, and his two daughters had grown up. At age 39, he plotted his comeback. In 1980, at age 43, he came up with a 227-10 1/2 throw, a personal best that made him a legitimate international challenger again. That was as close as Oerter would come to his "five gold medals." Finishing fourth at the national trials, he was an alternate on the 1980 U.S. team that boycotted the Moscow Olympics. A strained Achilles tendon prevented him from competing in the 1984 Olympic Trials at age 47.
Less than a year before, Oerter had a throw of 222-9, a mark that would have won him gold if he had been able to duplicate it at the Games in Los Angeles.
After serving as a computer specialist for Grumman Aircraft Corporation for 26 years, Oerter later worked for Reebok. Recently, he has split his time living on Long Island in the summer and Florida in the winter.
He has been inducted into the Olympic and U.S. Track and Field Halls of Fame. Reflecting on his four Olympic victories, the self-described "terrible technician" of discus said: "The first would be the most surprising, the second the most difficult, the third the most painful, the fourth the most satisfying."
The 3 Requisites
by Robert Collier from The Book of Life
Sometime today or tomorrow or next month, in practically every commercial office /sports team in the US, an important executive/coach will sit back in his or her chair and study a list of names on a sheet of white paper.
Your name may be on it.
A position of responsibility is open and they are face to face with the old, old problem - "Where can I find the right person?"
The faces, the words, the work, the impressions of various people will pass through their mind in quick review. What is the first question they will ask concerning each?
"Which person is strongest on initiative, which one can best assume responsibility?"
Other things being equal, that is the person who will get the job. For the first requisite in business/sport, as in social life is confidence in yourself - knowledge of your power and “god given” talents.
Given that, the second is easy - initiative or the courage to start things. Lots of people have ideas, but few have the confidence in themselves or the courage to start anything.
With belief and initiative, the third requisite follows almost as a matter of course - the faith to go ahead and do things in the face of all obstacles.
"Oh, God," said Leonardo da Vinci, "you sell us everything for the price of an effort."
Certainly no one had a better chance to know than he. An illegitimate son, brought up in the family of his father, the misfortune of his birth made him the source of constant derision. He had to do something to lift himself far above the crowd. And he did. "For the price of an effort" he became the greatest artist in Italy - probably the greatest in the world - in a day when Italy was famous for her artists. Kings and princes felt honored at being associated with this illegitimate boy. He made the name he had no right to, famous for his work alone.
"Work out your own salvation," said Paul. And the first requisite in working it out is a knowledge of your power. All the ages behind you have bequeathed you stores of abilities which you are allowing to lie latent. Those abilities are stored up in your sub-conscious mind. Call upon them. Use them. As Whittier put it - "All the good the past has had remains to make our own time glad."
Sometime today or tomorrow or next month, in practically every commercial office /sports team in the US, an important executive/coach will sit back in his or her chair and study a list of names on a sheet of white paper.
Your name may be on it.
A position of responsibility is open and they are face to face with the old, old problem - "Where can I find the right person?"
The faces, the words, the work, the impressions of various people will pass through their mind in quick review. What is the first question they will ask concerning each?
"Which person is strongest on initiative, which one can best assume responsibility?"
Other things being equal, that is the person who will get the job. For the first requisite in business/sport, as in social life is confidence in yourself - knowledge of your power and “god given” talents.
Given that, the second is easy - initiative or the courage to start things. Lots of people have ideas, but few have the confidence in themselves or the courage to start anything.
With belief and initiative, the third requisite follows almost as a matter of course - the faith to go ahead and do things in the face of all obstacles.
"Oh, God," said Leonardo da Vinci, "you sell us everything for the price of an effort."
Certainly no one had a better chance to know than he. An illegitimate son, brought up in the family of his father, the misfortune of his birth made him the source of constant derision. He had to do something to lift himself far above the crowd. And he did. "For the price of an effort" he became the greatest artist in Italy - probably the greatest in the world - in a day when Italy was famous for her artists. Kings and princes felt honored at being associated with this illegitimate boy. He made the name he had no right to, famous for his work alone.
"Work out your own salvation," said Paul. And the first requisite in working it out is a knowledge of your power. All the ages behind you have bequeathed you stores of abilities which you are allowing to lie latent. Those abilities are stored up in your sub-conscious mind. Call upon them. Use them. As Whittier put it - "All the good the past has had remains to make our own time glad."
Great Quote!!
by Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, Poet and Essayist
"Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires...courage."
"Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires...courage."
Believe and Succeed
by Bob Proctor
You will agree, I am sure, that all thinking people have a sincere desire to succeed.
You want to win; I want to win. No one sets out to deliberately destroy themselves - although I must admit, at times it certainly appears as if some people do.
If everyone wants to win - why don't they? There are probably many answers to that question. After talking with hundreds of people who do not seem to be able to make it happen, I have come to the conclusion that the answer to success is locked up in a seven letter word - "Believe."
Losers do not believe they can win. Why don't they believe? I think there is an answer to that question and I'll get to it in a moment. If you are having difficulty making something big happen in your life, listen closely.
All the great religious leaders, philosophers and self-help gurus have told us to believe and succeed. "All things are possible for those who believe." William James said, "Believe and your belief will create the fact." I have found that our belief system is based on our evaluation of something. Frequently when we re-evaluate a situation our belief about that situation will change.
Half of my life was wasted. I never even tried to accomplish anything of any importance because I did not believe in myself. The truth was I knew very little about me. Many years ago I was encouraged to begin studying myself, re-evaluate myself. I began to gain an understanding of my marvelous mind. Every day I learned a little more and I suddenly began to believe in myself.
Today I have a number of companies around the world earning millions of dollars. We have a very successful year long coaching program... We teach people the laws of their mind. Long before the year's program is over we see marvelous things happen from more money to great loving relationships.
Re-evaluate yourself. There is a sleeping giant in you. Release it.
Believe in yourself.
You will agree, I am sure, that all thinking people have a sincere desire to succeed.
You want to win; I want to win. No one sets out to deliberately destroy themselves - although I must admit, at times it certainly appears as if some people do.
If everyone wants to win - why don't they? There are probably many answers to that question. After talking with hundreds of people who do not seem to be able to make it happen, I have come to the conclusion that the answer to success is locked up in a seven letter word - "Believe."
Losers do not believe they can win. Why don't they believe? I think there is an answer to that question and I'll get to it in a moment. If you are having difficulty making something big happen in your life, listen closely.
All the great religious leaders, philosophers and self-help gurus have told us to believe and succeed. "All things are possible for those who believe." William James said, "Believe and your belief will create the fact." I have found that our belief system is based on our evaluation of something. Frequently when we re-evaluate a situation our belief about that situation will change.
Half of my life was wasted. I never even tried to accomplish anything of any importance because I did not believe in myself. The truth was I knew very little about me. Many years ago I was encouraged to begin studying myself, re-evaluate myself. I began to gain an understanding of my marvelous mind. Every day I learned a little more and I suddenly began to believe in myself.
Today I have a number of companies around the world earning millions of dollars. We have a very successful year long coaching program... We teach people the laws of their mind. Long before the year's program is over we see marvelous things happen from more money to great loving relationships.
Re-evaluate yourself. There is a sleeping giant in you. Release it.
Believe in yourself.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
“How to be a Champion”
You wonder how they do it,
You look to see their knack
You watch the foot in action,
Or the shoulder or the back.
But when you spot the answer
Where the higher glamours lurk,
You’ll find in moving higher
Up the laurel-covered spire,
That most of it is practice,
All the rest of it is work!
By Grantland Rice
You look to see their knack
You watch the foot in action,
Or the shoulder or the back.
But when you spot the answer
Where the higher glamours lurk,
You’ll find in moving higher
Up the laurel-covered spire,
That most of it is practice,
All the rest of it is work!
By Grantland Rice
FRIENDS by the great Bobby Jones
.JPG)
For all my real FRIENDS!! Enjoy!!
"Friends are a man’s priceless treasures, and a life rich in friendship is full indeed. When I say, with due regard for the meaning of the word, that I am your friend, I have pledged to you the ultimate in loyalty and devotion. In some respects friendship may even transcend love, for in true friendship there is no place for jealousy. When I say that you are my friends, it is possible that I am imposing upon you a greater burden than you are willing to assume. But when you have made me aware on many occasions that you have a kindly feeling toward me, and when you have honored me by every means at your command, then when I call you friend, I am at once affirming my high regard and affection for you and declaring my complete faith in you and trust in the sincerity of your expressions."
