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Pregame Speech (February 2004)Thoughts, stories, examples and ideas on challenging your team to perform at their highest level possible. CHAMPIONSHIP
TEAM BUILDING EVALUATION Take
Peak Performance Coach Jeff Janssen's "Championship Team Building Evaluation."
This evaluation is designed to help you analyze the strengths and areas of improvement
for your team. Click
here for the evaluation.
THE NEXT TIME YOUR FACED WITH SOME BAD NEWS... One
day while working out in the fields the farmer's son fell and broke his leg. The
villagers came to the farm and said, "My! That's a great misfortune. Your
son has broken his leg: now he can't help you in the fields." The Farmer said, "It is neither a fortune nor a misfortune." A day later, the government troops came to the village looking for young men to conscript into the army. They had to leave the boy behind because his leg was broken. Then one day the farmer's only horse jumped the fence and ran away. The villagers came to the farm and said, "What a great misfortune that your horse has run away." The Farmer said, "It is neither a fortune nor a misfortune." Two or three days later , the horse came back with a dozen wild horses following behind him. The villagers came to him and said, "It's a great fortune that your horse came back with twelve others." He replied, "It is neither a fortune nor a misfortune." Editors Note: So many times we are trapped by the emotion of the events in our lives. Remember the teaching of the Tao: nothing is long or short, hot or cold, good or bad. Until
we decide what the event means to us there is no meaning!
QUOTES
FOR THE MONTH: “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.“ Albert Einstein
"Patience
is something you admire in the driver behind you, but not in one ahead."
“A
handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.” Dutch Proverb
"The
key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg -- not
by smashing it." I
WISH YOU ENOUGH By Bob Perks
I never really thought that I'd spend as much time in airports as I do. I don't know why. I always wanted to be famous and that would mean lots of travel. But I'm not famous, yet I do see more than my share of airports. I
love them and I hate them. I love them because of the people I get to watch. But
they are also the same reason why I hate airports. It all comes down to "hello"
and "goodbye."I must have mentioned this a few times while writing my
stories for you.
I have great difficulties with saying goodbye. Even as I write this I am experiencing that pounding sensation in my heart. If I am watching such a scene in a movie I am affected so much that I need to sit up and take a few deep breaths. So when faced with a challenge in my life I have been known to go to our local airport and watch people say goodbye. I figure nothing that is happening to me at the time could be as bad as having to say goodbye. Watching
people cling to each other, crying, and holding each other in that last embrace
makes me appreciate what I have even more. Seeing them finally pull apart, extending
their arms until the tips of their fingers are the last to let go, is an image
that stays forefront in my mind throughout the day. On
one of my recent business trips, when I arrived at the counter to check in, the
woman said, "How are you today?" I replied, "I am missing my wife
already and I haven't even said goodbye." She
then looked at my ticket and began to ask, "How long will you...Oh, my God.
You will only be gone three days!" We all laughed. My problem was I still
had to say goodbye.
But I learn from goodbye moments, too. Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, "I love you. I wish you enough." She in turn said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy." They
kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing
there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy,
but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing
it would be forever?"
"Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So
I knew what this man experiencing.
"Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever goodbye?" I asked. "I
am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality
is, the next trip back would be for my funeral," he said.
"When you were saying goodbye I heard you say, "I wish you enough." May I ask what that means?" He
began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations.
My parents used to say it to everyone." He paused for a moment and looking
up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more."When we said
'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with
just enough good things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward
me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
"I
wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate
the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you
enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye." He
then began to sob and walked away.
My
friends...I wish you enough!
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