Tim Tebow: What the Analysts Miss

Tim Tebow is one of the biggest sensations in the NFL right now.

The Denver Broncos were 1 and 4 when he was installed at quarterback. The analysts and critics howled. He can’t throw. He is inaccurate. He has a long wind up and release. It takes too long. He can’t make the professional throws. He doesn’t have the skills to lead a team to the Super Bowl. No team has ever won running the option attack that best suits his strengths.

There was an explosion of criticism unlike any that’s ever occurred over a first round draft pick. The verdict seemed to be unanimous—he would fail, he wouldn’t last.

Set up to fail
The team was depressed. There’s nothing worse than being in a losing locker room. They had just lost 4 out of 5 games with Tebow installed as quarterback, in spite of the fact that they have mediocre talent and almost no receivers who can catch a pass because they had even traded away Brandon Lloyd who was their best receiver one a week before Tebow took the starting job. It seemed like Tebow was set up to fail. 

Then something shocking happened
When Tebow went in he asked the team just one thing, “all I ask is that you believe in me.” They were energized by his excitement and intensity. They became filled with hope and their spirits renewed. They started playing inspired ball and 5 out of the next 6 games which gave the Tebow Era a 5 and 1 record. A dramatic and immediate turnaround, once Tebow took over at quarter back.

It was astounding because they won on the road—the toughest place to win. They did the unthinkable; they beat every one of their division opponents in their own stadiums. That almost never happens, certainly not with a rookie quarterback in his first start. 

What the analysts missed
They missed the fact that a players impact and performance goes way beyond his skill set. It has to do with how few errors he makes. Does he throw interceptions? Does he fumble the ball? Does he make stupid decisions?

It also has to do with sprit and inspiration. Does he energize his team? Do they play better because he’s in the game and they believe in him? Do they feel like as long as he’s in the game they have a chance to win? And also how does he play in the clutch when the intensity and anxiety is in the highest? Does he fall apart or does he rise to the occasion? You can be a picture perfect passer of the ball, but if you panic during the game, you’re useless. 

Tebow excels at all the intangibles
What the critics have underestimated are Tebow's strengths. Just take a look at his stats. He makes great decisions plus he’s turning out to be one of the greatest running quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen. He’s so dangerous and smart about his running that it has opened up the line for the other running backs to have huge games.

And in crunch time his passes are deadly accurate. The Denver Broncos have become very dangerous for the senses to face. And the other thing is he’s just now getting his first chance to play regularly and he’s improving every game.

That’s what the inexperienced players do. They improve when they’re given a chance. You can’t learn how to play and perform as an NFL quarterback until you get a chance to get experience in the game. Tebow is getting that now and is developing rapidly. But all of these things seem to fly right over the radar of the expert analysts. Maybe they’re not so expert after all. 

The lesson for me and you 
Don’t give up your dreams because you might not be as talented as someone else. You can win anyway. You can improve. There are a lot of ingredients that go into winning and talent is just one—and talent will only take you so far.

A willingness to compete, a love of the “game” and a determination to improve and win is what really takes you to the top. If you’re driven you can do amazing things in your life and… like Tim Tebow you can astound your critics as well!

You've Got To Go With What You've Got

Face it. Albert Einstein had bad hair, but he didn't let it stop him. Neither did Don King... Focus on the positives, not the negatives.The sooner you can get clear on this the better: You can’t go back and be born a Kennedy.

There’s no $10 million dollar trust fund heading your way.

You aren’t going to discover an oil well in your back yard.

Your brain is not going to go on a growth spurt.

You aren’t going to wake up one day and find your child has created the next Facebook.

That knock at your door is never going to be someone telling you you have won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.

Your lottery tickets are not going to match up with those on the TV declaring you the winner of a multimillion dollar payday.

The sooner you realize you are going to have to play the hand you’re dealt, the sooner you can get going forward in your life.