"Friends are a man’s priceless treasures, and a life rich in friendship is full indeed. When I say, with due regard for the meaning of the word, that I am your friend, I have pledged to you the ultimate in loyalty and devotion. In some respects friendship may even transcend love, for in true friendship there is no place for jealousy. When I say that you are my friends, it is possible that I am imposing upon you a greater burden than you are willing to assume. But when you have made me aware on many occasions that you have a kindly feeling toward me, and when you have honored me by every means at your command, then when I call you friend, I am at once affirming my high regard and affection for you and declaring my complete faith in you and trust in the sincerity of your expressions."
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Work Ethic!
Raising a Team Player: Teaching Kids Lasting Values on the Field, on the Court and on the Bench
by Harry Sheehy, Danny Peary
Youth sports have become a pressure cooker of expectations. Parents scream abuse at players, coaches, and referees. Coaches demand that their teams win, at any cost. Kids practice day and night. They face intense pressure to score, to win, to succeed. But is this the measure of success we want to impress upon our children?
In the complex world of today's youth athletic programs, parents face many challenging questions. What is a successful athletic experience? How can you help kids deal with pressure from coaches, players, and other parents? How do you encourage healthy competitiveness and discourage poor sportsmanship? Can you help your child develop a strong work ethic without becoming discouraged at the slow progress? How do you support a child who sits on the bench all year long? What's the best way to encourage your strong-willed all-star to support his teammates? How do you teach a child to accept criticism positively? Most important, how do you help your child absorb real core values from sports? How can you use sports as a vehicle to talk to kids about life's challenges?
In Raising a Team Player, Harry Sheehy answers these questions and more. Offering lessons and wisdom learned from more than seventeen years of working with elementary school children, high schoolers, and college players, Sheehy encourages parents to get involved in their kids' athletic experiences. He offers advice on how to praise, encourage, inspire, build, temper, support, and teach, working with children on everything from setting goals to teaching sportsmanship and humility to building character and a sense of self-worth. With direct, compelling words, Sheehy inspires in parents and coaches an attitude of self-realization, humor, confidence, and enthusiasm for both the successes and mistakes of young athletes.
My greatest joy as a coach was to teach kids who had so much passion for their sport that they were willing to work hard to get better. When I was recruiting high school seniors for my basketball team at Williams College, those were the kids I coveted. Quite often, beaming parents would come in with their sons and declare, "He loves basketball." But then I'd spend time with their boys and realize that they didn't love it at all. Mom and Dad may have seen Junior walking out the door with a basketball and assumed that he was working hard at the playground to improve his game. But he might have been the type to spend the day launching 25-foot hook shots and lazily walking after the ball. Or, if he had a baseball and a bat, he might have been interested only in seeing if he could reach the fences, swing after swing.
It's easy to mistake activity for passion. Anyone can participate in an activity, but without passion, a kid will not be motivated to work hard to become a better individual and team player. As a coach, I didn't want to recruit eighteen-year-olds whose parents or previous coaches hadn't already nurtured in them a passion for basketball and a work ethic to support it. I could enforce the rules of practice and make such players work hard, but would they have seen the inherent value of that work and adopted work ethic as one of their core values? By that age, it's usually too late. We develop our sense of character at a very young age, using the adults in our lives as models and mentors. If we don't learn a particular lesson when we're young, it's very difficult to learn it when we are older. That's why it's so important to start teaching values such as work ethic through youth athletic programs, while the kids are still young. Lessons learned early last a lifetime.
Most girls and boys in youth, high school, and college sports understand that it's the coach's job to inspire them, but they don't understand that inspiration is a two-way street. They don't realize that we coaches - just like teachers - put out our best effort when our kids work hard enough to inspire us. What my best teams at Williams had in common was that they worked so hard to get better that I couldn't wait to get down to the gym each afternoon to teach them. Those young men, none of whom were there on an athletic scholarship, gave me an incredible effort every day, while also carrying full course loads and, with my encouragement, having active social lives. Because they inspired me, I'd often stay up past midnight studying film for them. And if any of them wanted to work on rebounding, shooting, or defense after practice, I made myself available.
I told my players, "Guys, I want you to work so hard that you feel in your heart that you deserve to win." That's deserve to win, not will win. You can't promise a kid that he'll always succeed if he works hard, but you can promise him that if he doesn't work hard, he will almost certainly fail. My challenge was to get my players to understand the need to work hard every day, not just on game day.
I have always believed that games are won at practice. Each of our twenty-four games was like an exam. How well had we learned the lessons undertaken in practice over the previous days? We "studied" such topics as "How Our Offense Can Solve a Zone Defense" and "What Makes a Man-to-Man Pressure Defense Effective." I drilled and drilled my players, because I would accept nothing less than for them to play hard on every possession. Many times we were victorious because our team was more fit than the opposition; we simply wore them out. Such success helped me sell this message: A work ethic is the foundation on which you build the goals that you equate with success. Every worthwhile accomplishment, in sports and in life, is made possible by a strong work ethic.
I am living proof that a strong work ethic can produce good results. After all, I'd been a young boy with no discernible talents but a willingness to work hard, and I went on to play varsity basketball at Williams and then to play for years with Athletes-in-Action, one of the top amateur teams in the world. When anyone asks how I became so adamant about the value of a work ethic, I say, "Let me tell you about my friend Brian."
Brian and I grew up together on Long Island. By the sixth grade, he was already 6'2" and brawny, and - no kidding - with a heavy beard at five o'clock. I was just under 5', slight, and definitely without a beard. We both loved basketball and played for our school's team. I was small and not very good, and when the game started, my job was to walk over to the corner of the gym and keep score on a chalkboard. Brian was so big that he overpowered everyone, and he was the star of the team. I went to practice every day and worked hard, but I didn't play more than two minutes in a game all year long. But I was fortunate. My father, Harry Sheehy Jr., who had played and coached both basketball and baseball, continued to encourage me. So rather than quitting, as many youngsters are apt to do when they aren't supported by coaches or parents, I went to work that summer to improve my game.
I asked my father to devise a workout plan for me. Then every day, without exception, I walked the twenty blocks to a small park that had hoops and worked hard on my game for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, my good friend Brian went to the beach. Every day.
In the fall, Brian and I both made the seventh grade team. Brian was still bigger and stronger than everyone else and was the best scorer and rebounder in the entire league. I went to practice every day and worked hard, but I still sat on the bench, despite having made some improvements. That next summer, and the following summer, too, I continued my workout plan at the park, and Brian continued to go to the beach. When it was 90 degrees and muggy and I was working, working, working, I thought of Brian at the beach, enjoying the sun and the sand, and I was envious.
I vividly recall the scorching day when my father came down to see how I was doing. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and the blacktop court was radiating heat. I just wanted to put down my ball and go to the pool or even join Brian at the beach. When my father was ready to leave, I said, "Dad, hold on. I'll take five more shots and go home with you." But that didn't sit well with him, and he gave me some advice he'd heard from Bill Bradley, who was then a Princeton basketball star and would someday become a United States senator: "Why don't you work ten more minutes," my father said, in a tone that made it clear his words were less a question than an order. "When Bradley was ready to quit his workouts, he always continued for ten more minutes because someone, somewhere else, had stopped. He figured that if he worked ten minutes extra every day, he'd win the contest between them if they ever competed." Dad's words made sense, and from that day on, first as a player and then as a coach, I always have said at the end of a day: "When you're ready to quit, work just ten more minutes. Work ten more minutes because someone, somewhere else, is quitting."
Ten minutes may not sound like much, but multiply ten minutes by hundreds of practices. How much progress could you make if you worked just that much more? I believe those ten extra minutes that summer paid dividends, because that fall I made the freshman team at Garden City High School. I was still small - I tipped the scales at a mere 90 pounds and didn't crack the 5-foot barrier until halfway through ninth grade - but I could see my skills were improving, the result of countless hours spent on the court. Brian was still the star, but I actually got to play a little. And a lot of the other guys were starting to catch up with Brian physically.
By the tenth grade, I had grown a little, and my skills had started to sharpen to the point where I made the varsity team. Brian stayed on the junior varsity team. In the eleventh grade, we both made the varsity team, but I was a starter and Brian sat the bench. From beach to bench. After all those years, all those hot summers when I worked and he went to the beach, our roles had flip-flopped. Halfway through the year, he quit the team, frustrated that everyone was better than he was.
As I told my players, Brian was clearly good enough, strong enough, and skilled enough at an early age to have gone on to become a standout high school player. But he was already so much better than everyone else that he never thought he had to work on improving his skills. When everyone caught up to him physically, skills became the divider. By the eleventh grade, it was several years too late to start working hard.
