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MESSAGE #1215 BE HONEST

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I once worked at a sports center and on one occasion, there was a tournament which took up many courts, so a small number of clinics were rescheduled. Well, the front desk manager neglected to tell me that one of my classes was not going to run that day, obviously an oversight. But when I mentioned it to him, his response was, “Hmm, maybe you need to spend more time here.”

More time there? I was there six days a week!

I didn’t mind the oversight, but I was shocked that he would blame me for not “spending more time” there. A simple admission and apology would have sufficed.

But some people don’t like to be wrong.

Some people don’t like to admit they made a mistake.

I will tell you this, I lost a lot of respect for that manager.

Am I perfect?

Not even close, but I admit when I’m wrong. I learn from my mistakes.

I have people complain about things that I do.

Do I feel bad?

Of course, but they I make a note of it and improve upon it.

Mistakes are acceptable.

Excuses are not.

MESSAGE #1213 I FOUND HAPPINESS

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One thing we all look for is happiness.

Happiness may be in the form of sports, business, finances, hobbies, spirituality, school or relationships.

But most people have it all wrong–they think that happiness is something to be found.

The truth is, happiness comes from within.

You may not be the athlete you want to be…YET. It is your choice whether you are happy with where you are. My feeling is that regardless of what level you are, if you strive for constant improvement, work hard, set goals and believe that anything is possible, that is success. And that should make you happy.

You don’t have to be satisfied, but you could (and should) be happy right now. It’s a choice.

MESSAGE #1209 ARE YOU A TEAM PLAYER?

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When I was younger, my cousins brainwashed me into liking the Dallas Cowboys. The truth is, I didn’t really enjoy football but they were passionate Cowboy fans, so it rubbed off. To this day I still do not follow football but I can remember Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Randy White, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, and others.

For some reason, the player I remember the most was #12, Roger Staubach. Recently, I hear an amazing story about Roger.

In 1963, while playing football for Navy, Staubach won the Heisman Trophy for being the most outstanding collegiate football player.

After Roger received the award, he went back to Navy and a team meeting was held. As he spoke to his teammates, Roger said that the trophy wasn’t his, it belonged to all of them. He said he would not have won the trophy without them.

And then Staubach proceeded to smash the Heisman Trophy into pieces.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Staubach walked over to each teammate and handed them a piece of the trophy.

Now that’s a teammate.

And that’s a leader.

MESSAGE #1207 HOW TOUGH ARE YOU?

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Recently, I was speaking to a friend of mine, Ernie, who played football for Notre Dame in the 1940s. In fact, Ernie spent a whole year eating breakfast at Vince Lombardi’s house.

On November 3, 1945, one of his teammates, Elmer Angsman, a fullback got an elbow right in the mouth. They had leather helmets at the time. Well, after the play, Ernie said that Angsman called time-out, jogged over to the sideline and spit out four teeth (he ended up losing 11 teeth total from the play). Elmer stayed in the game. After the game, the Notre Dame coach walked up to Angsman and said…

“Why did you call a time-out?!?”

That’s being tough.

MESSAGE #1206 WORRY

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Many times I work with an athlete on strategy. For example, I will tell a tennis player to come to net so he/she can finish off the point.

As a response, they often say, “But they might lob over my head!”

I tell them not to worry about it until it happens.

I know many business owners that don’t take risks because of the dreaded, “What if?”

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t prepare for these situations. You should.

The bottom line is that you need to get out of your comfort zone.

You need to take risks.

You need to what you’ve never done so you can get the results that you’ve never gotten.

Preparation…YES.

Worry…NO.

MESSAGE #1204 THIS WILL HELP YOU

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Tonight I spoke to the NJ Unemployed group at Mrs. G’s in Lawrenceville.

I did it for free.

Why?

Because I know that helping others and making a difference is more important than financial rewards.

You see, we can’t take our money when we leave this world, but we can take the satisfaction that the world is a better place because we lived.

Money comes and goes, but what we do and how we impact our world stays forever.

You know what the funny thing is?

The more you help others, the more money you will make (and the better your results will be).

Try it just for one day…

Be a great teammate.

Be a great romantic partner.

Be a great employee.

Focus on adding value, being the best unselfish you you can be.

And then leave your comments below.

MESSAGE #1201 ACCOUNTABILITY

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Tomorrow is the New York City Marathon.

Guess who is running?

Ex-pro tennis player, and tennis analyst, Justin Gimelstob. See my interview with him at the 2010 US Open here.

Andy Roddick bet Gimelstob that he couldn’t finish the marathon in 4:45. Justin took the bet and the loser gives $10,000 to the other persons charity.

I remember recently when Justin was downloading motivational videos onto his iPod for the race. He was getting ready.

Well, he also got a little bit of luck. Laura Skladzinski, the youngest female to run a marathon in all 50 states volunteered to help Gimelstob out.

She will be running alongside Justin to make sure he finishes and wins the bet.

Brilliant.

That’s accountability.

We all need that.

I have a feeling Justin Gimelstob is going to win this bet.