Winners Book Club Selection of the Week: The Mentor Leader

The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently

By Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker

What are his Winner’s Credentials?

Tony Dungy not only had a successful career as a NFL player but went on to build consistent winnng teams as head coach in both Tampa and Indianapolis, where he also led his team to victory in the Super Bowl.

Amazon Editorial Review

“Your only job is to help your players be better.”

That single idea had a huge impact on Tony Dungy when he heard it from one of his earliest mentors, and it led him to develop the successful leadership style so admired by players and coaches throughout the NFL. Now, a storied career and a Super Bowl victory later, Tony Dungy is sharing his unique leadership philosophy with you. In The Mentor Leader, Tony reveals what propelled him to the top of his profession and shows how you can apply the same approach to virtually any area of your life. In the process, you’ll learn the seven keys of mentoring leadership—and why they’re so effective; why mentor leadership brings out the best in people; how a mentor leader recovers from mistakes and handles team discipline; and the secret to getting people to follow you and do their best for you without intimidation tactics. As a son, a football player, and a winning coach, Tony has always learned from others on his path to success. Now you can learn to succeed for your team, family, or organization while living out your values—by becoming a mentor leader.

Coach Dungy offers a truly unique perspective as a Super Bowl winning football coach, and a devoted Christian. 

He is a man who has benefited much mentoring and who has intentionally sought for years to have a positive influence on the lives of those he touches. Author of best-selling book Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life, he has seen firsthand "that the way to bring the best out of an individual or a team is to teach-by example and through one-on-one, step-by-step mentoring." The book is packed full of stories and anecdotes, but it is not just a random assortment of anecdotes. Dungy actually covers a lot of material, and arranges it thoughtfully. 

Some of the topics or concepts that I thought were particularly interesting: focusing on strengths, the preeminence of character and integrity in the live of a leader, building a team whose strengths complement yours and each others, the importance of just hanging out and being present in the lives of those you hope to influence, the need to create a culture to effect change, and the idea of treating those you lead as volunteers. 

Go With Your Strengths

As long as you live, you will face challenges.

When it comes to being on your own and supporting yourself it makes a lot of sense to go with your strengths.

• What are you best at?
• What are you interested in?
• What fascinates you?
• What do you have the most experience doing?

To create a good income to provide for yourself and your family you are more likely to success if you are doing things you can do very well.

The way to becoming great at anything relates to having a lot of experience. It's hard to get enough of that kind of experience if you don’t believe in what you’re doing. Everyone has different interests and talents. Some we are born with, some are developed along the way.

Your strengths may be in academics, music, art or sports or business. You may may be more technically oriented or you may be more people oriented. You may like dealing with the public or you may prefer being in the background.

It may be that you have never even thought about you having any particular strengths—but you do.

It may just be that you have a stronger interest in something than most people do and you haven’t had the opportunity to pursue it yet. The best way to find your likely area of strengths is by pursuing the things you are curious about and that fascinate you.  If something fascinates you or you are drawn to it, there’s a reason and you need to find out how important that interest is—casual or serious.

No matter what occupation you choose there will be income involved. But the big key for you is do you enjoy it? That will be the key to how well you’ll do.

Do you get personal satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment from doing it? Is it important to you? When you enjoy things, you put more energy into them, and wind up becoming more and more valuable, usually resulting in advancement and greater income opportunities.

When you don’t enjoy it you wind up just going through the motions and doing the minimum—and never really improving.

We enjoy things we are good at and we get good at the things we enjoy. My boys loved video games growing up, played them every chance they got and became very, very good. I had little interest in them, could never get the hang of them, as a result never liked them and never became any good at them. That’s pretty much how things turn out in life in everything.

To be great, focus on your strengths. So it just makes sense. Want to really enjoy what you do with your life? Want to have the best chance to do well financially?

Then find the areas of your strength and the best possible spot for you to use your strengths to benefit yourself and to benefit others.