No kid should be complacent about his or her skill level. Instead, as demonstrated by Cal Ripken Jr., the Baltimore Orioles shortstop famed for playing a record-setting 2,632 consecutive games, you must work every day to improve rather than have your skills diminish. And if you're big when young, you had better pay extra attention to skills because most kids who are big at an early age don't end up being 7 feet tall. Brian was 6'2" in sixth grade and never grew another inch. I was 5 feet tall and ended up 6'5" with skills.
Young players who see success early may think, "I'm already the best. Why do I need to be better?" Unless their coaches or parents encourage them, they see no need to work hard. But when you're not working, someone else is. And sooner or later, the two of you will come face to face.
Some people are incredible athletes, while others have not one speck of athletic ability. Most people, however, fall somewhere in the middle, and eventually it's skill that separates them. That's where work ethic becomes so important. I believe that work ethic itself should be considered a talent. It helps many athletes - Larry Bird immediately comes to mind - overcome shortcomings in other skills, such as lack of quickness and speed. And work ethic is a talent that carries over into all other areas of life. You may hear a kid say of another student, "She got an A on that test, but she isn't that smart. She just works hard." Well, that's a skill! It should be commended.
Our children often hear from their peers that it's not "cool" to work hard. So it is imperative that parents and coaches show children - through their words, actions, and examples - that the ability to work hard is a fantastic talent to have. The earlier you can impress this upon a child, the better.
Of course, hard work for young kids isn't the same as it is for high school and college athletes. Coaching eight-, nine-, and ten-year-olds should be about encouraging passion for the sport, not about weeding out kids who aren't as good as the others. You want to help the eight-year-old understand why he has to work harder, but you don't want to turn him off to the game. Passion and excitement come first. Work ethic will follow.
Sometimes parents - who, as working adults, are accustomed to measuring the value of performance, not effort - are overbearing. But you must understand that if your nine-year-old is just a benchwarmer on a school or youth team, this doesn't mean that he won't become a terrific college player in that sport. It also doesn't mean that he won't enjoy and learn from his experience on the team. Some parents might say, "Well, if my child is not good enough to play on an all-star team in youth football, I will take him out of that sport and have him play soccer instead." If my parents had thought that way, I never would have played college basketball. I would have been pushed into another sport instead of being encouraged to work harder and realize my potential in the sport I loved.
I am gravely concerned by the earlier and earlier ages at which we expect results - victories, awards, trophies, and so on - from our children. What are the values we really want to teach? If there is not an encouraging adult around, be it a parent or a coach, to make kids understand what hard work and core values are, the sport they are playing may lose them before they have the chance to grow physically and develop their skills. We lose kids in the classroom, in music, in dance - everywhere - for the same reason. If they aren't taught with patience, enthusiasm, and the understanding that work ethic counts just as much as natural talent, the late bloomers will never bloom.
Too often, youth athletic programs are seen as a vehicle for getting children into college. We often overlook their true purpose: to provide kids with an opportunity to have fun while also building character and learning a number of lessons that will benefit them in every aspect of life. That's why some parents insist, "My boy should play," and blame the coach who doesn't agree. Wouldn't it be more helpful to the child if his parents said to the coach, "My kid needs a positive sports experience, and I really don't care how much you play him. He'll be at every practice, and he'll work hard." And wouldn't it be great for the youngster, when he came home, if his parents didn't say in one breath, "Did you win? That coach who doesn't like you - did he finally play you?" What if, instead, they said, "It's great that you're part of the team. Work hard so you'll be ready when you get a chance." Parents often believe that their child will become upset and disheartened if he doesn't get much playing time, and they think this is unfair. But they should understand that whatever role on the team the youngster's hard work creates is valuable, even if he's a substitute. It's a fact: For the majority of players, hard work will lead to a role on their team, not All-City, All-State, or All-American status.
If a player works hard only because he thinks he can become a star, he's doing it for the wrong reason. Some day, somewhere, some time, he'll be disappointed with his achievements. He'll end up saying, "Well, I think I should be starting, and my dad thinks I should be starting. But Coach won't start me, so I don't think it's worth working so hard anymore." But if that player has developed a work ethic, he will understand the value of working every day. He will find that it helps him at every turn, in every challenge, for his entire life.
One player who found his niche on my team at Williams College was a young man named Seth Mehr. He had been on the junior varsity team as a freshman and tried out for the varsity the next year. My assistant coach said, "You've got to cut him." But I liked that he had a ball with him all the time, and that when I'd go up to the gym, I'd find him there working endlessly. Finally I said, "You know, I believe there is a role for a kid who works that hard." Seth created a role for himself; his hard work convinced me to keep him. In time, he became the captain of a team that went to the Division III Sweet Sixteen, and he played 10 to 12 minutes a game. He made a real contribution in practice and in games. After graduation, Seth went on to medical school and became a doctor. He wrote me once to say, "Coach, Williams was a great experience for me. Medical school is hard, but what prepared me for it the most, even more than my organic chemistry lab, was the basketball program." That's the kind of letter I live for.
Aaron Dupuis was another bench player with a tremendous work ethic. When I recruited him, I said, "You have to worry about two things. You might be a step slow. And you're a local kid, so you'll be watched closely by everyone in town." Undaunted, he came in and worked his rear end off, and he improved vastly, although he never played much in games. Aaron said, "I want to make the team better on Saturday night, so I'm going to work hard on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday." And that's what he did. Every day he walked into the locker room and pulled on his shorts and shirt, knowing he was going to go out there for two hours to compete. He understood his role and knew his value to the team. He made our reserves a competitive group by the sheer force of his will. When Aaron wasn't there, it showed. Once he was hurt for about two weeks, and the intensity of our practices took a nosedive. I told the other players, "If we have to have Aaron on the court for you to be competitive, then we have a problem. Because he can't do it for you right now." I'm sure that it meant a lot to Aaron to have me say that in front of the entire team and coaching staff. He was one of the most respected players on our team, and his ex-teammates hold him in high regard to this day.
Many coaches are fixated on results. The basic mistake most make in regard to work ethic is not recognizing the contributions of nonstarters like Seth and Aaron in front of their teammates. In a basketball game, not every player plays; not every player is on the floor when it counts, when there are people in the stands, when there is noise in the gym, when there is an excitement he wants to be a part of. These players don't hear their names shouted by the fans; they won't see their achievements written up in the papers. But some of these kids make tremendous contributions to the team. So as the coach, you have to acknowledge these players, in a way that really means something to them. Take the time to stop practice and recognize their hard work in front of their teammates and coaches. It's the most important recognition they can get. Their teammates are their brothers, their fraternity. And if a player gets positive feedback from a group he really cares about, he will do almost anything for them.
When I was in high school, a boy named Bobby Galvin lived down the street from me. He was a couple of years younger than me, and when I started making a name for myself on the basketball team, he started gravitating toward me because he wanted to be a player, too. He figured that if I could succeed through hard work, anybody could. When I was hired as athletic director at Williams College in 2000, Bobby heard about it, and he dropped me a note. He congratulated me and recalled our time spent in the park together, working on our game. I was sad to learn that he had never had success in the sport and had given it up, but he wrote something really perceptive about that: "Harry, I didn't need to become a great basketball player. I just needed to be there, practicing. I learned that there is something innately valuable about working hard. At that time in my youth, it was important to have that discipline."
We must often remind parents and coaches that their kids are playing games, not performing brain surgery. But as Bobby said, there is a certain time in a young person's life when there is something extremely valuable about working hard in order to stretch and achieve some level of self-fulfillment. It has been my experience that kids who accomplish something they are proud of through hard work adopt work ethic as one of their core values. And a work ethic can carry a young person a good long way through life.
by Harry Sheehy, Danny Peary
Youth sports have become a pressure cooker of expectations. Parents scream abuse at players, coaches, and referees. Coaches demand that their teams win, at any cost. Kids practice day and night. They face intense pressure to score, to win, to succeed. But is this the measure of success we want to impress upon our children?
In the complex world of today's youth athletic programs, parents face many challenging questions. What is a successful athletic experience? How can you help kids deal with pressure from coaches, players, and other parents? How do you encourage healthy competitiveness and discourage poor sportsmanship? Can you help your child develop a strong work ethic without becoming discouraged at the slow progress? How do you support a child who sits on the bench all year long? What's the best way to encourage your strong-willed all-star to support his teammates? How do you teach a child to accept criticism positively? Most important, how do you help your child absorb real core values from sports? How can you use sports as a vehicle to talk to kids about life's challenges?
