FENCES IN YOUR MIND

For more than 100 years, runners tried to break the four-minute mile. It was considered the "Holy Grail" of track and field. Many said it couldn't be done. In fact, doctors wrote articles in medical journals explaining why it was physically impossible for the human body to run a mile in less than four minutes. However, in May 1954, a British medical student named Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3:59.4. His amazing accomplishment made headlines around the world. Yet what happened afterward is even more amazing. The four-minute mile was broken again the next month...and then again...and again. It has since been broken more than 700 times, sometimes by several people in the same race. What happened? They weren't training any differently, but for the first time they believed they could do it. The barriers to the mind had come down.

NUMBER 1 SPEECH - VINCE LOMBARDI

"Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up — from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization — an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win — to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.

It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there — to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules — but to win.

And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious."

LIFE'S GREATEST LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED ON THE HARDWOOD(en)

John Wooden is by far the greatest NCAA college basketball coach of all time. During his time at UCLA, he lead the Bruins to 10 National Championships in a 12 year period. His team won a record 88 consecutive games and he was named National Coach of the Year 6 times. He was also a 3 time All-American guard and a member of Purdue's 1932 national championship team. A legend. A man among boys. Through out his coaching years, Wooden based his core values off his Pyramid of Success. John Wooden wasn’t satisfied with Webster’s definition of success. He felt like young people deserved a healthier definition, and then laid out for them the ingredients of success in this chart..

 

 

If we all take time to reflect on Coach Wooden's success model, we can see the cornerstones of his pyramid are: Industriousness and Enthusiasm. Nothing can ever replace the value of hard work and ambition. Coach Wooden did not coach to win games. He did not coach to be the best dynasty ever created. He coached his players to be better people, to be student-athletes, to be involved in the community and most importantly, to be bring out the best in everyone. Thank you for the great life lessons, Coach Wooden!

 

“Success is peace of mind which is
a direct result of self-satisfaction
in knowing you made the effort to
become the best that you are
capable of becoming.” JRW

BATON ROUGE SURGEON, DR. CATHERINE BAUCOM, BRINGS A NEW MEANING TO BEING RELIABLE AND DEDICATED

This article was published on Yahoo News on August of 2012. Thanks for the great lesson!

Dr. Catherine Baucom was stuck in traffic while making her way to the BRASS Surgery Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday. So the determined doctor left her car behind and cut through the traffic jam on a 7-year-old's pink bicycle.

"Catherine called, she was outside my house.  She said 'Hey do you have a bike?'" colleague Dr. Brian Barnett told WAFB. "I walked outside and said yeah, it's a kids bike. I got the air pump out and aired the tires up as much as I could."

The nearly 6-foot-tall surgeon then donned the girl's helmet and peddled away.

"It was hot pink and small," Dr. Baucom said, "The helmet was pink with princesses."

Dr. Baucom then cut through traffic on Baton Rouge Interstate 10 before being stopped by police. When she explained the unusual circumstances surrounding her mode of travel, police immediately escorted her through traffic and to the operating room.

"They said we can escort you and he essentially drove past me and then he turned around and was videotaping me," Dr. Baucom said.  "I did tell him I didn't know if he could keep up with me."

Dr. Baucom herself is an avid cyclist. And as a small reward for her dedication, Dr. Barnett's daughter said she could keep the princess-themed helmet. However, the bike itself has been returned.

***This article is a great of example of doing whatever it takes to follow through with your commitments. Dr. Baucom could have easily gave into the temptations of an excuse of not showing up to surgery on time, but she did what every successful person does; she found a way to follow through with her commitment.  Thank you for the inspirational story, Dr. Baucom!

THE 10 MOST IMPORTANT WORDS

The 10 Most Important Words:

I won't wait for others to take the first step.

The 9 Most Important Words:

If it is to be, it's up to me.

The 8 Most Important Words:

If not me, who? If not now, when?

The 7 Most Important Words:

Let me take a shot at it.

The 6 Most Important Words:

I will not pass the buck.

The 5 Most Important Words:

You can count on me.

The 4 Most Important Words:

It IS my job!

The 3 Most Important Words:

Just do it!

The 2 Most Important Words:

I will.

The Most Important Words:

Me

 

 

Frank Tyger said it best... "Your future depends on many things, but mostly yourself."

