“Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.”
John Wooden

Monday, June 30, 2014

How Failure Can Be Your Kid’s Best Friend

By Tim Elmore
http://growingleaders.com/blog/
June 30. 2014



Benjamin Franklin said, “The things which hurt, instruct.”  Your attitude towards failure determines your altitude after failure. The same is true for students. It’s all what they allow to reside in their mind. I think Warren Wiersbe was right when he said, “A realist is an idealist who has gone through the fire and been purified.  A skeptic is an idealist who has gone through the fire and been burned.”
My friend Kyle Stark develops young men for a living. He is the Director of Player Development for the Pittsburgh Pirates. As he watches young teens enter professional baseball, he observes: “Failure separates those who think they want success from those who are determined to win. Failure narrows the playing field. The first people out are those who blame others, next out are those who lost interest. The weak go first. The strong learn to hang in there and keep bouncing back until they win.
“The thin-skinned rarely win due to brittle egos and apprehensive attitudes. Thick skin comes from falling and failing. The falls produce wounds that heal and reveal a connection between resiliency and a peculiar resolve which accepts failure as a temporary condition. They accept both good and bad so not to forfeit the blessing of learning from both. 
“The thick-skinned prepare to win by increasingly expanding their willingness to endure pain in affirming the degree of true desire. They allow every challenge to serve as an opportunity to changes for the better. They continue to learn that bitterness is poison and quickly purge its deadly influence on both their endurance and desire. They see a prize in every problem and potential in every person. They see their faults but never focus on them. They know that whatever is on the mind will eventually get in the mind. The power of positive word choice determines each choice of the next deed. Wasting time talking about everything that cannot change and about nothing that can is pointless.”
- See more at: http://growingleaders.com/blog/#sthash.S5ubzpYf.dpuf

Friday, June 6, 2014

Book Review: 'The Obstacle is the Way' by Ryan Holiday

By Roger Dooley
June 4, 2014
Here’s a quick quiz. Which would you prefer to read, given these choices?
  1. A philosophy book focused on the ancient concept of Stoicism.
  2. A short, inspiring book packed with stories describing how famous leaders and entrepreneurs achieved success by pragmatic action in the face of overwhelming odds.

Author Ryan Holiday has cleverly disguised the first choice in the guise of the second in his new book, The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph.
In fact, this book reads far more like a book of practical business advice than a dusty philosophy tome. Holiday is a media strategist, Director of Marketing for American Apparel, and the author of the best selling book, Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator.
What makes this relatively short book so engaging is that it is packed with stories. Each brief chapter focuses on a principle, usually illustrated with at least one example of a leader who employed that principle to overcome adversity.
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Tuesday, June 3, 2014

David Cutcliffe: "Never stop learning; I suggest that to young coaches"

June 1, 2014
David Cutcliffe’s coaching career started as a student assistant for Bear Bryant in the 1970s, and now he’s reining national coach of the year after an 10-4 season at Duke.
Cutcliffe has been in the coaching business for a long time, but says he hasn’t reached his peak.
On former Tennessee defensive coordinator Doug Mathews’ radio show on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, Cutcliffe shared lessons learned from the business, and how things are changing for the worse in some situations.
“The best part of what I’ve done, people ask me, ‘What makes you successful?’ is to never quit learning,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate. We were around a lot of great people. We had a lot of good mentors. I think we all mentored each other well. We learned from each other. I just never quit learning. I’m still not as good as I’m going to be. I know that. I haven’t hit my peak, yet.”
Cutcliffe has been known as an offensive specialist, with Peyton Manning being his most famous pupil, but Cutcliffe emphasized that young coaches need to work multiple jobs, multiple positions to get a better understanding.
“Before coming to Tennessee, I was the head coach at Banks (High School in Alabama), which was a very good program and school, and I was my own offensive, defensive and special teams coordinator. You kind of did it all. You painted the field and cut the field. I learned something about growing grass, fertilizing. All those things contribute to being successful. I loved learning. Coach (Johnny) Majors would say, ‘Who wants to have punt team?’ I coached punt team. I coached kickoff return. I coached everything I could get my hands on. I suggest that to young coaches.”
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