In Raising a Team Player, Harry Sheehy answers these questions and more. Offering lessons and wisdom learned from more than seventeen years of working with elementary school children, high schoolers, and college players, Sheehy encourages parents to get involved in their kids' athletic experiences. He offers advice on how to praise, encourage, inspire, build, temper, support, and teach, working with children on everything from setting goals to teaching sportsmanship and humility to building character and a sense of self-worth. With direct, compelling words, Sheehy inspires in parents and coaches an attitude of self-realization, humor, confidence, and enthusiasm for both the successes and mistakes of young athletes.
My greatest joy as a coach was to teach kids who had so much passion for their sport that they were willing to work hard to get better. When I was recruiting high school seniors for my basketball team at Williams College, those were the kids I coveted. Quite often, beaming parents would come in with their sons and declare, "He loves basketball." But then I'd spend time with their boys and realize that they didn't love it at all. Mom and Dad may have seen Junior walking out the door with a basketball and assumed that he was working hard at the playground to improve his game. But he might have been the type to spend the day launching 25-foot hook shots and lazily walking after the ball. Or, if he had a baseball and a bat, he might have been interested only in seeing if he could reach the fences, swing after swing.
It's easy to mistake activity for passion. Anyone can participate in an activity, but without passion, a kid will not be motivated to work hard to become a better individual and team player. As a coach, I didn't want to recruit eighteen-year-olds whose parents or previous coaches hadn't already nurtured in them a passion for basketball and a work ethic to support it. I could enforce the rules of practice and make such players work hard, but would they have seen the inherent value of that work and adopted work ethic as one of their core values? By that age, it's usually too late. We develop our sense of character at a very young age, using the adults in our lives as models and mentors. If we don't learn a particular lesson when we're young, it's very difficult to learn it when we are older. That's why it's so important to start teaching values such as work ethic through youth athletic programs, while the kids are still young. Lessons learned early last a lifetime.
Most girls and boys in youth, high school, and college sports understand that it's the coach's job to inspire them, but they don't understand that inspiration is a two-way street. They don't realize that we coaches - just like teachers - put out our best effort when our kids work hard enough to inspire us. What my best teams at Williams had in common was that they worked so hard to get better that I couldn't wait to get down to the gym each afternoon to teach them. Those young men, none of whom were there on an athletic scholarship, gave me an incredible effort every day, while also carrying full course loads and, with my encouragement, having active social lives. Because they inspired me, I'd often stay up past midnight studying film for them. And if any of them wanted to work on rebounding, shooting, or defense after practice, I made myself available.
I told my players, "Guys, I want you to work so hard that you feel in your heart that you deserve to win." That's deserve to win, not will win. You can't promise a kid that he'll always succeed if he works hard, but you can promise him that if he doesn't work hard, he will almost certainly fail. My challenge was to get my players to understand the need to work hard every day, not just on game day.
I have always believed that games are won at practice. Each of our twenty-four games was like an exam. How well had we learned the lessons undertaken in practice over the previous days? We "studied" such topics as "How Our Offense Can Solve a Zone Defense" and "What Makes a Man-to-Man Pressure Defense Effective." I drilled and drilled my players, because I would accept nothing less than for them to play hard on every possession. Many times we were victorious because our team was more fit than the opposition; we simply wore them out. Such success helped me sell this message: A work ethic is the foundation on which you build the goals that you equate with success. Every worthwhile accomplishment, in sports and in life, is made possible by a strong work ethic.
I am living proof that a strong work ethic can produce good results. After all, I'd been a young boy with no discernible talents but a willingness to work hard, and I went on to play varsity basketball at Williams and then to play for years with Athletes-in-Action, one of the top amateur teams in the world. When anyone asks how I became so adamant about the value of a work ethic, I say, "Let me tell you about my friend Brian."
Brian and I grew up together on Long Island. By the sixth grade, he was already 6'2" and brawny, and - no kidding - with a heavy beard at five o'clock. I was just under 5', slight, and definitely without a beard. We both loved basketball and played for our school's team. I was small and not very good, and when the game started, my job was to walk over to the corner of the gym and keep score on a chalkboard. Brian was so big that he overpowered everyone, and he was the star of the team. I went to practice every day and worked hard, but I didn't play more than two minutes in a game all year long. But I was fortunate. My father, Harry Sheehy Jr., who had played and coached both basketball and baseball, continued to encourage me. So rather than quitting, as many youngsters are apt to do when they aren't supported by coaches or parents, I went to work that summer to improve my game.
I asked my father to devise a workout plan for me. Then every day, without exception, I walked the twenty blocks to a small park that had hoops and worked hard on my game for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, my good friend Brian went to the beach. Every day.
In the fall, Brian and I both made the seventh grade team. Brian was still bigger and stronger than everyone else and was the best scorer and rebounder in the entire league. I went to practice every day and worked hard, but I still sat on the bench, despite having made some improvements. That next summer, and the following summer, too, I continued my workout plan at the park, and Brian continued to go to the beach. When it was 90 degrees and muggy and I was working, working, working, I thought of Brian at the beach, enjoying the sun and the sand, and I was envious.
I vividly recall the scorching day when my father came down to see how I was doing. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and the blacktop court was radiating heat. I just wanted to put down my ball and go to the pool or even join Brian at the beach. When my father was ready to leave, I said, "Dad, hold on. I'll take five more shots and go home with you." But that didn't sit well with him, and he gave me some advice he'd heard from Bill Bradley, who was then a Princeton basketball star and would someday become a United States senator: "Why don't you work ten more minutes," my father said, in a tone that made it clear his words were less a question than an order. "When Bradley was ready to quit his workouts, he always continued for ten more minutes because someone, somewhere else, had stopped. He figured that if he worked ten minutes extra every day, he'd win the contest between them if they ever competed." Dad's words made sense, and from that day on, first as a player and then as a coach, I always have said at the end of a day: "When you're ready to quit, work just ten more minutes. Work ten more minutes because someone, somewhere else, is quitting."
Ten minutes may not sound like much, but multiply ten minutes by hundreds of practices. How much progress could you make if you worked just that much more? I believe those ten extra minutes that summer paid dividends, because that fall I made the freshman team at Garden City High School. I was still small - I tipped the scales at a mere 90 pounds and didn't crack the 5-foot barrier until halfway through ninth grade - but I could see my skills were improving, the result of countless hours spent on the court. Brian was still the star, but I actually got to play a little. And a lot of the other guys were starting to catch up with Brian physically.
By the tenth grade, I had grown a little, and my skills had started to sharpen to the point where I made the varsity team. Brian stayed on the junior varsity team. In the eleventh grade, we both made the varsity team, but I was a starter and Brian sat the bench. From beach to bench. After all those years, all those hot summers when I worked and he went to the beach, our roles had flip-flopped. Halfway through the year, he quit the team, frustrated that everyone was better than he was.
As I told my players, Brian was clearly good enough, strong enough, and skilled enough at an early age to have gone on to become a standout high school player. But he was already so much better than everyone else that he never thought he had to work on improving his skills. When everyone caught up to him physically, skills became the divider. By the eleventh grade, it was several years too late to start working hard.
No kid should be complacent about his or her skill level. Instead, as demonstrated by Cal Ripken Jr., the Baltimore Orioles shortstop famed for playing a record-setting 2,632 consecutive games, you must work every day to improve rather than have your skills diminish. And if you're big when young, you had better pay extra attention to skills because most kids who are big at an early age don't end up being 7 feet tall. Brian was 6'2" in sixth grade and never grew another inch. I was 5 feet tall and ended up 6'5" with skills.
Young players who see success early may think, "I'm already the best. Why do I need to be better?" Unless their coaches or parents encourage them, they see no need to work hard. But when you're not working, someone else is. And sooner or later, the two of you will come face to face.
Some people are incredible athletes, while others have not one speck of athletic ability. Most people, however, fall somewhere in the middle, and eventually it's skill that separates them. That's where work ethic becomes so important. I believe that work ethic itself should be considered a talent. It helps many athletes - Larry Bird immediately comes to mind - overcome shortcomings in other skills, such as lack of quickness and speed. And work ethic is a talent that carries over into all other areas of life. You may hear a kid say of another student, "She got an A on that test, but she isn't that smart. She just works hard." Well, that's a skill! It should be commended.
Our children often hear from their peers that it's not "cool" to work hard. So it is imperative that parents and coaches show children - through their words, actions, and examples - that the ability to work hard is a fantastic talent to have. The earlier you can impress this upon a child, the better.
