Message 7

Thank you to everyone who has started to read my blog, the numbers seem to be going up and up. Also thank you for your patience with how long it has taken to make this post. i am in the middle of a stint that has me in 5 countries and 9 cities in 19 days and i have been too busy to get back to this as regularly as i plan.



In addition to the length of time I have taken i am going to go off the last topic a bit as well! Just had some valuabale interactions over the last week of my travels and through a few emails from readers that have prompted me to change topic. I will move on with Teach/Train/Coach throughout the week.

We have discussed over the first number of posts to this blogs various attributes of extraordinary people. Unfortunately so many of them can be wasted by people who live in fear. People who live in fear of losing their job are more likely to ask themselves how to keep their job then how to get ahead. The different answers this leads to may be subtle but still powerfull. If a person is afraid of losing more then looking to win their self talk may be completely different in moments of pressure.

If you are someone who is challenged by fear, who thinks you have the ability to be great but is too fearful to make the required steps then what can be done?

Firstly i would reccomend you read the book "Feel the fear and do it anyways" by Susan Jeffers.

Secondly i would reccomend that you start to find some activities that challenge fears you have. I witnessed a powerful transformation in people a few months back when taking part in a day led by Toby Foxcroft of Motivate International. They used the common fear of heights to challenge people to get out of their comfort zone. It had an amazing effect on people and the learning was profound. People faced their fear of heights and then realized how they could apply the same principles to fear of losing or fear of losing control....

Thirdly I would reccomend you spend time on reflecting on the consequences of living with your fears versus pushing out of your comfort zone.

What is the worst that could happen by living in your comfort zone?

A life lacking passion and enjoyment?

Apathy?

Not fulfilling your potential?

What is the worst that could happen by taking on new challenges by pushing to be the best you possible? Of course it is possible that you will not be succesful at every turn. The world is littered with stories of failure but also of people who failed and failed again before succeeding!

I have always found this simple statement to be the source of so much fear disabling power

"I CAN HANDLE IT"

What if i bomb in my next presentation?

What if i lose out on that next contract?

Not only can i handle it, but i can learn from it, get better, and keep moving forward.

Can you handle it?

Message 6

Athletes in most if not all sports could categorize the time the spend on their sport in three ways.  There is the time they spend learning new skills, practicing their skills, and performing those skills in competition.  

Each of these areas has a different focus and in many cases different approaches to maximizing their benefits.  Players and coaches who want to get the most out of all sessions need to be aware of the purpose and to plan enough of each type of session to maximize the development of a player.

It could easily be described this way

Player                     Coach

Learn        -------       Teach

Practice    -------        Train

Perform    -------        Coach

Unfortunately players and coaches often have areas they are strong but also weaker ones because they may not be aware of the attributes and or importance of each. 

Have you ever heard of the player that is great in practice but does not perform well in competition? How about the player that competes well but does not learn new skills very well?  

Over the next series of posts we will go into detail of each area to look at how to maximize its effect. In the meantime i ask you to reflect on where your strengths and weaknesses may lie as a player or as a coach.

The following clips are not meant as examples of best practice just to get you thinking about how effective you are in each domain.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRwSrIYb-Jo learn/teach

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqQDMHM91YE&feature=related      practice/train

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rFx6OFooCs perform/coach

Message 5

Yesterday i was watching the Colts game watching Peyton Manning, arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all time.  I was very interested when they told the story of how he spent time with each of his receivers this summer individually.  He took them through "skill improvement" sessions to help get better and to improve his timing working with them.  

It reminded me of all the stories you would hear about Michael Jordan being the last one off the court and putting the most work in on the practice court.  If you watch Jordan dominating a game at the end of his Bulls career you would see a plethora of skills and moves that he did not have at the beginning of his career.  Even as the best player in the world he would work each season on adding to is game.

To me these two athletes personify what it is to work hard and be willing to do more then everyone else to reach your goal.  It is so important for people who want to be the very best to have this quality and to work against their peer group.  I often here national level athletes talk about how much they do compared to "normal people" but its not about that.  Its about doing more then the people you are hoping to be better then one day.

