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A Regular Dose of Inspiration, Motivation & Information.
Competition
The fiercest competition that I have ever faced was confronting my own demons and overcoming them; the second fiercest was besting my best performances. We live in a world where competition reigns supreme. We adore the fastest, the strongest, the smartest – The Best! But the challenge with competition is that most of it is externally motivated, rather than inwardly directed. With full disclosure, I have engaged in externally motivated competition many times throughout my journey; it began on the little league field, and it pursued me through young adulthood.
Catastrophic Loss
As I write this essay, a business colleague and close friend of mine and her husband are facing a catastrophic loss. Their youngest son was involved in an accident and has suffered a brain injury. Brain injury is a very slippery slope. I know this terrain well from experience because our daughter was also the victim of an accident, which left her with a brain injury. The enormous impact on the lives of everyone involved is due, in part, to a vast amount of uncertainty about recovery. The brain is still a mystery in medical science, unlike the heart or the liver. And the prognosis for recovery is never clear.
Intelligent Action
One of my sports heroes was nicknamed Sweetness – he was Walter Payton, the legendary running back for The Chicago Bears. Payton held the record for rushing yards for many years after his 13-year career in the NFL. He was only 5’10” tall, and weighed about 200 pounds, which is small by NFL standards, but he was one of the toughest men who ever put on a professional football uniform.
Burning Desire
One of my sports heroes was nicknamed Sweetness – he was Walter Payton, the legendary running back for The Chicago Bears. Payton held the record for rushing yards for many years after his 13-year career in the NFL. He was only 5’10” tall, and weighed about 200 pounds, which is small by NFL standards, but he was one of the toughest men who ever put on a professional football uniform.
The Small Things
One of the great secrets in life is doing the “small things” well and doing them consistently – it’s chopping wood and carrying water each day. In the final analysis, it’s being brilliant on the basics that matter the most, and this principle applies to both our personal and professional lives. And make no mistake about it, our careers and our personal lives are inescapably linked. If we are struggling with one, the other will suffer.
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