Pregame Speech (April 2005)

Thoughts, stories, examples and ideas on challenging your team to perform at their highest level possible.

Thoughts for the Month (Communication)

"There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it." Dale Carnegie

"We take communication for granted because we do it so frequently, but it's actually a complex process." Joseph Sommerville, PhD

"Communication sometimes is not what you first hear, listen not just to the words, but listen for the reason." Catherine Pulsifer

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said." Peter F. Drucker

"Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know." Jim Rohn

Peom for Your Month

It Couldn't Be Done
By Edgar A. Guest

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.

Quotes for the Month

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
Franklin D. Roosevelt

"I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it."
Gale Sayers

"Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you."
Denis Waitley

"If you really want something, you can figure out how to make it happen."
Cher

"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to."
George Allen

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination."
Tommy Lasorda

"Don't let go of your dreams. If you have determination and belief in your dreams, you will succeed in spite of your desire to let go."
Catherine Pulsifer

"I've always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win." Arnold Palmer