GET READY, GET SET

Winning in sports can teach you how to win in business

The same techniques that work in one area can work in the other. Before you compete you have got to get ready. How well you prepare has everything with whether or not you’ll win.  

“Before you can win, you have to believe you are worthy.”
—Mike Ditka

 “Confidence comes from
being prepared.”
—John Wooden

The right preparation gives you a solid foundation
This is where you start to beat your competition. Without a foundation you won’t build anything, but the bigger and better the foundation the bigger the accomplishments you can reach. Doing this well begins the process of putting you in a position to meet any challenge.

The right preparation helps remove the guesswork from competing.
You are going to do all the things that create the confidence you're going to win. It’s going to keep you on an even keel so you can stay strong and on track whether you are winning or losing. If you do it right, things you run into during games are things that you have already dealt with in practice.

The right preparation gives you the advantage.
If you’re stronger team, it ensures you don’t lose to a weaker team. If you are the weaker team it evens the playing field and gives you the the best chance to upset a stronger, big shot team.

There always will be last minute things you can't control, but all of the things you can control are the ones you focus on during your preparation. Doing a great job on this moves the odds as much as possible in your favor and gives you the confidence you’ll need to play at your best.

“Everybody has the will to win,
what very few have is the will to prepare.”
—Bob Knight

Don’t cut corners on your preparation…
that’s how you position yourself to win

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Part 3 of 5 KEYS TO BEAT THE BIG SHOTS:

Part 1:
You Can Beat The Big Shots

Part 2:
John Wooden and Shoelaces 

The Big Education Lie

Parents fall for this lie every time. 

Society convinces every new generation of families that education is the #1 solution for all of their kids problems and so they set their priorities accordingly. They believe the overwhelming key for their kids to have a great, stable and successful life is education!

Education, Education, Education! Above all things get educated and you’ll be set for life. 

Education is the key. Go to school, do your homework, get your diploma and the job is done preparing you for life as a responsible, productive, independent adult.

The truth is…NO IT'S NOT!

Millions of highly educated people, young and old, have plunged their lives into disaster by poor choices. 

You want examples? They are everywhere in all countries and all walks is life and more new ones show up on the news everyday. 

Bernie Madoff ripping off thousands of trusting investors- even his own relatives, Tiger Woods at the peak of fulfillment in live throwing it all away for a little extra forbidden pleasure, brokers on Wall Street snorting cocaine, Enron executives building a global company on total fraud and deceit, T.V. evangelists caught with prostitutes, female high school teachers running off with 13 year old boys…do I really need to add anymore?

It’s not what you know, it’s what you do with it. The source of all these disasters is lack of values and character. These must be taught. 

No two year old is going to have their first words be “yes ma’am” or “yes sir.” When they hit the Earth and gain consciousness, sight, mobility, and the ability to speak, they go right to work trying to organize the world for their benefit. 

The first word many babies say—announcing their presence in the world is…”NO!” They are totally self-centered, and why shouldn’t they be? They’re not independent yet and need others to take care of them.

It’s all about them. That changes when you go out into the real world. Now you’re supposed to be independent and take care of yourself. Jobs, marriage, and having children demand that you focus on doing things for others. Without character and values you can’t resist the temptations to take short cuts for extra pleasure, extra money, and extra glory. And you’ll do it even if it involves breaking laws, breaking confidences, or destroying relationships.

Kids need to be taught right from wrong. Kids need be taught respect for authority. They need to be taught respect for others. This isn’t going to happen by itself, and if it isn’t done it won’t matter what education they have. They will have knowledge but they won’t have a foundation. You can build a building but without a firm foundation, it’s just a matter of time before it crumbles.

Make sure your kids get a great education but also make sure they have a firm foundation of values and character to stand on as they go through life.  

Question: How about you? Do you know any very smart people who have done some very dumb things?