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Tom Cable, former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator, believes in the 90/10 rule. He says, "90% of the time, if I do exactly what I'm supposed to do . . . I have a chance to succeed . . . there is 10% that I can't control."
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Perspiration I recently had the opportunity to give the chapel message at Faith Lutheran HS (Check it out here - HS Chapel, 1/10/24, 9:10-10:10 AM, beginning at 24:30). In my preparation, I learned something interesting about foundations. A foundation's strength extends beyond the concrete and steel. Sure the design, materials, and construction matter, but the ground that surrounds and lies underneath the concrete is just as important. The parallel to teams, organizations, life, and faith is clear, and it raises some critical questions. What are you building on? Have you tested the soil? Have you drilled down to bedrock? Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are they strengthening or weakening your foundation? I would encourage you to reflect on these questions as you build for the future.
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Inspiration Golfer Chris Kirk saw 2836 days pass between victories on the PGA Tour (2015-2023). It might have felt like a lifetime. In May of 2019, Kirk stepped away from the game to address his anxiety, depression, and alcohol abuse. Six months later, he returned to the game sober, and with a renewed outlook on life and golf. In March of 2023, he returned to the winner's circle with a victory at the Honda Classic, earning a trip to the Sentry Championship Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. The time between victories was considerably shorter this around, as he won the Sentry Championship last week. At every opportunity he has to speak, Kirk asserts, "I owe everything that I have in my entire life to my sobriety." Part of his path back involved recognizing that who he was a person and what he did as a golfer were two different things. Echoing the idea of a strong foundation, he built a support network that included fellow tour players Sepp Straka, Greyson Sigg and Brendon Todd, who would stay with him while traveling. Last week, Kirk received the PGA Tour's Courage Award, recognizing his openness and honesty in addressing his challenges. His wife, Tahnee, described the recovery process as "coming back to himself." She noted that the difference now is that, "He doesn't let things get him down and angry, like missed cuts,
for instance. I'm not saying that those don't frustrate him, but it's
such a difference in how he reacts to it now than how he reacted to it
before because it's not everything. Whether he makes the cut or misses
the cut, I just feel like he's always happy now and positive, which I
know is not the case really, but I think it's easier for him to see the
positive in the day-to-day now. . . He doesn’t take himself so seriously, especially with the kids.
He's like a kid himself. . . I
feel like he's kind of carefree. He's just able to see the positive in
the day-to-day, and he doesn't let things get to him as much as he used
to. I feel like before, especially in golf, it was always just trying to
keep up and constantly pushing. Not that he's not pushing now. I just
feel like he sees that there are more important things." With life in perspective and the freedom of sobriety, Kirk has already won 2024.
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Preparation If you have coached, led, or taught anything at any level, you know the frustration that can arise when what you envisioned doesn't play out in reality. Frequently, that frustration gets expressed to your players, employees, or students. Perhaps this is an intentional attempt to provide motivation. It might just be an unconsciously learned response, as it is likely that your own coaches, leaders, or teachers did the same thing to you. Getting frustrated rarely improves a situation. It is focused on the past, when you need to be focused on the present. US Navy Commander Rorke Denver once relayed the best lesson he learned during SEAL training - calm is contagious. What the SEALs knew intuitively was confirmed by a study released in 2019. The authors found that coaches' emotional expressions shape their players' emotions, inferences, and team performance. So the next time you work with a group, consider that you can directly influence their thoughts, behaviors, and perceptions simply by how you carry yourself. Choose your response ahead of time, and you'll start having a greater influence on performance.
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