What is So Great About Doubt?

You're wondering if you're doing the right thing, or doing enough? Listen to your gut because there's a reason you feel that way.The point: If you have lots of doubts, it says good things about you.

Doubt.  

Do you ever have doubt? What do you do when it comes? What does it mean? Are you going to let it control you or are you going to control it? Is this a positive or does it mean you are just neurotic?

Also, doubt plus inaction brings fear. With fear comes paralysis, and with paralysis comes certain failure. That’s certainly not a positive.

So what's the alternative? Attack! Take action! 
When doubt comes it means one thing. That is your subconscious sending you a very real message that you are not doing enough. You're not moving fast enough. You've got to ramp it up right now. Or, you must make some other kind of adjustment. Your subconscious sees failure coming and wants to put you on alert so you can change things.  

It's a warning sign.  
It's an alert to provoke you to charge into action. You immediately pick up your pace.  

You immediately start doing more. Instead of doing what you were doing (which you thought was adequate) you start doing what previously you thought what would be overdoing it. Now you overdo and overdo until confidence starts to come back inside as your subconscious gives you feedback that now you are clicking at the right pace. You begin to sense that your activity now is putting you in a position to win and if you want to make sure you win, you do even more.  

You do what it takes to Win
The idea about winning and getting things done is to attack with everything you've got. You don't moderate or modulate your effort. You don’t cut corners or put in minimum efforts.

You give it everything you've got.  
You throw everything at it as fast as possible because that allows you to get your maximum chances for success and it allows you to cause success to happen as fast as possible.  

When doubt comes it's a clear signal something is wrong.
You're going too slow or you need to make an adjustment or course correction. You've got to do something. Your subconscious is telling you aren't getting enough done if you stay on your current course and pace. Pick up the pace immediately, make changes and do it NOW!  

Look as doubt as an early warning sign of defeat.  
It is something your body does to give you time to change and fix the situation. Usually your other instincts will kick in and you will know what you need to do. Whenever doubt comes don't hesitate, don't let it turn into fear and paralysis.  

Winners get doubts.
They aren’t arrogant. They take responsibility seriously. They know you have to earn success. They know you can’t be haphazard. They know its not enough to do the normal things, you have to do all the extras as well.

The reason they get doubts is because they know the world doesn’t owe them anything. They know they can’t assume anything. The fact that they get doubts says they are reliable and responsible leaders who are willing to do whatever it takes to win. They know when doubts show up they need to respond with positive action. What can we learn from this?

Whenever doubt comes, don’t freeze up but immediately spring into action and maximize your chances for winning.

---

Feedback: Do you see that there is no reason to be wracked with doubt and filled with fear, that it’s a good thing to have doubt if you know how to respond?

Winner's Book Club Selection of the Week: Leading with the Heart

Leading with the Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life

WHAT ARE HIS “WINNER” CREDENTIALS? 

Mike Krzyzewski has excelled as a coach by all measures. He has won National Championships and coached a Gold Medal winning team for the United States in the Olympics. He has run a program that is respected and above reproach as well as sending many top players to the pros. He is as respected for his life off the court as much as he is on it. This book will show that his success is no accident. It is a result of a well developed plan and philosophy of treating people as individuals and putting their welfare first. People are his first priority.

Leading with the Heart chronicles Coach K’s background in a Polish Chicago neighborhood, where he was guided by parents who demanded honesty and integrity. From his days at the U.S. Military Academy playing under Coach Bobby Knight, Krzyzewski first learned that coaching meant more than showing players what to do and how to do it. It meant building an emotional bond of trust that gives his players the confidence and freedom to succeed both on and off the court.

