Tom Coughlin, The People’s Coach

Most of us can relate to Tom.

In spite of obvious ability, hard work and past achievements, poor Tom always seems to be on the hot seat.

Things just seem to find a way to go against him. Player injuries, strange losing streaks, player dissension are common for every NFL team. But for Tom it always seems to be a little worse. Its like the guy just can’t get ahead. The least you can say is that he seems to have to work harder than everyone else. He knows he can’t leave anything to chance because no one is going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Things don’t come easy for Coach Coughlin
He wasn’t a child coaching prodigy. He had to work his way up the coaching ranks from the bottom one tough step at the time. He was overlooked and taken for granted. Over a long time he developed a great reputation. Only through tons of hard and extra work did he move up and reach the point where he could even interview for head coaching job. At 49 he finally got his chance and was hired to be the first coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 7 years he took this expansion team to 2 AFC Championship games. His reward for this incredible achievement? Fired. 

Most of us can relate to his struggles
We go through life and see the breaks go against us. We find ourselves often ignored, past over and taken for granted. So much of our life seems like it’s tied up in grinding out work that no one notices or appreciates. We keep ourselves on track doing the quiet, thankless jobs that we know are important but we don’t ever see it pay off in anything big for us. Also no matter how much effort we put into our work it often seems like it’s not good enough.

The few times we have pulled off some great achievement and gotten recognized - finally - the moment is quickly forgotten by those in authority. In no time at all it seems like it never happened. We are still treated like we are just faces in the crowd. 

Tom is always on the hot seat
He took over as head coach of the New York Giants in 2004, inheriting a 4-12 team. He quietly went to work to turn things around. Four years later the Giants won the Super Bowl in one of the biggest upsets ever! But amazingly he still has been on the hot seat constantly ever since. You have to assume he works hard and takes his job seriously but when his team gets hit with injuries, bad play by key players or any of the hundreds of things that happen to a football team to create slumps, immediately there are calls for his job. It’s like overnight it’s all his fault because he’s no longer good enough. He can’t reach today’s players, he can’t relate, he doesn’t have charisma, he doesn’t have good enough coaches, etc. Result? Tom is always on the hot seat.

But how does Tom respond? Like you do.
He knows no one feels sorry for him. He keeps his head down. He keeps working. He keeps encouraging his team. He keeps looking for ways to improve. He keeps believing things will work out if he keeps working. He keeps believing that the odds will even out over the long haul if he stays on track. He keeps believing his luck will turn for the better. And the amazing thing is that they do. His teams are tough. You can never count them out. Just when the criticism is the loudest and people have totally given up on his team they come back strong and surprise everyone. This year is no exception. They had such a mid season slump many felt Tom would be fired before the season ended. Tom kept working. He kept the team focused and improving. Result? THEY ARE IN THE SUPER BOWL! They didn’t quit, they kept fighting and the results eventually started to show.

Tom has a style we can relate to
He isn’t known as a genius. He’s not a celebrity. He doesn’t dominate television with commercials and appearances on talk shows. He just works hard and keeps on working hard  even when faced with withering criticism or disastrous results. He keeps the faith. He keeps moving forward. He knows hard work can overcome almost all obstacles. He doesn’t make excuses. He doesn’t blame others. He just works…..and because of that he eventually wins!

Tom Coughlin’s  example of winning primarily through toughness and hard work is an example for us all. We can relate to his struggles. He is the “People’s Coach!”

Blessed Ignorance of Youth

"If I’d only known..."

Most entrepreneurs say it's a good thing they didn’t know what they were getting into when they started their business—because if they had known what they were getting into they would have never started.

"Why can’t we…?"
Young people are like that. They don’t know what they are getting into. They don’t know mabe they should wait. They don’t think they aren’t ready. They just know they are excited about it and that combined with their energy propels many of them to do amazing things, overcoming all odds!

They Are Doing Amazing Things
It's time for us to recognize the incredible contribution the young make to our lives from business, to science, art, entertainment, as well as even charitable causes.

Let’s Cheer Them On
We would be better served giving them more encouragement when they come up with impossible ideas, because they just may well do it anyway and we might as well be on their sides.

“The young don’t know enough to be prudent, and therefore attempt the impossible—and achieve it, generation after generation." —Pearl S. Buck

---

When an inexperienced young person comes to you with a new idea about how to do things, what's your first reaction?

Do Hard Things. Don't Run From Them.

If you stand up to the thing that’s hard for you to face today, you’ll find they will be not quite so hard tomorrow.

In a week they won’t be hard at all, and shortly thereafter will become fairly easy.  That’s how you grow.  

You don’t build big muscles by lifting small weights

You can’t experience growth and the joy of growth and improvement without facing up to “hard things.” Remember just because it’s hard today doesn’t mean it’s going to be hard tomorrow. Like lifting weights in the gym, if you never lift a heavier weight you’ll never get stronger. In fact, just like building muscle, facing up to challenges is the only way to develop mental toughness in sports.

So do the hard things.  

Pretty soon they’ll be easy and people will say, “Look how strong you are. Boy, you must just be naturally strong.” They will be amazed how tough and determined you are. They won’t ever realize the process you had to put yourself through to get there. 

But you will, you’ll have the confidence that comes the achievement, from facing your fears and winning.

Winners Book Club Selection of the Week: Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

---

WHAT ARE HIS “WINNER” CREDENTIALS?

With this book Napoleon Hill wrote the all time best selling success book of all time. He was the confidant of some of the most powerful and wealthy men of the 20th century, and enjoyed a long and prosperous career as an author, teacher and motivational speaker. He pioneered the genre of self help and prosperity and wealth books.

Amazon Editorial Reviews

This is Napoleon Hill's definitive landmark book (revised and updated for the 21st century) on how to unleash your full potential and achieve guaranteed success in life and work, by following the principles outlined in this book. This book will also teach you how-to conquer many common fears, such as Poverty, Ill Health, Criticism, Loss of Love and Death. Think and Grow Rich , indispensable reading for personal achievement.

Customer Review

Truly inspirational. The single best book I have ever read., February 8, 2008
By Avinash Sharma "MBA, M.S., Knowledge Worker" (Toronto)

If you asked me to recommend to you the single best book I have ever read, my answer would be a very definite "Think and Grow Rich."

First published in 1937, this is the end product of two decades of research conducted by Napoleon Hill. His research started when Andrew Carnegie (the steel tycoon who was then the richest man on earth) gave him the assignment of organizing a Philosophy of Personal Achievement. Hill, who was a poor journalist, armed with just an introductory letter from Carnegie, set out to interview over five hundred successful people including Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, John D. Rockefeller, George Eastman, William Wrigley Jr. and Charles M. Schwab. Hill then revealed the priceless wisdom of his research in the form of the thirteen steps to success (in Think and Grow Rich) and the seventeen principles of success (in courses and lectures he conducted).

The concepts taught by Napoleon Hill transformed my life. >>read more