Of course, hard work for young kids isn't the same as it is for high school and college athletes. Coaching eight-, nine-, and ten-year-olds should be about encouraging passion for the sport, not about weeding out kids who aren't as good as the others. You want to help the eight-year-old understand why he has to work harder, but you don't want to turn him off to the game. Passion and excitement come first. Work ethic will follow.
Sometimes parents - who, as working adults, are accustomed to measuring the value of performance, not effort - are overbearing. But you must understand that if your nine-year-old is just a benchwarmer on a school or youth team, this doesn't mean that he won't become a terrific college player in that sport. It also doesn't mean that he won't enjoy and learn from his experience on the team. Some parents might say, "Well, if my child is not good enough to play on an all-star team in youth football, I will take him out of that sport and have him play soccer instead." If my parents had thought that way, I never would have played college basketball. I would have been pushed into another sport instead of being encouraged to work harder and realize my potential in the sport I loved.
I am gravely concerned by the earlier and earlier ages at which we expect results - victories, awards, trophies, and so on - from our children. What are the values we really want to teach? If there is not an encouraging adult around, be it a parent or a coach, to make kids understand what hard work and core values are, the sport they are playing may lose them before they have the chance to grow physically and develop their skills. We lose kids in the classroom, in music, in dance - everywhere - for the same reason. If they aren't taught with patience, enthusiasm, and the understanding that work ethic counts just as much as natural talent, the late bloomers will never bloom.
Too often, youth athletic programs are seen as a vehicle for getting children into college. We often overlook their true purpose: to provide kids with an opportunity to have fun while also building character and learning a number of lessons that will benefit them in every aspect of life. That's why some parents insist, "My boy should play," and blame the coach who doesn't agree. Wouldn't it be more helpful to the child if his parents said to the coach, "My kid needs a positive sports experience, and I really don't care how much you play him. He'll be at every practice, and he'll work hard." And wouldn't it be great for the youngster, when he came home, if his parents didn't say in one breath, "Did you win? That coach who doesn't like you - did he finally play you?" What if, instead, they said, "It's great that you're part of the team. Work hard so you'll be ready when you get a chance." Parents often believe that their child will become upset and disheartened if he doesn't get much playing time, and they think this is unfair. But they should understand that whatever role on the team the youngster's hard work creates is valuable, even if he's a substitute. It's a fact: For the majority of players, hard work will lead to a role on their team, not All-City, All-State, or All-American status.
If a player works hard only because he thinks he can become a star, he's doing it for the wrong reason. Some day, somewhere, some time, he'll be disappointed with his achievements. He'll end up saying, "Well, I think I should be starting, and my dad thinks I should be starting. But Coach won't start me, so I don't think it's worth working so hard anymore." But if that player has developed a work ethic, he will understand the value of working every day. He will find that it helps him at every turn, in every challenge, for his entire life.
One player who found his niche on my team at Williams College was a young man named Seth Mehr. He had been on the junior varsity team as a freshman and tried out for the varsity the next year. My assistant coach said, "You've got to cut him." But I liked that he had a ball with him all the time, and that when I'd go up to the gym, I'd find him there working endlessly. Finally I said, "You know, I believe there is a role for a kid who works that hard." Seth created a role for himself; his hard work convinced me to keep him. In time, he became the captain of a team that went to the Division III Sweet Sixteen, and he played 10 to 12 minutes a game. He made a real contribution in practice and in games. After graduation, Seth went on to medical school and became a doctor. He wrote me once to say, "Coach, Williams was a great experience for me. Medical school is hard, but what prepared me for it the most, even more than my organic chemistry lab, was the basketball program." That's the kind of letter I live for.
Aaron Dupuis was another bench player with a tremendous work ethic. When I recruited him, I said, "You have to worry about two things. You might be a step slow. And you're a local kid, so you'll be watched closely by everyone in town." Undaunted, he came in and worked his rear end off, and he improved vastly, although he never played much in games. Aaron said, "I want to make the team better on Saturday night, so I'm going to work hard on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday." And that's what he did. Every day he walked into the locker room and pulled on his shorts and shirt, knowing he was going to go out there for two hours to compete. He understood his role and knew his value to the team. He made our reserves a competitive group by the sheer force of his will. When Aaron wasn't there, it showed. Once he was hurt for about two weeks, and the intensity of our practices took a nosedive. I told the other players, "If we have to have Aaron on the court for you to be competitive, then we have a problem. Because he can't do it for you right now." I'm sure that it meant a lot to Aaron to have me say that in front of the entire team and coaching staff. He was one of the most respected players on our team, and his ex-teammates hold him in high regard to this day.
Many coaches are fixated on results. The basic mistake most make in regard to work ethic is not recognizing the contributions of nonstarters like Seth and Aaron in front of their teammates. In a basketball game, not every player plays; not every player is on the floor when it counts, when there are people in the stands, when there is noise in the gym, when there is an excitement he wants to be a part of. These players don't hear their names shouted by the fans; they won't see their achievements written up in the papers. But some of these kids make tremendous contributions to the team. So as the coach, you have to acknowledge these players, in a way that really means something to them. Take the time to stop practice and recognize their hard work in front of their teammates and coaches. It's the most important recognition they can get. Their teammates are their brothers, their fraternity. And if a player gets positive feedback from a group he really cares about, he will do almost anything for them.
When I was in high school, a boy named Bobby Galvin lived down the street from me. He was a couple of years younger than me, and when I started making a name for myself on the basketball team, he started gravitating toward me because he wanted to be a player, too. He figured that if I could succeed through hard work, anybody could. When I was hired as athletic director at Williams College in 2000, Bobby heard about it, and he dropped me a note. He congratulated me and recalled our time spent in the park together, working on our game. I was sad to learn that he had never had success in the sport and had given it up, but he wrote something really perceptive about that: "Harry, I didn't need to become a great basketball player. I just needed to be there, practicing. I learned that there is something innately valuable about working hard. At that time in my youth, it was important to have that discipline."
We must often remind parents and coaches that their kids are playing games, not performing brain surgery. But as Bobby said, there is a certain time in a young person's life when there is something extremely valuable about working hard in order to stretch and achieve some level of self-fulfillment. It has been my experience that kids who accomplish something they are proud of through hard work adopt work ethic as one of their core values. And a work ethic can carry a young person a good long way through life.
5 Things Happy People Do!
Sages going back to Socrates have offered advice on how to be happy, but only now are scientists beginning to address this question with systematic, controlled research. Although many of the new studies reaffirm time-honored wisdom ("Do what you love," "To thine own self be true"), they also add a number of fresh twists and insights. We canvassed the leading experts on what happy people have in common—and why it's worth trying to become one of them:
They find their most golden self:
Picture happiness. What do you see? A peaceful soul sitting in a field of daisies appreciating the moment? That kind of passive, pleasure-oriented—hedonic—contentment is definitely a component of overall happiness. But researchers now believe that eudaimonic well-being may be more important. Cobbled from the Greek eu ("good") and daimon ("spirit" or "deity"), eudaimonia means striving toward excellence based on one's unique talents and potential—Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life. In his time, the Greeks believed that each child was blessed at birth with a personal daimon embodying the highest possible expression of his or her nature. One way they envisioned the daimon was as a golden figurine that would be revealed by cracking away an outer layer of cheap pottery (the person's base exterior). The effort to know and realize one's most golden self—"personal growth," in today's lingo—is now the central concept of eudaimonia, which has also come to include continually taking on new challenges and fulfilling one's sense of purpose in life. "Eudaimonic well-being is much more robust and satisfying than hedonic happiness, and it engages different parts of the brain," says Richard J. Davidson, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "The positive emotion accompanying thoughts that are directed toward meaningful goals is one of the most enduring components of well-being." Eudaimonia is also good for the body. Women who scored high on psychological tests for it (they were purposefully engaged in life, pursued self-development) weighed less, slept better, and had fewer stress hormones and markers for heart disease than others—including those reporting hedonic happiness—according to a study led by Carol Ryff, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
They design their lives to bring in joy:
It may seem obvious, but "people don't devote enough time to thinking seriously about how they spend their life and how much of it they actually enjoy," says David Schkade, PhD, a psychologist and professor of management at the University of California, San Diego. In a recent study, Schkade and colleagues asked more than 900 working women to write down everything they'd done the day before. Afterward, they reviewed their diaries and evaluated how they felt at each point. When the women saw how much time they spent on activities they didn't like, "some people had tears in their eyes," Schkade says. "They didn't realize their happiness was something they could design and have control over." Analyzing one's life isn't necessarily easy and may require questioning long-held assumptions. A high-powered career might, in fact, turn out to be unfulfilling; a committed relationship once longed for could end up being irritating with all the compromising that comes with having a partner. Dreams can be hard to abandon, even when they've turned sour. Fortunately, changes don't have to be big ones to tip the joy in your favor. Schkade says that if you transfer even an hour of your day from an activity you hate (commuting, scrubbing the bathroom) to one you like (reading, spending time with friends), you should see a significant improvement in your overall happiness. Taking action is key. Another recent study, at the University of Missouri, compared college students who made intentional changes (joining a club, upgrading their study habits) with others who passively experienced positive turns in their circumstances (receiving a scholarship, being relieved of a bad roommate). All the students were happier in the short term, but only the group who made deliberate changes stayed that way.
