Important but not Indispensable

As I sit down this morning to write I want to wish my Mom a Happy 59th Birthday, and I want to again send a prayer out to Mammaw in hopes that her body continues to heal. My reading this morning came from Chapter 3 of Tony Dungy's book- Uncommon. Coach Dungy discusses the topics of Humility and Stewardship. The perspective that I liked the best was that we are all "Important but not Indispensable". If you are apart of a team, a group, or a business, then your attributes are important to the success of the whole. However, none of us is so important that we are above the rest. Once we take on that "I" or "Me" attitude, then we begin to destroy the group that we are a part of. Are you a person that likes to be the center of attention? Do you let everyone know that you are the Best? or Do you take on a Humble approach? When I think of a great example of Humility- I think of Peyton Manning. Here is a guy that is one of the best QB's in the NFL. He has won a Super Bowl, gone to many Pro Bowls, and was for a long time the face of the Indianapolis Colts. He has recently joined the Denver Broncos, and yet he still is a big part of the Indianapolis Community with his Children's hospital downtown. We all have talents, skills, money, and time that we can invest each day! What are you investing in? We all can improve our investments through humility, love, and service to others! Have a great Sunday!

One step back, Two steps forward

This morning my reading selection came from one of my favorite books- Hard Work a life on and off the court. This book is about Coach Roy Williams and his experiences as a coach at Kansas, and North Carolina. Coach Williams is one of my favorite basketball coaches because he coaches a fast paced style of basketball and does things the right way! In the first chapter of his book he talks about the amount of stress he was dealing with prior to the 2009 season. His team that year was led by Tyler Hansbrough who is currently a member of the Indiana Pacers. The Tar Heels also had three players that had considered leaving for the NBA- Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green. North Carolina was picked as the preseason #1 team, and there was a lot of talk about their team going undefeated. That created high expectations and a high amount of pressure on their team. At the beginning of the season NC lost their first two conference games to Boston College, and Wake Forrest. These losses shook the confidence of the players, and forced them to refocus on the what was important for them to be successful. These set backs helped their team to grow- the Tar Heels went on to win the National Championship that year! The message this morning is that sometimes we have to take a step back in order to move forward to reach our goal. That is part of the process! Don't be discouraged by failure. Use the WIN principle. What's Important Now. Keep the end in mind, but focus on the daily tasks at hand that will get you to where you want to be!

Baby Sitting, Bird Watching, and Baby Steps

Yesterday was an exciting day in Indiana as Larry Bird returned to the Pacers. I have always been a Larry Bird fan- I think it is because he was my babysitter once while my dad was in college at Indiana State, and watching his fundamental play as a Boston Celtic player. Last night while at the Indians game I learned that the Hoosiers had two players get drafted in the top 5 picks of the NBA draft- Olidipo(2) and Zeller(4). The Indians lost, but we had a great time in the lawn with the kids. After the game I jogged from Victory Field over to the IU Cancer Center on IUPUI's campus to see my mother-in-law. She just had surgery two days ago to remove cancer from her right lung. During her surgery they ended up removing 4 ribs, and cutting out all of the cancer. She is improving each day, but they are baby steps. Day 1 she was able to sit up in the chair for 30 minutes, and Day 2 she was able to sit up in the chair for 4 hours. Yes- baby steps and she has a long way to go! As I headed back to the car and drove home it was about 11:30 pm and I felt wide awake. When I got home I could not sleep so I pulled out the old Larry Bird- Bird Watching book that was down in the basement storage. I spent an hour reading the chapter on the 1992 Olympic Team. That team will go down as one of the best assembled teams in history- Bird, Magic, Jordan, Malone, Stockton, Ewing, Pippen, Barkley, Drexler, Robinson, Mullin, and Laettner. According to Bird the best thing about the experience was that none of these players brought their star egos along with them. He could recall Barkley carrying the coolers for the medical staff, and Jordan having to wait his turn to be taped by the medical staff. Of course he did say that the few practices that they did have were very competitive. Maybe more so than the Olympic games themselves! The message today is that to achieve success -sometimes you need to take baby steps. Building a successful franchise like the Pacers- they have come a long way over a long period of time. From the Brawl to the Eastern Conference Championship. Olidipo- from a high school back-up to the #2 pick in the draft. Zeller- from high school Mr. Basketball to #4 pick in the draft. These successes are not a coincidence. There is hard work behind these successes. Keep your focus on your goal, and keep working towards it! Mammaw we know that you are going to make it home soon!

NO EXCUSES, NO EXPLANATIONS

Chapter 2 of Uncommon is titled Honesty and Integrity. Coach Dungy shares a story about a student selling notes for a Psychology 1001 class when he was a student at the University of Minnesota. He discusses his thought process of rationalizing whether or not it was the right thing to do. Are the notes cheating? What if the professor includes other information? Is it the right thing to do? Again- Shortcuts are easy... Doing the work is harder, but is worthwhile! Integrity and Honesty is something that you can control. It is not what other people think of you- It is what you think of you! Be a person who owns up to your decisions with NO EXCUSES, NO EXPLANATIONS! If you were going to work for the President of the United States- How would you answer this question on the background check? Have you ever done anything that would be embarrassing for the President of the United States to be associated with? Coach Dungy served on the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.

Uncommon Character

This morning I read the first chapter of Tony Dungy's book Uncommon. This chapter talks about the importance of character and success. Coach Dungy talks about the decision the Colts made to choose Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf. This was a character decision. He talks about the importance of picking teammates and friends. These people should have high character. He also talks about parenting and allowing your children to be able to gain trust through guided experience. I like his quote that "What you do is not nearly as important as how you do it." I have always believed that you should do the right thing. Cutting corners and cheating may get you instant gratification, but in the long run this will not mean as much and will be worthless. Coach Dungy shared another quote about Character from Phillips Brooks, an American clergyman in the 1800's-- "Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones." Your character is built through a series of continuous small acts of life. These small acts show your character and help you to develop trust. Make great decisions each and everyday and you will develop an uncommon character!