No vision and you perish

"No vision and you perish; No Ideal, and you're lost; Your heart must ever cherish Some faith at any cost. Some hope, some dream to cling to, Some rainbow in the sky, Some melody to sing to, Some service that is high." ~ Harriet Du Autermont

Quote by Chris Speilman on Coach Urban Meyer

"With all passionate people who love what they do, it can consume you," Spielman said. "One thing I've learned is that whatever it is, either you control it or it controls you. One of two things are going to happen. It will never stop trying to control you. It will always try.

Our egos sometimes don't let us put things in their proper place. I learned a very valuable lesson from my late wife after an NFL game. She told me, 'I've never seen somebody who is living their dream, so miserable.' It humbled me."

Secrets to becoming a powerful communicator

by Brian Tracy

Did you know that your ability to communicate effectively with others will do more to make you successful than any other skill that you can develop?

Nearly 85% of what you accomplish in your career and in your personal life will be determined by how well you can get your message across, how capable you are of inspiring other people to take action on your ideas and recommendations.

Once you’re able to master the skill of powerful communication, you’ll be living a life full of unlimited happiness. Imagine being able to express yourself openly and honestly to the degree in which others are influenced to do something because of what you have to say and HOW you say it.

Even if you are limited in education, experience or intelligence, being able to communicate effectively with others is the most powerful, un-limiting success tool you could ever have.

Nearly 99% of all of the difficulties between human beings, and within organizations are caused by breakdowns in the communication process. Either people do not say what they mean clearly enough, or other people do not receive the message that was sent in the form in which it was intended.

The good news is that effective communication is a learned skill.

THE 3 ELEMENTS OF DIRECT COMMUNICATION

According to Albert Mehrabian of UCLA, there are 3 elements in any direct, face-to-face communication. They are the elements of words, tone of voice, and body language.

1.    The Elements of Words

 Words only account for 7 % of any message. For an effective communication to take place, of course, all three parts of the message must be congruent and consistent with each other. If there isn’t any congruency, the receiver will be confused and will have a tendency to accept the predominant form of communication rather than the literal meaning or words.
 

2.    Emphasis and Tone

The emphasis and tone have the power to completely change the message that is being communicated. Often, you will say something to a person and they may become offended. When you express that the words you used were intended to be inoffensive, the other person will tell you that it was your tone of voice that was the issue.
 

3.    Body Language

You can dramatically increase the effect of your communication by leaning toward the speaker or shifting your weight forward onto the balls of your feet. If you can face the person directly and give them direct eye contact, combined with fully-focused attention, you double the impact of what you’re saying.

The more you can coordinate all 3 of these ingredients, the more impactful your message will be and the greater likelihood that the other person both understands and reacts the way you want them to.

The most important part of good communication is clarity. When you ask or say something clearly and then wait calmly and patiently for a complete answer, you will be amazed at how much more quickly the process of sending and receiving takes place.

The very best communicators are those who are the very best at asking for the things they want.

They ask questions to uncover the real needs and concerns of the other person. They ask questions to illuminate objections and problems that the other person might have with what they’re suggesting.

When you seek first to understand, by asking questions and listening carefully to the answers, and by presenting your viewpoint and your requests in such a way that they are consistent with the interests of the other person, you’ll become much more effective in getting the other person to act in a way that will be beneficial to both of you.

Once you can master the skill of effective communication, not only do you achieve incredible clarity in what you think, say and do, but you’ll also become known as a respected communicator everywhere you go.

Alan Stein on improving your game

Alan Stein on improving your game

by Brian Tracy

by Brian Tracy

There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and
pessimists.
• The first difference is that the optimist sees a setback as temporary,
while the pessimist sees it as permanent. The optimist sees an unfortunate event, such as an order that falls through or a sales call
that fails, as a temporary event, something that is limited in time
and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the
other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and
destiny.
• The second difference between the optimist and the pessimist is
that the optimist sees difficulties as specific, while the pessimist
sees them as pervasive. This means that when things go wrong for
the optimist, he looks at the event as an isolated incident largely
disconnected from other things that are going on in his life.
• The third difference between optimists and pessimists is that optimists see events as external, while pessimists interpret events as
personal. When things go wrong, the optimist will tend to see the
setback as resulting from external factors over which one has little
control.
We are a program of optimists.
We see setbacks as temporary.
We see difficulties as isolated incidents and are disconnected
   from the rest of our life.
When things go wrong we see events as external over which we  
   have little control.

May there be peace within

May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.
May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

Things to work on during practice

• Practice your warm up routine.

Know exactly what you want to happen during your team's warm-ups. What drills prepare the team  to be ready for the game?
Game shots, ball handling, defensive drills and passing.
I like to watch teams warm-up to pick up new ideas.
Depending on the level the warm-up time will vary. You may get 20 minutes or you may get 10 minutes.
Know how long each part of your routine will take (i.e.): Defensive Slides 2 minutes Ball handling- 2 minutes.

• Practice time-outs

Where do you want your players to sit once they come over? Do you want your point guard in the middle?
Make sure all coaches and players know their role during a timeout.
Assistant Coach needs to watch for substitution from the other team. Also, it is a good time for an assistant to double check fouls for both teams and timeouts remaining. 
Always be ready to come out after the first whistle. You get burned once having your team come out too late or see an opponent get burned and you will keep it in the back of your mind.
Teach team to hustle over once timeout called. Also, once timeout is over, reinforce with players to know their matchups. Reinforce what is coming up in the next possession (whether defense or offense). The more you practice your communication it will help in late game situations.

• Practice subbing in and out the game.

Have a set routine once a player checks into the game.
Communicate with player being subbed out and know matchup. Also, get across how a player is to leave the floor.
Not pouting and worried about minutes. Come out, get water and ready to receive instruction. Going to the end of the bench is not the best option once coming out of the game.

Four things a man must learn to do

Thought for the day

Seven Things To Do