They avoid "if only" fantasies:
If only I get a better job…find a man…lose the weight…life will be perfect. Happy people don't buy into this kind of thinking. The latest research shows that we're surprisingly bad at predicting what will make us happy. People also tend to misjudge their contentment when zeroing in on a single aspect of their lives—it's called the focusing illusion. In one study, single subjects were asked, "How happy are you with your life in general?" and "How many dates did you have last month?" When the dating question was asked first, their romantic lives weighed more heavily into how they rated their overall happiness than when the questions were reversed. The other argument against "if only" fantasies has to do with "hedonic adaptation"—the brain's natural dimming effect, which guarantees that a new house won't generate the same pleasure a year after its purchase and the thrill of having a boyfriend will ebb as you get used to being part of a couple. Happy people are wise to this, which is why they keep their lives full of novelty, even if it's just trying a new activity (diving, yoga) or putting a new spin on an old favorite (kundalini instead of vinyasa).
They put best friends first:
It's no surprise that social engagement is one of the most important contributors to happiness. What's news is that the nature of the relationship counts. Compared with dashing around chatting with acquaintances, you get more joy from spending longer periods of time with a close friend, according to research by Meliksah Demir, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Northern Arizona University. And the best-friend benefit doesn't necessarily come from delving into heavy discussions. One of the most essential pleasures of close friendship, Demir found, is simple companionship, "just hanging out," as he says, hitting the mall or going to the movies together and eating popcorn in the dark.
They allow themselves to be happy:
As much as we all think we want it, many of us are convinced, deep down, that it's wrong to be happy (or too happy). Whether the belief comes from religion, culture, or the family you were raised in, it usually leaves you feeling guilty if you're having fun. "Some people would say you shouldn't strive for personal happiness until you've taken care of everyone in the world who is starving or doesn't have adequate medical care," says Howard Cutler, MD, who co-authored The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World with the Dalai Lama. "The Dalai Lama believes you should pursue both simultaneously. For one thing, there is clear research showing that happy people tend to be more open to helping others. They also make better spouses and parents." And in one famous study, nuns whose autobiographies expressed positive emotions (such as gratitude and optimism) lived seven to 10-and-a-half years longer than other nuns. So, for any die-hard pessimist who still needs persuading, just think of how much more you can help the world if you allow a little happiness into your life.
Gabrielle LeBlanc is a writer and neuroscientist in Washington, D.C. By Gabrielle LeBlanc from O, The Oprah Magazine, March 2008 © 2008 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
They find their most golden self:
Picture happiness. What do you see? A peaceful soul sitting in a field of daisies appreciating the moment? That kind of passive, pleasure-oriented—hedonic—contentment is definitely a component of overall happiness. But researchers now believe that eudaimonic well-being may be more important. Cobbled from the Greek eu ("good") and daimon ("spirit" or "deity"), eudaimonia means striving toward excellence based on one's unique talents and potential—Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life. In his time, the Greeks believed that each child was blessed at birth with a personal daimon embodying the highest possible expression of his or her nature. One way they envisioned the daimon was as a golden figurine that would be revealed by cracking away an outer layer of cheap pottery (the person's base exterior). The effort to know and realize one's most golden self—"personal growth," in today's lingo—is now the central concept of eudaimonia, which has also come to include continually taking on new challenges and fulfilling one's sense of purpose in life. "Eudaimonic well-being is much more robust and satisfying than hedonic happiness, and it engages different parts of the brain," says Richard J. Davidson, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "The positive emotion accompanying thoughts that are directed toward meaningful goals is one of the most enduring components of well-being." Eudaimonia is also good for the body. Women who scored high on psychological tests for it (they were purposefully engaged in life, pursued self-development) weighed less, slept better, and had fewer stress hormones and markers for heart disease than others—including those reporting hedonic happiness—according to a study led by Carol Ryff, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
They design their lives to bring in joy:
It may seem obvious, but "people don't devote enough time to thinking seriously about how they spend their life and how much of it they actually enjoy," says David Schkade, PhD, a psychologist and professor of management at the University of California, San Diego. In a recent study, Schkade and colleagues asked more than 900 working women to write down everything they'd done the day before. Afterward, they reviewed their diaries and evaluated how they felt at each point. When the women saw how much time they spent on activities they didn't like, "some people had tears in their eyes," Schkade says. "They didn't realize their happiness was something they could design and have control over." Analyzing one's life isn't necessarily easy and may require questioning long-held assumptions. A high-powered career might, in fact, turn out to be unfulfilling; a committed relationship once longed for could end up being irritating with all the compromising that comes with having a partner. Dreams can be hard to abandon, even when they've turned sour. Fortunately, changes don't have to be big ones to tip the joy in your favor. Schkade says that if you transfer even an hour of your day from an activity you hate (commuting, scrubbing the bathroom) to one you like (reading, spending time with friends), you should see a significant improvement in your overall happiness. Taking action is key. Another recent study, at the University of Missouri, compared college students who made intentional changes (joining a club, upgrading their study habits) with others who passively experienced positive turns in their circumstances (receiving a scholarship, being relieved of a bad roommate). All the students were happier in the short term, but only the group who made deliberate changes stayed that way.
They avoid "if only" fantasies:
If only I get a better job…find a man…lose the weight…life will be perfect. Happy people don't buy into this kind of thinking. The latest research shows that we're surprisingly bad at predicting what will make us happy. People also tend to misjudge their contentment when zeroing in on a single aspect of their lives—it's called the focusing illusion. In one study, single subjects were asked, "How happy are you with your life in general?" and "How many dates did you have last month?" When the dating question was asked first, their romantic lives weighed more heavily into how they rated their overall happiness than when the questions were reversed. The other argument against "if only" fantasies has to do with "hedonic adaptation"—the brain's natural dimming effect, which guarantees that a new house won't generate the same pleasure a year after its purchase and the thrill of having a boyfriend will ebb as you get used to being part of a couple. Happy people are wise to this, which is why they keep their lives full of novelty, even if it's just trying a new activity (diving, yoga) or putting a new spin on an old favorite (kundalini instead of vinyasa).
They put best friends first:
It's no surprise that social engagement is one of the most important contributors to happiness. What's news is that the nature of the relationship counts. Compared with dashing around chatting with acquaintances, you get more joy from spending longer periods of time with a close friend, according to research by Meliksah Demir, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Northern Arizona University. And the best-friend benefit doesn't necessarily come from delving into heavy discussions. One of the most essential pleasures of close friendship, Demir found, is simple companionship, "just hanging out," as he says, hitting the mall or going to the movies together and eating popcorn in the dark.
They allow themselves to be happy:
As much as we all think we want it, many of us are convinced, deep down, that it's wrong to be happy (or too happy). Whether the belief comes from religion, culture, or the family you were raised in, it usually leaves you feeling guilty if you're having fun. "Some people would say you shouldn't strive for personal happiness until you've taken care of everyone in the world who is starving or doesn't have adequate medical care," says Howard Cutler, MD, who co-authored The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World with the Dalai Lama. "The Dalai Lama believes you should pursue both simultaneously. For one thing, there is clear research showing that happy people tend to be more open to helping others. They also make better spouses and parents." And in one famous study, nuns whose autobiographies expressed positive emotions (such as gratitude and optimism) lived seven to 10-and-a-half years longer than other nuns. So, for any die-hard pessimist who still needs persuading, just think of how much more you can help the world if you allow a little happiness into your life.