"People have to be given the freedom to show the heart they possess. I think it’s a leader’s responsibility to provide that type of freedom. And I believe it can be done through relationships and family. Because if a team is a real family, it’s members want to show you their hearts." — Mike Krzyzewski

Amazon Editorial Reviews

In some respects, a top-level college coach is a lot like a manager in any business. He has to turn a group of talented individuals into a smoothly running team, and he has to produce results that please the fans of his team--the shareholders of the athletic program. Thus, in Leading with the Heart, Krzyzewski reviews the lessons he's learned as basketball coach at Duke University, and tries to universalize them so they translate to any leadership position. For example, he writes, "Adjustments are not unusual, they are usual. So a leader's ability to think on his feet ... to do things without instruction ... is of paramount importance." Makes sense, as does this admonition: "When teaching, always remember this simple phrase: 'You hear, you forget. You see, you remember. You do, you understand.'"  >>Read More

From Publishers Weekly

Duke basketball coach Krzyzewski, today's most successful NCAA coach, reviews significant games and key events in his career in addition to offering advice to coaches, players and everyone trying to do better in life. The son of working-class Polish immigrants, he got a scholarship to West Point, where he became an accomplished player before becoming a coach. His breezy approach is direct and simple: what's most important is working as a team toward a common goal—not necessarily to win the game, but to play the best possible game. Says Coach K, "There are five fundamental qualities that make every team great: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride." Approaching each season the same way, he extends himself to his players, encouraging them to spend time at his home and with his family, while emphasizing the importance of keeping up with academics and enjoying the overall experience of college. In fact, Krzyzewski tries to hire assistant coaches who have played for him because they're versed in on- and off-court problems. At the end of each chapter, he offers general pointers, such as that "business, like basketball, is a game of adjustments. So be ready to adjust." Although he occasionally refers to a coach as a "leader," for the most part he leaves it up to readers to connect the dots between his coaching strategies and useful business strategies.  >>Read More

Perfect Plans

You don’t need a perfect plan.

All you need is a plan that’ll work. In fact, has there ever been a perfect plan? As Mike Tyson said, “Yeah, they’ve all got a plan. They all have got a plan to beat me, until they get in the ring and get hit.”

It’s like the plan to win the Iraqi war. Even the Generals said that the planning only lasts until the war starts. From that point on its a matter of adjustments. They were surprised by the resistance. They were surprised by the guerilla warfare. But they weren’t surprised that there were surprises, because they knew that’s how all campaigns go.

Let’s say you’ve got a plan to have a great year.

We call them New Year’s resolutions. Everyone’s got plans, but plans only work if you make adjustments. Plans get you started. Plans get you going. Plans start thing off. Plans can keep you on track.

Don’t be shocked. Your plan is not going to work!

Get over it! Don’t be naive! Don’t be shocked - expect it! Why? Circumstances change. The unexpected occurs. When that happens don’t quit - adjust!

It is the hidden secret. The hidden secret of making plans work is the adjustments you make once the plan is launched. They may be minute to minute, day to day, week to week, but you’ve got to react to surprising things that happen - the ones that could not even be predicted before you launch your project.
So don’t worry about the perfect plan.

All you need is…

1. A plan that will work, that will get you off to a good start.
2. Willingness to make the adjustments needed until you get there…until you get the job done.

It's not the plan, it's the adjustments

You don’t need a perfect plan. All you need is a plan that’ll work. In fact, has there ever been a perfect plan?

As Mike Tyson said, “Yeah, they’ve all got a plan. They all’ve got a plan to beat me. Until they get in the ring and get hit.”

Then reality sets in.

There was a plan to win the Iraqi war. Once the game or war or campaign starts the unexpected surprises start showing up. From that point on, the determining factor in whether you win or lose is how good are your adjustments. Everyone’s got plans, but plans only work if you make adjustments. Plans get you started. Plans get you going. Plans start thing off. Plans can keep you on track.

However, to make a plan, the hidden secret of making plans work is the adjustments you make once the plan is launched. They may be minute to minute, day to day, week to week, but you’ve got to react to surprising things that happen **** that could and most of them could not even be predicted before you launch your project. Don’t worry about the perfect plan.

All you need is a plan that will work and be willing to make the adjustments until you get there, until you get the job done.