Pregame Speech (May 2006)

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

Failure

Lord, are you trying to tell me something?
Failure does not mean I'm a failure.
It does mean I have not yet succeeded.

Failure does not mean I have accomplished nothing.
It does mean I have learned something.

Failure does not mean I've been disgraced;
It does mean I dared to try.

Failure does not mean that I don't have it;
It does mean I have to do something in a different way.

Failure does not mean that I have wasted my life;
It does mean that I have a reason to start over.

Failure does not mean that I should give up;
It does mean that I must try harder.

Failure does not meant that I will never make it;
It does mean that I need more patience.

Failure does not mean that You have abandoned me;
It does mean You must have another idea.

More on Failure

Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before he got financing for his dream of creating the "Happiest Place on Earth". Today, due to his persistence, millions of people have shared 'the joy
of Disney'.

Colonel Sanders spent two years driving across the United States looking for restaurants to buy his chicken recipe. He was turned down 1,009 times! How successful is Kentucky Fried Chicken today?

Having said this, keep in mind that you must constantly reevaluate your circumstances and the approach you are using to reach your goal. There is no sense in being persistent at something that you are doing incorrectly!

Sometimes you have to modify your approach along the way. Every time you do something you learn from it, and therefore find a better way to do it the next time.

You've failed many times, although you may not remember.

You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim, didn't you?

Did you hit the ball the first time you swung a bat? Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot.

R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on.

English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.

Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but he also hit 714 home runs.

Don't worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try.

Scaling the Wall

You have heard about those incredible incidents where an average human being exhibits almost superhuman strength in an emergency situation.

It's a frequently recurring phenomenon. Two people are working on an automobile. One is underneath the car. The jack collapses. The car falls. The companion finds himself picking up the car and rescuing his companion from certain, crushing death.

Where did the strength of a giant come form?

Do you know how strong you are?

Do you know how high you can jump?

We really don't know!

For every single human being, without exception, has the potential to tap into physical power that far transcends normality. We just don't know the how, the why, and the wherefore.

What that means to you today is that you can scale that wall! The "impossible" obstruction!

Suddenly you can surmount that obstacle as your spirit soars!

Any person becomes a bigger person when he becomes obsessed by a "Giant complex"! You can be a giant, too. You are as big as you think you are!

Think "leaping over" thoughts and you will scale that wall!

The "will" is more important than the "skill" when it comes to scaling a wall.