MYLES GARRETT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FOCUS

"Drinking, smoking, going out -- unnecessary to me. You have to know what you're doing to help people and have an important stance in life. You can only do that by staying focused, and I can't lose focus for a second. It's just like in football, it's a game of angles and seconds. As soon as you lose depth or that amount of time, you can lose that play, you can lose that game. You lose focus, you slip up, you're not in the same place you were before."

                        -Myles Garrett

THOUGHTS FROM CELTICS' BRAD STEVENS

For those of you that compete, here are some great concepts to keep in mind from Brad Stevens, head coach of the Boston Celtics:

"You have to earn your right to win the game with effort and togetherness."

"The game honors toughness."

“My goal is win the next game one possession at a time.  That’s it.  I don’t have any other goals.”

“The deal is, you can’t play basketball without a clear mind. And so you’ve got to do your best to control what you can, clear your mind, and not get too overly concerned about things that are not confirmed by people in the position that are ultimately going to make decisions.”

 

WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?

SUCCESS IS NEVER AN ACCIDENT

A short but powerful video and message from Alan Stein:

KEEP THE WINNING SPIRIT ALIVE

There will be days when it is difficult to muster enough to be our best.  We may be tired or frustrated or in a bad mood.  There may be unforeseen circumstances and distractions, setbacks and injuries.  Professional or personal issues may arise.  Nevertheless, these are the times when it is most important to push onward and stay focused.  We do not want to give in to a belief that we are victims of circumstances.  Even in our darkest hours and toughest challenges, we must give it everything we have if we wish to succeed.

The winning spirit is kept alive by living and performing in the moment, visualizing success, finding the support of a coach and inner circle, making a personal commitment to excellence, living a discipline life, affirming our truest values -- all while believing in our ability to achieve our goal.

From "The Winning Spirit" by Joe Montana

THE ARCHER'S MENTALITY

"When an archer misses the mark he turns

and looks for the fault within himself.  Failure

 to hit the bull's eye is never the fault of the target. 

To improve your aim, improve yourself."

 

-Gilbert Arland

YOUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE

This past weekend at our team camp, I give a Champion's Concept lecture to each team talking about various things that I think are important in our quest to the best that we can be.  One of the things that we believe strongly in is that champions understand the importance of their associations.  We speak to them about creating a circle of influence -- a group of people that you choose because they know they will hold you accountable and help you to grow and work towards your goals.

Darren Hardy in his book "The Compound Effect" refers to it as finding a peak-performance partner.  Here is what he has to say:

"Another way to increase your exposure to expanded associations is by teaming up with a peak performance partner, someone as equally committed to study and personal growth as you.  This person should be someone you trust, someone bold enough to tell you what they really thing about you, your attitudes, and performance.  It could be that this person is a longtime friend, but he or she may be someone who doesn't know you well at all.  The point is to get (and give) an unbiased, honest, outside perspective."

Want to be more enthusiastic?
          Surround yourself with enthusiastic people.

Want to be a hard worker?
          Surround yourself with those that work hard.

Want to be a winner?
          Surround yourself with winners!

THE ATTITUDE OF GREATNESS

The following is a quote from Kevin Durant last year...imagine how good you could be if you had this humility and drive:

"I'm not nearly the player that I want to be."

IT'S "WHAT CAN BE" THAT MEASURES WORTH

The following is a poem written by Dan Clark for Anthony Robles.  It comes from Roble's book "Unstoppable."  Want to learn more about Robles? Check out one of our previous blog posts: http://goo.gl/mwgVC.

Every soul who comes to earth
With a leg -- or two -- at birth
Must wrestle his opponents knowing
It's not what it is, it's what can be that measures worth.
Make it hard, just make it possible
And through pain I'll not complain,
My spirit is unconquerable
Fearless I will face each foe, for I know
I am capable, I don't care what's probable
Through blood, sweat and tears
I am unstoppable.

WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE?!

This photo was snapped a few days ago.  After practice, Kobe Bryant stuck around and worked on his individual ball handling drills. Which begs the question:

If one of the best players to have

ever played the game still finds

the need and time to work on

developing his game, why aren't you?

THE POWER OF COURAGE, DETERMINATION AND THE LOVE FOR YOUR TEAMMATES AND COACH

I TOLD MYSELF I WAS UNSTOPPABLE

A sold-out crowd of more than 17,000 watched from the risers of the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on March 19, 2011 at Arizona State University senior Anthony Robles emerged from the locker room on crutches.  After handing them to ASU assistant coach Brian Stith, he hopped to the corner of the mat, crouched down on one knee, and waited for the whistle that would signal the start of his final wrestling match.

"I told myself I was unstoppable," says Robles of that moment.  "I had put way too much into it to go in there and not come out with a national title."

That day, Robles, who was born without a right leg and permanently traded in a prosthetic one for crutches at the age of 3, defeated defending national champ Matt McConough 7-1 to become the first disabled wrestler in history to win a national college title.

By Alison Miller of Spirit Magazine

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?

A WINNER IS....

"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals."

-Larry Bird

DREAM BIG...WORK HARD!

#determination

I absolutely loved this quote by Mo Ishom, the LSU female soccer player who tried out as a kicker for the Tigers' football team.  She ended up not making the final cut (http://bit.ly/zdQpoP) but with her attitude great things await her.  Here is what she tweeted after being cut:

"I would rather devote 150% of my heart, energy & focus to a goal, & ulimately [sic] fail, then [sic] to quit early or never try. #determination."

DON'T LISTEN WHEN THEY TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN'T DO

AIM HIGH TO REACH YOUR GOAL

"If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it; every arrow that files feels the attraction of earth."

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

ARE YOU WILLING?!

“I am willing to put myself through anything;

temporary pain or discomfort means nothing

to me as long as I can see that experience

will take me to a new level.”

-Diana Nyad

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

The following comes from "Success Is A Journey" by Brian Tracy:

The key to success is for you to set one great, challenging goal and then to pay any price, overcome any obstacle and persist through any difficulty until you finally achieve it.

By achieving one important goal, you create a pattern, a template for success in your subconscious mind. Ever after you will be automatically directed and driven toward repeating that success in other things that you attempt. By overcoming adversity and achieving one great objective, you will program yourself for success in life.

In other words, you learn to succeed by succeeding. The more you achieve, the more you can achieve.

You can accomplish almost any goal that you set for yourself if you persist long enough and work hard enough. The only one who can stop you is yourself. And you learn to persist by persisting in the face of great adversity when everyone around you is quitting and ever fiber of your being screams at you to quit as well.