IT IS ALL ABOUT CHASING PERSONAL EXCELLENCE

“We were down in the Rangers’ locker room and their No. 1 goal is not worrying about winning or losing. It’s all about chasing personal excellence and if you can do that in your life, you’re going to be the very best you can be. The rest you can’t control.” - Dan Hawkins

PERSONAL EXCELLENCE: Doing your very best each day. Giving it your best from when you rise in the morning to when you go to sleep at night.

Do you strive for PERSONAL EXCELLENCE each day????

WANT TO BE SPECIAL?????

"If you want to be special, you have to be different. You have to make a conscious decision every single day to be different.”

-Bo Pelini

You can't be just like the average guy. You have to push yourself harder and longer than those around you. You have to be willing to do the things that others won't.

Self Discipline

"What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline."
-H.P. Liddon

GET BETTER EVERYDAY! FOCUS ON THE PROCESS. ENJOY THE RESULTS.

END OF THE YEAR--- What's next?

At the end of each year you must reflect and assess. As Jeter states in the above video you have re continue to work on what you do well and search for ways to improve on what you struggle with.

GOT TO GET READY

These images were taken roughly 65 years apart. What worked for Johnny Pesky in the 1940's is still working for the high school player of today.

Feet, shoulder width apart.
Glove side foot a little ahead of throwing side foot.
Glove out in front.
Knees flexed, head up.
Weight on the balls of the feet.

LOSING CAN BECOME A MOTIVATOR

TO WIN, YOU HAVE TO LOSE, THEN GET PISSED OFF-- Joe Namath

GREAT LIFE LESSONS

Life lessons from John Wooden have become legend. Here's a collection of some of the greatest "Woodenisms."

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

"Never mistake activity for achievement."

"Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then."

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

"Be prepared and be honest."

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."

"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player."

"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character."

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."

"I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent."

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

"It isn't what you do, but how you do it."

"Ability is a poor man's wealth."

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."

"Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights."

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."

"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."

"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."

"Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team."

"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."

"Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts."

Source: CoachWooden.com

WORK HARD AND ENJOY IT

from hoopboost.blogspot.com

Following the announcement of Ken Griffey's retirement yesterday reminded me of a passage I read in Ron White's book, "22 Success Lessons from Baseball." Not only should you work hard, but enjoy the work -- there's no guarantee as to how long the ride will last...

Willie Mayes, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Kirk Gibson, Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Buddy Bell, Goose Gossage, “Oil Can” Boyd, “Dizzy” Dean and Jackie Robinson. These are all phenomenal baseball players. They also have one thing in common. There is one thing that is true about every single one of them. They are probably many things, but will you think of this one?

One of the common threads these men possess is that their baseball careers are over and for many of them their lives are over. Each of these men is mortal. Each of these men reached a time in their career when they could no longer compete at a high level because their bodies began to rebel against the work regiment and challenges. Some could no longer throw a ball fast enough to zoom past Major League hitters who seems to be getting younger and younger. Many found themselves swinging too late all too often at pitches they once could hit with ease. Their eyes refused to give them a clear picture of where the ball was going and their legs appeared asleep as they scampered to beat out a slow grounder.

Your time will come, just like it did for the Babe, Lou Gehrig, Nolan Ryan and every other player who set foot on the baseball diamond. One day your flesh and bones will be spent. Make the most of every time at bat and every game. Give it your best every day and when you are done, hope your life shows that you did.

Play fast, play the game right, work hard, touch all the bases, and have fun, because one day, you won’t be able to.

Congrats to the CHAMPS!!!!!

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. Muhammad Ali

"Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation." Robert H. Schuller

PRACTICE

"If there is a secret to making the most
out of each practice, it is this:
Enjoy the drills that
improve your skills."
-Joe Montana-

THE PRICE OF TEAMWORK

from John Maxwell

THE PRICE OF TEAMWORK

SACRIFICE

There can be no success without sacrifice. James Allen observed. “He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much.”

TIME COMMITMENT

Teamwork does not come cheaply. It costs you time—that means you pay for it with your life. Teamwork can’t be developed in microwave time. Teams grow in a Crock-Pot environment.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Your team will reach its potential only if you reach your potential. That means today’s ability is not enough. Or to put it the way leadership expert Max DePree did: “We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” That is why UCLA’s John Wooden, the greatest college basketball coach of all time, said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

UNSELFISHNESS

If a team is to reach its potential, its players must put the team’s agenda ahead of their own. And if you give your best to the team, it will return more to you than you give, and together you will achieve more than you can on our own.

20 tips for being MENTALLY TOUGH

from hoopboost.blogspot.com

1. When you face a setback, think of it as a defining moment that will lead to a future accomplishment.

2. When you encounter adversity, remember, the best don’t just face adversity; they embrace it, knowing it’s not a dead end but a detour to something greater and better.

3. When you face negative people, know that the key to life is to stay positive in the face of negativity, not in the absence of it. After all, everyone will have to overcome negativity to define themselves and create their success.

4. When you face the naysayers, remember the people who believed in you and spoke positive words to you.

5. When you face critics, remember to tune them out and focus only on being the best you can be.

6. When you wake up in the morning, take a morning walk of gratitude and prayer. It will create a fertile mind ready for success.

7. When you fear, trust. Let your faith be greater than your doubt.

8. When you fail, find the lesson in it, and then recall a time you have succeeded.

9. When you head into battle, visualize success.

10. When you are thinking about the past or worrying about the future, instead focus your energy on the present moment. The now is where your power is the greatest.

11. When you want to complain, instead identify a solution.

12. When your own self-doubt crowds your mind, weed it and replace it with positive thoughts and positive self-talk.

13. When you feel distracted, focus on your breathing, observe your surroundings, clear your mind, and get into the The Zone. The Zone is not a random event. It can be created.

14. When you feel all is impossible, know that with God, all things are possible.

15. When you feel alone, think of all the people who have helped you along the way and who love and support you now.

16. When you feel lost, pray for guidance.

17. When you are tired and drained, remember to never, never, never give up. Finish strong in everything you do.

18. When you feel like you can’t do it, know that you can do all things through Him who gives you strength.

19. When you feel like your situation is beyond your control, pray and surrender. Focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t.

20. When you’re in a high pressure situation and the game is on the line, and everyone is watching you, remember to smile, have fun, and enjoy it. Life is short; you only live once. You have nothing to lose. Seize the moment.