IF 99.9% WERE GOOD ENOUGH

If 99.9% Were Good Enough
From InSight, Syncrude Canada Ltd, Communications Division

Below is a list of instances to why giving 100% in everything you do is so important.

If 99.9% Were Good Enough, then...

• Two million documents will be lost by the IRS this year.
• 811,000 faulty rolls of 35mm film will be loaded this year.
• 22,000 checks will be deducted from the wrong bank accounts in the next 60 minutes
• 1,314 phone calls will be misplaced by telecommunication services every minute.
• 268,500 defective tires will be shipped this year.
• 14,208 defective PCs will be shipped this year.
• 103,260 income tax returns will be processed incorrectly this year.
• 2,488,200 books will be shipped in the next 12 months with the wrong cover.
• 5,517,200 cases of soft drinks produced in the next 12 months will be flatter than a bad tire.
• Two plane landings daily at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago will be unsafe.
• 3,065 copies of tomorrow's Wall Street Journal will be missing one of the three sections.
• 18,322 pieces of mail will be mishandled in the next hour.
• 291 pacemaker operations will be performed incorrectly this year.
• 880,000 credit cards in circulation will turn out to have incorrect card holder information on their magnetic strips.
• $9,690 will be spent today, tomorrow, next Thursday, and every day in the future on defective, often unsafe sporting equipment.
• 55 malfunctioning automatic teller machines will be installed in the next 12 months.
• 20,000 incorrect drug prescriptions will be written in the next 12 months.
• 114,500 mismatched pairs of shoes will be shipped this year.
• $761,900 will be spent in the next 12 months on tapes and CDs that won't play.
• 107 incorrect medical procedures will be performed by the end of the day today.
• 315 entries in Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language will turn out to be misspelled.
• 12 babies will be given to the wrong parents each day
  
  Make sure you always put in 100% effort to get 100% return!

WINNERS VS LOSERS

Winners vs. Losers

THE WINNER

IS ALWAYS PART OF THE ANSWER

THE LOSER

IS ALWAYS PART OF THE PROBLEM

 

THE WINNER

ALWAYS HAS A PROGRAM

THE LOSER

ALWAYS HAS AN EXCUSE

 

THE WINNER

SAYS “LET ME DO IT FOR YOU.”

THE LOSER

SAYS “THAT’S NOT MY JOB.”

 

THE WINNER

SEES AN ANSWER FOR EVERY PROBLEM

THE LOSER

SEES A PROBLEM IN EVERY ANSWER

 

THE WINNER

SEES A GREEN NEAR EVERY SAND TRAP

THE LOSER

SEES TWO OR THREE SAND-TRAPS NEAR EVERY GREEN

 

THE WINNER

SAYS “IT MAY BE DIFFICULT BUT IT’S POSSIBLE.”

THE LOSER

SAYS “IT MAY BE POSSIBLE BUT IT’S TOO DIFFICULT.”

 

BE A WINNER

THE LINCOLN STORY

Lincoln, arguably the best president that the US has had had some pretty tough failures, but he got back up and ran again, and again, and again, and again… and became the man that he was.

YEAR	FAILURES or SETBACKS	SUCCESSES
1832	Lost job Defeated for state legislature	Elected company captain of Illinois militia in Black Hawk War
1833	Failed in business	Appointed postmaster of New Salem, Illinois Appointed deputy surveyor of Sangamon County
1834		Elected to Illinois state legislature
1835	Sweetheart died
1836	Had nervous breakdown	Re-elected to Illinois state legislature (running first in his district) Received license to practice law in Illinois state courts
1837		Led Whig delegation in moving Illinois state capital from Vandalia to Springfield Became law partner of John T. Stuart
1838	Defeated for Speaker	Nominated for Illinois House Speaker by Whig caucus Re-elected to Illinois House (running first in his district) Served as Whig floor leader
1839		Chosen presidential elector by first Whig convention Admitted to practice law in U.S. Circuit Court
1840		Argues first case before Illinois Supreme Court Re-elected to Illinois state legislature
1841		Established new law practice with Stephen T. Logan
1842		Admitted to practice law in U.S. District Court
1843	Defeated for nomination for Congress
1844		Established own law practice with William H. Herndon as junior partner
1846		Elected to Congress
1848	Lost renomination	(Chose not to run for Congress, abiding by rule of rotation among Whigs.)
1849	Rejected for land officer	Admitted to practice law in U.S. Supreme Court Declined appointment as secretary and then as governor of Oregon Territory
1854	Defeated for U.S. Senate	Elected to Illinois state legislature (but declined seat to run for U.S. Senate)
1856	Defeated for nomination for Vice President
1858	Again defeated for U.S. Senate
1860		Elected President

Every day we have setbacks, things don’t go like we want them to, negatives, loses, etc. We can choose to focus on the negative things in our lives and when we take a hit decide to retreat or we can choose to realize that life isn’t over and get back up and try again. What will you choose?