Gabrielle LeBlanc is a writer and neuroscientist in Washington, D.C. By Gabrielle LeBlanc from O, The Oprah Magazine, March 2008 © 2008 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ONETIME's Best Springbok XV of ALL Times by Ian Tait
1. Os Du Randt - Strongest loose head and leading try scorer for a prop
2. Uli Schmidt - Great ball carries and vision for the game
3. Flippie Van Der Merwe - The man was a beast, strong and oh yes strong
4. Mark Andrews - Great lineout jumper and ball carrier
5. Frik du Preez - He dropped, placed and scored
6. Andre Venter - The enforcer, what a wonder servant to SA Rugby
7. Schalk Burger - Still young and current but IRB world player of the year 2005
8. Gary Teichmann - The best no 8 this SA has ever produced and there has been some great names.
9. Jooste Van Der Westhuizen - Crisp pass, fleet of foot and a record try scorer for a scrum half.
10. Naas Botha - He could kick of both feet, read a game and distribute a backline in a flash, oh yes he also played for the Dallas Cowboys.
11. Carel du Plessis - Known as the Price of Wings
12. Manijtie Roux - He used to tackles cows for practice on his farm.
13. Danie Gerber - If Carel was the Prince of wings, then Danie was the King of centers. The greatest there ever was in world rugby.
14. James Small - Leading try scorer for a very long time in SA rugby and never allowed Johna Loma to score against him.
15. Andre Joubert - The Royals Royce of Fullbacks
2. Uli Schmidt - Great ball carries and vision for the game
3. Flippie Van Der Merwe - The man was a beast, strong and oh yes strong
4. Mark Andrews - Great lineout jumper and ball carrier
5. Frik du Preez - He dropped, placed and scored
6. Andre Venter - The enforcer, what a wonder servant to SA Rugby
7. Schalk Burger - Still young and current but IRB world player of the year 2005
8. Gary Teichmann - The best no 8 this SA has ever produced and there has been some great names.
9. Jooste Van Der Westhuizen - Crisp pass, fleet of foot and a record try scorer for a scrum half.
10. Naas Botha - He could kick of both feet, read a game and distribute a backline in a flash, oh yes he also played for the Dallas Cowboys.
11. Carel du Plessis - Known as the Price of Wings
12. Manijtie Roux - He used to tackles cows for practice on his farm.
13. Danie Gerber - If Carel was the Prince of wings, then Danie was the King of centers. The greatest there ever was in world rugby.
14. James Small - Leading try scorer for a very long time in SA rugby and never allowed Johna Loma to score against him.
15. Andre Joubert - The Royals Royce of Fullbacks
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters by Portia Nelson
1.
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost. . .I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
2.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
3.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I fall in . . . it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
4.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
5.
I walk down another street.
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost. . .I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
2.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
3.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I fall in . . . it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
4.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
5.
I walk down another street.
What is SUCCESS? by Chris Widener
A company entitled "Made for Success" begs the question: Just what is success? So, join me as I wax philosophical and pursue this question in this brief article. Success has been an elusive term since the beginning of time. For ages, men and women have pursued that which would make them happy and fulfilled. At the same time they have tried to determine that which would make them feel as though they have achieved success. Some have defined success themselves, while others have been content to have others, or societies at large, define success for them. We would most certainly all agree that to a large degree, "success" is defined by the individual or group that is pursuing it.
Is there an objective definition of success? I do think that there are some general principles, shown throughout history, which measure true success. I would like to give you some principles that I believe are helpful when thinking about the subject for yourself, your family, and your career.
Before we begin, I need to say that I am excited about the direction that much of the recent success literature has taken. While I don't agree with all of the viewpoints that are expressed, I am glad that more emphasis has been placed on what I call "whole-life" success, including such things as family, health, and spirituality. Success literature that is centered on financial wealth and the attaining of material possessions only, is not truly success literature in the broadest sense of the term. While financial success is good, it is certainly not the final measurement of the fulfilled life.
To truly understand success, one must first understand the nature of human beings. I believe that you would agree with me that humans are in their very nature a trichotomy, that is, they are made up of three parts: Body, Soul (the mind, emotions, and will), and Spirit (that part of us that transcends this body). To achieve whole-life fulfillment, "Success," each of these areas must receive special attention in order to bring balance to our lives and achieve true success.
In the past, success has come to be measured by a basic core of measurable objectives, all of which, in and of themselves are fine, but in and of themselves are totally inadequate to fulfill a person.
Some of these are;
Money:
The accumulation of money has always been a pursuit of man. The more money the better, it has been believed. And yet many who have achieved this end have looked back at the rest of us and warned that it isn't all that it is cracked up to be. Now, don't get me wrong, having money is not a bad thing. Many people misquote the New Testament when they say, "Money is the root of all evil." In fact, the N.T. says "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Money is neutral. What people allow money to do to them, is not. So the pursuit of money, in the right frame of mind, can be a good thing.
Power:
Power, like money, is high on the list of success goals. And, like money, power is bad or good based on the use it receives in the hands of people. Power, whether political or simply untitled influence, can be a good thing. If you achieve power, that is good, as long as you are good with it.
Happiness:
This is almost entirely subjective and usually includes one or all of the other success goals. People define their version of success and then pursue it. Usually it means a sense of fulfillment and peace, which I will discuss later on.
Freedom.Whether as individuals or groups, freedom has rightly been a pursuit and definition of success. America, even with its faults, is still the epitome of freedom. This is why so many people from around the world long to come to America or other fine democratic countries. As individuals, they want to be able to choose their own destiny, to wake up every day and do what they want, to as opposed to what someone else chooses for them.
Healthy relationships:
Let's face it, life is not lived alone. We are in a plethora of relationships, from the very superficial to the most intimate. Let's also agree that unhealthy relationships are not good. Nothing can bring a person down quicker or for a longer time than trouble in a cherished relationship. And yet, millions of people have realized that the pursuit of some goals have been to the detriment of their personal relationships. This is what John R. O'Neil calls "The Paradox of Success."
Health:
The joy of success is not in the achievement of it, but the experience of it. It is the conscious knowledge of your success, the fruit of your success, which brings fulfillment. And if you are not healthy, you can almost certainly not enjoy your success. Your health is perhaps the most cherished of all possessions. Without it, you cannot enjoy your other possessions.
A relationship with God:
For most people, eternal questions are important, even the most important. To be sure, we live after this life a lot longer than we do in this life! Having a belief in God and an understanding of his ways has long been a pursuit and goal of people, regardless of age, nationality, race or gender.
So, how can we sum this all up? What is success? Is it one of the above? All of them? Others? I have found something that helps me understand the concept of success very well. It is the Hebrew word "Shalom." Most people have heard this word interpreted as "peace," and, in its simple definition, that is indeed what it means. But the understanding of the word peace to those who originally used this word meant something very broad. When someone said "shalom" to you, they were wishing you peace in every area of your life. They meant success to you. This incorporated all areas of your life. It meant wholeness. They were saying, "May your finances be well. May your health be well. May your mind and heart be at rest. May your relationships be good. May you know and understand God. May you be blessed in every area of your life."
So what is success? It is wholeness in every area of your life. It isn't the achievement of one area to the detriment of one or more of the others. This isn't balance and won't bring us peace.
Is there an objective definition of success? I do think that there are some general principles, shown throughout history, which measure true success. I would like to give you some principles that I believe are helpful when thinking about the subject for yourself, your family, and your career.
Before we begin, I need to say that I am excited about the direction that much of the recent success literature has taken. While I don't agree with all of the viewpoints that are expressed, I am glad that more emphasis has been placed on what I call "whole-life" success, including such things as family, health, and spirituality. Success literature that is centered on financial wealth and the attaining of material possessions only, is not truly success literature in the broadest sense of the term. While financial success is good, it is certainly not the final measurement of the fulfilled life.
To truly understand success, one must first understand the nature of human beings. I believe that you would agree with me that humans are in their very nature a trichotomy, that is, they are made up of three parts: Body, Soul (the mind, emotions, and will), and Spirit (that part of us that transcends this body). To achieve whole-life fulfillment, "Success," each of these areas must receive special attention in order to bring balance to our lives and achieve true success.
In the past, success has come to be measured by a basic core of measurable objectives, all of which, in and of themselves are fine, but in and of themselves are totally inadequate to fulfill a person.
Some of these are;
Money:
The accumulation of money has always been a pursuit of man. The more money the better, it has been believed. And yet many who have achieved this end have looked back at the rest of us and warned that it isn't all that it is cracked up to be. Now, don't get me wrong, having money is not a bad thing. Many people misquote the New Testament when they say, "Money is the root of all evil." In fact, the N.T. says "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Money is neutral. What people allow money to do to them, is not. So the pursuit of money, in the right frame of mind, can be a good thing.