So often you hear these people like Jordan or Manning referred to as "talented" but what does that mean?  How do you measure it?  I would suggest that the greatest talent of all is the capacity to work hard.  To keep practicing and practicing in an effective way when others have given up.

The following link is a very interesting study on what it takes to reach maximal performance.  It is a heavy read but worth it if you are interested in such a thing.

http://projects.ict.usc.edu/itw/gel/EricssonDeliberatePracticePR93.pdf

In a conversation i had with a professional athlete recently they said "I hate the word talent".  I am not here to suggest that there is not some level of natural ability that could be possible, but what good is it without the talent to work hard and continuously? 

In the previous posts on this blog i have discussed the ideas of challenging yourself, taking responsibility for your life, having a deep inner belief, and now an extraordinary work ethic.  I have always put peoples qualities into three categories "who they are", "what they do", and "what they know".  I have always believed in the quote

"who you are determines what you do" -unknown author

Which percentage of your time do you spend working on who you are?  Are you like so many people who have goals filled with doing more or learning more?  I would suggest to you that if you work on developing yourself that the rest become much easier.  

Are you willing to do the little extra things like Manning and Jordan do, to ensure you are the best you can be?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDgKdjf7M4I

Message 4

I would like to share a story

A few years ago a man in his mid thirties was promoted to become the CEO of a major international company.  As is often the case there was some business type media people that were interested to do a profile on him so he agreed to be interviewed by a large magazine.  The writer came in to the office for the interview wanting to learn about this successful business man and what got him there.  He asked him about his family.  The CEO mentioned that his father had passed away and his mother lived in Florida while his only sibling, his twin brother was in jail for drugs and for beating his wife.  The interviewer became very intrigued about these twin brothers, one so successful the other an addict and wife beater.  He got permission to do an interview with the brother as well, thinking it would be an interesting addition to his story.  He asked both brothers about their childhood.  They both answered in quite some detail about a troubled childhood, their father was an alcoholic who was barely ever home and when he was he was always drunk and would beat up their mother and sometimes them as well.  It was a shocking story but it was the next question that shocked the interviewer most.  He asked both brothers, one a convicted felon, the other a hugely successful business man, "what do you think has gotten you to where you are in life now" and they both gave exactly the same answer....." What would you expect, look at my father"

I wish i remembered where i first read that story and partially wish i remember if it was true or not, but either way what a powerful message.  It led me on a personal journey learning of self awareness and the power that it can carry but unfortunately it has  a twin brother as well...the victim mentality. 

"The best way to predict your future is to create it!"

-Abraham Lincoln 

Are you the master of your own life, the architect of your future?  Or are you just living your life feeling the victim to anything that does not seem to go your way?

I challenge you to create a vision for your future and an action plan to bring that vision to life.

message #3

The reoccurring theme of today was "belief" In the words of Virgil
"They can conquer who believe they can"

The power of belief is astonishing, i am always inspired from the movie clip on this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vB59PkB0eQ&feature=related

Confidence is something that goes up and down fairly regularly. I am sure even Lebron James loses confidence in his jump shot or Tiger in his drives but having a deep rooted belief in yourself, your value, can be your fuel when you need to push yourself or face a challenge.

I have asked athletes before...

If i could guarantee you to be the best player in the world at your sport, 100% its a done deal....how would you feel. As you can imagine they often really like the idea of that! However i then ask what if for that guarentee you would have to take a spoon and shovel manure out of my back yard for 4 hours a day for the next 8 years would you do it.....remember at the end of it you are guaranteed #1 in the world.
Most serious athletes say they would jump at the opportunity. If they would do that, why do they not push themselves everyday, every second in the sport they love, why do the not follow their nutritional plan or give it there all in the gym? When i ask that question the answer is usually......"there is no guarantee we will make it". Its that lack of belief in the outcome that makes them wander if the hard work is worth it.

Belief is an amazing thing, it empowers you to reach for the stars at one moment and then at the next it pushes you to do the most simple of tasks in front of you.

How strong is your belief, that of your althletes or employees? Do you have a strategy to develop in on an ongoing basis?