KNOW YOUR CIRCLE

WHAT IS YOUR PICK UP GAME MENTALITY

The following comes from Steve Hale who was one of Michael Jordan's teammates:

Hale noticed another thing about Jordan: Even in pickup games, he has become unusually purposeful. There was a tendency in games like this, when there were no coaches around, for players to resort to what they did best, to reinforce their strengths and avoid going to any part of their game that was essentially weak. But Jordan, Hale believed, was constantly working on the weaker part of his game, trying to bring it up. It was, Hale thought, one more sign of his desire to be the best.

From "Playing For Keeps" by David Halberstam

WORDS OF WISDOM

The following comes from author and motivational speaker Don Yaeger:

LOVED THIS! So as we were wrapping up the National Player of The Year presentation to Anthony Davis, a father and son approached Davis's parents and the father asked Mr. Davis if he could offer any advice that might help his 11 year old become as special as Anthony. Mr. Davis said: "Listen to you father...and appreciate that he's part of your life. Not enough young men like you have that. Let that give you an advantage." As they walked away, the father had a tear in his eye. Nothing better than those unscripted moments.


Wised words indeed!!!

NO MATTER WHAT -- KEEP SWINGING

"My motto was to always keep swinging.  Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging."

-HANK AARON

WHO YOU ASSOCIATE WITH IS A BIG PART OF YOUR SUCCESS

If you want to be an outstanding player, associate with players that have what you want -- work ethic, dedication, enthusiasm. If you want to improve as a student, befreind good students. Learn their study habits and regiments for school work. Your assoications are an extremely important part of your growth and development. Here is what Darren Hardy of Success Magazine says about it in his book, "The Compound Effect."

....

Birds of a feather flock together. The people with whom you habitually associate are called your “reference group.” According to research by social psychologist Dr. David McClelland of Harvard, your “reference group” determined as much as 95 percent of your success or failure in life.

Who do you spend the most time with? Who are the people you most admire? Are those two groups of people exactly the same? If not, why not? Jim Rohn taught that we become the combined average of the five people we hang around the most. Rohn would say we could tell the quality of our health, attitude, and income by looking at the people around us. The people with whom we spend our time determine what conversations dominate our attention, and to which attitudes and opinions we are regularly exposed. Eventually, we start to eat what they eat, talk like they talk, read what they read, think like they think, watch what they watch, treat people how they treat them, even dress like they dress. The funny thing is, more often than not, we are completely unaware of the similarities between us and our circle of five.

How are we not aware? Because your associations don’t shove you in a direction; they nudge you ever so slightly over time. Their influence is so subtle that it’s like being on an inner tube out in the ocean, feeling like you’re floating in place, until you look up and realize the gentle current has pushed you a half mile down the shore.

If you haven’t already, jot down the names of those five people you hang around the most. Also write down their main characteristics, both positive and negative. It doesn’t matter who they are. It could be your spouse, your brother, your neighbor, or your assistant.

It’s time to reappraise and reprioritize the people you spend time with. These relationships can nurture you, starve you, or keep you stuck. Now that you’ve started to carefully consider with whom you spend your time, let’s go a little deeper.

I’m constantly weeding out of my life people who refuse to grow and live positively. Growing and changing your associations is a lifelong process.

GOLDEN GLOVE ADVICE

“Associate with those who help you believe in yourself.”

.............

-Brooks Robinson

FIGHT BACK AND STAY ON YOUR TOES

The following is a conversation with Evander Holyfield in the book, "Three Feet from Gold," by Sharon L. Lechter & Grey S. Reid.

“Okay, Evander, I have got to know—what makes you a better athlete than your competition?”

Holyfield could have dismissed this inquisitive stranger but instead offered an immediate reply: “A higher standard than anyone else.”

“It’s simple really. If you have a car and will not tolerate it being dirty or running badly, you will have a better car than your neighbor. If you see a home where the wife will not accept her husband coming home drunk or the kids being a mess, she will have a better family dynamic. Right?”

“The same applies to sports. I always worked out early, stayed late, and never lost sight of my dream. So much so that we would even come up with new ways to exercise that no one else had thought of. We did this because we had a higher standard than anyone else in the ring. ‘A standard of excellence,’ we called it. And that standard is that I believe allowed me to win a medal at the Olympics along with all the championship belts.”

Then he asked, “But didn’t it hurt getting hit all the time?”

Holyfield looked up and winked. “Look at this face!” Then he added, “I didn’t get hit that much. It’s like this—if you focus on the blows you are receiving, the only place you’ll end up is on your back. I never put much attention on the damage I was getting. I only focused on the damage I was inflicting.”

Greg’s eyes widened as he asked, “Are you saying you never felt the punches?”

“Sure, I felt them,” Holyfield said. “But I never lost my focus on the job at hand. That was to hit my opponent back… but even harder. The same applies to life in general. So many people focus on the hits coming their way. They watch the news that tells them how bad things are; they listen to their friends who are unhappy in life. In other words, they focus on how many blows they are taking, when, in fact, they should change their attention toward fighting back and staying on their toes.”

ADVICE ON ACHIEVING YOUR DREAMS

If you could give a young person advice on how to achieve their dreams, what would it be?

Bill Cowher:
“Three things I’ve always said:
1. Never quit anything you start.
2. Work harder than the other person.
3. Never be intimidated by anyone or anything.”

Dusty Baker:
“To not be afraid to be different and separate yourself from the pack.”

Tony Dungy:
“You have to be determined to get there no matter which way the crowd is going. You can’t depend on the crowd to take you there. Sometimes you have to be a leader rather than a follower to be successful and to get to your goals.”

Bill Walsh:
“Look at the short term of improving. Watch other people; learn from other people. Listen to whoever’s coaching you. Try to improve every day that you practice and every game that you play. That is the key.”

Red Auerbach:
“There are no shortcuts. You gotta pay your dues, you gotta know your trade, and you’ve got to pay the price. If you want to go through all that and then do a little more, you’ve got a good shot.”

From: "How to Succeed in the Game of Life"
By Christian Klemash