Power:
Power, like money, is high on the list of success goals. And, like money, power is bad or good based on the use it receives in the hands of people. Power, whether political or simply untitled influence, can be a good thing. If you achieve power, that is good, as long as you are good with it.
Happiness:
This is almost entirely subjective and usually includes one or all of the other success goals. People define their version of success and then pursue it. Usually it means a sense of fulfillment and peace, which I will discuss later on.
Freedom.Whether as individuals or groups, freedom has rightly been a pursuit and definition of success. America, even with its faults, is still the epitome of freedom. This is why so many people from around the world long to come to America or other fine democratic countries. As individuals, they want to be able to choose their own destiny, to wake up every day and do what they want, to as opposed to what someone else chooses for them.
Healthy relationships:
Let's face it, life is not lived alone. We are in a plethora of relationships, from the very superficial to the most intimate. Let's also agree that unhealthy relationships are not good. Nothing can bring a person down quicker or for a longer time than trouble in a cherished relationship. And yet, millions of people have realized that the pursuit of some goals have been to the detriment of their personal relationships. This is what John R. O'Neil calls "The Paradox of Success."
Health:
The joy of success is not in the achievement of it, but the experience of it. It is the conscious knowledge of your success, the fruit of your success, which brings fulfillment. And if you are not healthy, you can almost certainly not enjoy your success. Your health is perhaps the most cherished of all possessions. Without it, you cannot enjoy your other possessions.
A relationship with God:
For most people, eternal questions are important, even the most important. To be sure, we live after this life a lot longer than we do in this life! Having a belief in God and an understanding of his ways has long been a pursuit and goal of people, regardless of age, nationality, race or gender.
So, how can we sum this all up? What is success? Is it one of the above? All of them? Others? I have found something that helps me understand the concept of success very well. It is the Hebrew word "Shalom." Most people have heard this word interpreted as "peace," and, in its simple definition, that is indeed what it means. But the understanding of the word peace to those who originally used this word meant something very broad. When someone said "shalom" to you, they were wishing you peace in every area of your life. They meant success to you. This incorporated all areas of your life. It meant wholeness. They were saying, "May your finances be well. May your health be well. May your mind and heart be at rest. May your relationships be good. May you know and understand God. May you be blessed in every area of your life."
So what is success? It is wholeness in every area of your life. It isn't the achievement of one area to the detriment of one or more of the others. This isn't balance and won't bring us peace.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Josh get's picked as an Under Armour All-American
This Sunday Josh will play in the Under Armour All-American baseball game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game starts at 1:30pm and will be broadcast live on ESPNU. This is very exciting for Dale and I, not to mention for Josh!
Monday, August 11, 2008
The RS 100 Greatest Songs of All Time!
1. Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
2. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
3. Imagine, John Lennon
4. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
5. Respect, Aretha Franklin
6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
7. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
8. Hey Jude, The Beatles
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
10. What'd I Say, Ray Charles
11. My Generation, The Who
12. A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke
13. Yesterday, The Beatles
14. Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan
15. London Calling, The Clash
16. I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
17. Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
18. Maybellene, Chuck Berry
19. Hound Dog, Elvis Presley
20. Let It Be, The Beatles
21. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
22. Be My Baby, The Ronettes
23. In My Life, The Beatles
24. People Get Ready, The Impressions
25. God Only Knows, The Beach Boys
26. A Day in the Life, The Beatles
27. Layla, Derek and the Dominos
28. (Sittin on) the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
29. Help!, The Beatles
30. I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash
31. Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin
32. Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones
33. River Deep - Mountain High, Ike and Tina Turner
34. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', The Righteous Brothers
35. Light My Fire, The Doors
36. One, U2
37. No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and the Wailers
38. Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones
39. That'll Be the Day, Buddy Holly and the Crickets
40. Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas
41. The Weight, The Band
42. Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks
43. Tutti-Frutti, Little Richard
44. Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles
45. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley
46. Heroes, David Bowie
47. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
48. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
49. Hotel California, The Eagles
50. The Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
51. The Message, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
52. When Doves Cry, Prince
53. Anarchy in the U.K., The Sex Pistols
54. When a Man Loves a Woman, Percy Sledge
55. Louie Louie, The Kingsmen
56. Long Tall Sally, Little Richard
57. Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum
58. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
59. The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan
60. Let's Stay Together, Al Green
61. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On, Jerry Lee Lewis
62. Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley
63. For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield
64. She Loves You, The Beatles
65. Sunshine of Your Love, Cream
66. Redemption Song, Bob Marley and the Wailers
67. Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley
68. Tangled Up in Blue, Bob Dylan
69. Crying, Roy Orbison
70. Walk On By, Dionne Warwick
71. California Girls, The Beach Boys
72. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, James Brown
73. Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran
74. Superstition, Stevie Wonder
75. Whole Lotta Love, Led Zeppelin
76. Strawberry Fields Forever,The Beatles
77. Mystery Train, Elvis Presley
78. I Got You (I Feel Good), James Brown
79. Mr. Tambourine Man, The Byrds
80. I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
81. Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino
82. You Really Got Me, The Kinks
83. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), The Beatles
84. Every Breath You Take, The Police
85. Crazy, Patsy Cline
86. Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen
87. Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash
88. My Girl, The Temptations
89. California Dreamin', The Mamas and The Papas
90. In the Still of the Nite, The Five Satins
91. Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley
92. Blitzkrieg Bop, Ramones
93. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2
94. Good Golly, Miss Molly, Little Richard
95. Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins
96. Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
97. Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry
98. Love and Happiness, Al Green
99. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
100. You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones
2. Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones
3. Imagine, John Lennon
4. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye
5. Respect, Aretha Franklin
6. Good Vibrations, The Beach Boys
7. Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry
8. Hey Jude, The Beatles
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
10. What'd I Say, Ray Charles
11. My Generation, The Who
12. A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke
13. Yesterday, The Beatles
14. Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan
15. London Calling, The Clash
16. I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
17. Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
18. Maybellene, Chuck Berry
19. Hound Dog, Elvis Presley
20. Let It Be, The Beatles
21. Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
22. Be My Baby, The Ronettes
23. In My Life, The Beatles
24. People Get Ready, The Impressions
25. God Only Knows, The Beach Boys
26. A Day in the Life, The Beatles
27. Layla, Derek and the Dominos
28. (Sittin on) the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
29. Help!, The Beatles
30. I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash
31. Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin
32. Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones
33. River Deep - Mountain High, Ike and Tina Turner
34. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', The Righteous Brothers
35. Light My Fire, The Doors
36. One, U2
37. No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and the Wailers
38. Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones
39. That'll Be the Day, Buddy Holly and the Crickets
40. Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas
41. The Weight, The Band
42. Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks
43. Tutti-Frutti, Little Richard
44. Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles
45. Heartbreak Hotel, Elvis Presley
46. Heroes, David Bowie
47. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
48. All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
49. Hotel California, The Eagles
50. The Tracks of My Tears, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
51. The Message, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
52. When Doves Cry, Prince
53. Anarchy in the U.K., The Sex Pistols
54. When a Man Loves a Woman, Percy Sledge
55. Louie Louie, The Kingsmen
56. Long Tall Sally, Little Richard
57. Whiter Shade of Pale, Procol Harum
58. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
59. The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan
60. Let's Stay Together, Al Green
61. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On, Jerry Lee Lewis
62. Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley
63. For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield
64. She Loves You, The Beatles
65. Sunshine of Your Love, Cream
66. Redemption Song, Bob Marley and the Wailers
67. Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley
68. Tangled Up in Blue, Bob Dylan
69. Crying, Roy Orbison
70. Walk On By, Dionne Warwick
71. California Girls, The Beach Boys
72. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, James Brown
73. Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran
74. Superstition, Stevie Wonder
75. Whole Lotta Love, Led Zeppelin
76. Strawberry Fields Forever,The Beatles
77. Mystery Train, Elvis Presley
78. I Got You (I Feel Good), James Brown
79. Mr. Tambourine Man, The Byrds
80. I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
81. Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino
82. You Really Got Me, The Kinks
83. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), The Beatles
84. Every Breath You Take, The Police
85. Crazy, Patsy Cline
86. Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen
87. Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash
88. My Girl, The Temptations
89. California Dreamin', The Mamas and The Papas
90. In the Still of the Nite, The Five Satins
91. Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley
92. Blitzkrieg Bop, Ramones
93. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2
94. Good Golly, Miss Molly, Little Richard
95. Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins
96. Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
97. Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry
98. Love and Happiness, Al Green
99. Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
100. You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)