VISUALIZE YOUR GOALS

 Cutting Down the Net

We are taught if you really desire something in life, you must visualize it first.  People who see and visualize their goals are much more likely to ultimately reach them.  Tom Izzo coaches basketball at Michigan State University and took them to win a national
title in 2000.  The first practice that season he went into a storage closet and got out a ladder.  During practice he made the players climb the ladder and practice cutting down the net.  This shows the importance of setting goals and visualizing success.  Know what you want in life and visualize it everyday, making it a reality!

LIVE WHAT YOU LOVE AND LOVE WHAT YOU LIVE

7 Secrets to success of Steve Jobs

 

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night and saying we've done something wonderful. That is what matters to me."

1.  Do what you love, no matter what it happens to be. Don't settle.

2.  Put a dent in the universe. You have to have a big bold, concise, vision.  

3.  Say no to 1,000 things. Reduce clutter, make it simple. 

4.  Kick start your brain. Do something new. Think differently.

5.  Sell dreams, not products.

6.  Create insanely great experiences. "How can I innovate?"

7.  Master the message. You are judged on how well you communicate, on how well you present to people.

Live what you love and love what you live

OWNERSHIP

Two very successful entrepreneurs, but only one could help lead their team to an NBA championship.

Mark Cuban	Howard Schultz
Net Worth: $2.3 Billion	Net Worth: $1.5 Billion
Age: 54	Age: 59
Owner of Dallas Mavericks	CEO of Starbucks
Developed and sold Broadcast.com	Owned Seattle Supersonics

Both are successful individuals, but why did Cuban succeed in owning Mavericks and Schultz failed in owning Supersonics?

A large part is credited due to the nature of ownership.

Cuban is known for becoming involved in the game, viewed by his team as one of the players and has never missed a game.

Schultz is known to not attend games, leave early, not viewed as a part of the team.

Take Ownership of your opportunity. If you want to succeed in anything you do, you must actively pursue improving. Don’t be shy to be vocal about your opinions; call your shots!

SHARK TANK

   7 Entrepreneurial Lessons From "Shark Tank"

BY AMBER MAC
1. Know your numbers. This is the number one lesson from Shark Tank. Whether you're presenting to a team of investors or simply working to grow your business, it's critical that you understand how much cash is coming in and out of the business. While you might think that most entrepreneurs on Shark Tank have a handle on their books, many believe that their passion will sell their wares. However, as we've learned from many of the Sharks, passion only gets you so far--numbers tell the real story.

2. Be a good marketer. Although the boys from The Brewer's Cow didn't get the deal they wanted, there is no doubt that the exposure from the show is extremely valuable. However, as a Shark Tank fan shares on his blog, the company's website is pretty lackluster for a brand that hopes to go national. If you extend the online search to their Twitter feed, there is very little interaction since the show aired. The Brewer's Cow currently has a deal with Whole Foods, but on the online front there is a lot more they could be doing just days after the television broadcast to capitalize from the on-air buzz.

3. Be humble. When a young entrepreneur appeared on the show to sell his custom clothing, he expressed the business drive that the Sharks love, but things started to fall apart when he talked about his lifestyle. Aside from asking for a starting six-figure salary (when the company has only grossed just over $315,000), he also lost some Sharks when he declared, "I'm now living the L.A. life." As Shark Daymond John, founder of FUBU, expressed on his Twitter feed, a statement like this isn't very appealing to a potential investor looking to form a responsible partnership.

4. Understand good timing. There are good and bad times in your business to ask for investment money. For many of the companies diving into the Shark Tank, they have great ideas but it's too early on in their businesses to be on the hunt for a large amount of cash. Mom Raven Thomas was one of the most impressive entrepreneurs on the show in terms of leaking out little bits of information about her business to entice the Sharks, one by one. For example, when she shared that Sam's Club recently put in an order for $2 million for her chocolate-covered pretzels, she had Cuban drooling to seal a deal.

5. Have a good story. When Travis Perry explained his company's motivation to the Sharks, it tugged on their inner musician heart strings. Perry invented his product Chordbuddy to help new guitar players like his 10-year-old daughter avoid frustration when learning how to play the popular instrument. With a great story and a stellar product, Perry got investment help and now has his Chordbuddy product in more than 100 music stores.

6. Be prepared to walk. Some things are not meant to be, which was the case with entrepreneur Scott Jordan. As founder of the successful brands SCOTTEVEST and TEC, he appeared on the show to sell a percentage of the latter (a technology-enabled clothing patent). The Sharks, on the other hand, were interested in Jordan's main business, SCOTTEVEST, which is on track to make more than $20 million this year. After a heated debate with some of the Sharks, Jordan was happy to walk away without a deal but with some new publicity for both his businesses.

7. Be personable. While all of the above will get you closer to your dream of running a successful business, it's also helps to have a winning personality. No one wants to do business with someone who is unlikable, except maybe Mr. Wonderful. As Shark Barbara Corcoran said in a recent tweet, "All the entrepreneurs I've invested in have amazing personalities--no regrets."

Remember all those things you learned about being nice in kindergarten? Those same things apply in the boardroom, no exceptions.

Thank you Amber for the entrepreneur mindset!

BEHIND THE SCENES

Many celebrities are seen at the top of their game, when everything is going well for them, but does anyone witness to the behind the scene headlines; the dealing with adversity, the hours of practice and the many times failure came knocking.

Below are a list of stats from former NBA star; Reggie Miller

• Miller played more games with the same team than all but two players in NBA history, John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz.
• Only five other players have played in more total regular season NBA games than Miller.
• Over the course of his career, Miller scored 25,279 points, with an average of 18.2 points per game. He shot .471 from the field, .395 from 3-point range and .888 from the free throw line.
• Miller was the first Indiana Pacer to start in an NBA All-Star Game, in 1995.
• He was also selected to the NBA All-Star team in 1990, 1996, 1998 and 2000.
• Miller retired as the all-time NBA leader in total 3-point field goals made 2,560 (broken February 10, 2011 by Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics).
• Miller led the league twice in three-point field goals made (1992-93, 1996-97).
• He led the league in free throw percentage five times, including his last season.
• Miller made a three-pointer in 68 consecutive games from November 15, 1996 to April 6, 1997.
• Miller led the league in free throw percentage five times (1990–91, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2004–05)[19]

Where he came from

• He was born with hip deformities, which caused an inability to walk correctly.
• Growing up he had to continuously wearing braces on both legs until his leg strength grew enough to compensate.
• One of five siblings and he comes from an athletic family. His older sister Cheryl is a Hall of Fame women's basketball player. Cheryl was a member of the 1984 U.S. gold-medal winning Olympic basketball team.
• One of the family anecdotes Reggie liked to recall was when Cheryl used to beat him in games of 1-on-1 prior to his professional career.
• Practice to be great

He would practice everyday

• Shooting 1,000 shots per day to develop a shot that worked for him; Miller claims that his unorthodox shooting style was developed to arc his shot over his sister's constant shot blocking
• There is a reason for success, it comes down to work ethic and attitude.

SEPARATE YOURSELF

Top 5% of Americans....

• earn over 6 figures yearly
• 85% of that number are self employed i.e. biz owners, doctors, lawyers etc.

What will set you apart....

• Willing to do what the other 95% aren’t
• Be more talented than the other 95%
• Out Work the other 95%

All of these factors can be developed or learned. Separate yourself from the pack and create value for yourself.

Decide which way to separate yourself from the pack!

BE THE BEST

Parable Of The Pencil

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting it into the box. There are five things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

[1] You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand.
[2] You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.
[3] You will be able to correct mistakes you will make.
[4] The most important part of you will always be what's inside.
[5] On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark.

No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replacing the place of the pencil with you; always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

[1] You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in another hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

[2] You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.
[3] You will be able to correct mistakes you might make or grow through them.
[4] The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.
[5] On every surface you walk, you must leave your mark.

There is a lot that can be learned from something so simple as a pencil.