YOU CAN BEAT THE BIG SHOTS

The Great don’t always play Great

Why is that? It’s because, in competition, the formula for a great performance involves EFFORT! The formula is

ABILITY x EFFORT = PERFORMANCE

That’s how underdogs can pull off upsets
Let’s say one team is scary good with a talent and skill level of 8 of 10. Now, suppose they play an inferior team with a talent and skill level that’s only average, 5 of 10. That’s an 8 playing a 5, they should win easily on paper. But as you hear constantly in sports, they don’t play on paper. 

So game day comes...
Turns out, the better team has a bad day, is sluggish, and performs at 50% of their capabilities. That’s 8 x 50% = a 4.0 performance. Now, the other team has one of those rare games where everyone is on fire and everything goes right. They play the whole game at 90% of their maximum and BEAT the Great team! How? Their ability level of 6 times a 90% performance gave them a 5.4 game rating—which beats a 4.0 game rating every time!

David beats Goliath!

The commentators will say the “superior” team came out flat, they got out-hustled and out-played. Then they will try to analyze how that could happen, including talking to the mystified coach and players. They all will scratch their heads but it’s too late, they lost! 

That’s why you’ll often hear “They just wanted it more.” Exactly! The way you tell who wants it more is who makes the most effort! That’s the chance you need. 

And you will get it because no one or no team plays their best all the time. 

All you need is an opening. 
All you need is an opportunity. 

The thing you can do is be ready when that chance comes and then seize the moment!

Hard work is the great equalizer because hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard!

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This is the Introduction to the series 5 Secrets of Beating Big Shots. Related posts are coming soon.

Why LeBron Gets Criticized

He’s earned it all by himself

LeBron James doesn’t get it at all, but someone needs to tell him he has no one to blame but himself. He’s the one who has put himself on a pedestal with his mouth and actions. He really doesn’t see how he’s got himself in all this trouble with his public. So, I guess it’s up to me to say why. Someone pass it on to him, please.

He can’t believe he’s not universally loved with all he’s done

• He really wants to be liked, He doesn’t like being the bad guy and has said so.
• He does tons of charity work. He loves kids and likes “giving back”
• He never gets in trouble off the court, No drugs, no arrests, no incidents
• He is engaging, good looking, always smiling and genuinely a nice guy
• He’s a phenomenal basketball player, is always prepared, always plays hard, never challenges his coach
• He’s been an All-Star every year, All- Pro, 3 times All Defensive Team player and too many others to list
• He’s given precious summer off-time to play for Team USA winning 2 Bronze Medals and 2 Gold Medals
• He’s been NBA MVP twice, should have gotten it last year and is on track to win it again this year.
• He’s acknowledged as the best player in the game today, one of the best ever.

He seems almost to good to be true. 
He is a freaky great athlete who has always pushed himself to get the most out of his potential. Even as a teenager he seemed mature beyond his years. All this from a young man who came from what could be kindly described as a broken, unstable and troubled family environment. He deserves much praise and respect for how he has handled himself in so many areas!

So why is he endlessly criticized and mistrusted by the public?
It’s because of the pedestal he has placed himself on with his actions and words. Maybe even with all he’s done, he thinks that he’s a little more special than he is? It’s okay if others idolize you, but people have problems with those who idolize themselves.

The other side of the LeBron story

• He ordained himself KING JAMES before he left high school, he still calls himself KING JAMES…recently painted it on his bike, etc.
• As a pro he made a bold move by selecting for himself Michael Jordan’s number 23…He said as a tribute to his hero. 
• His audacious approach, starting with the KING JAMES, left the clear impression he took 23 because he expected to eclipse Jordan.
• Began referring to his teammates as his “supporting cast.” He wasn’t the only star to do this, but he was the youngest.
• Never won a Championship in Cleveland…making sure everyone didn’t blame him, but blamed his “cast”
• Displayed a reluctance to take charge at the end of games…when the “star” is supposed to want the ball and last shot.
• He denied responsibility for shirking this responsibility, by saying he wasn’t a ball hog and just was passing the ball to the “open” player
• He never seemed to understand the reason those players were open was because they other team wasn’t worried about “them” scoring
• Took the “holier than thou” stance that he was just playing the game it was supposed to be played, refusing to step up, again and again.
• Year after year failed to bring home a Championship…In spite of paying the "right way"...but of course, not his fault.
• Kept increasing demands on management to keep him happy, which they did...they didn't want to lose him to free agency
• Allowed storyline to grow that no matter how he tried, he could never win a Championship in Cleveland…too big a “burden” for even him
• Became increasingly insistent with demands with management to get him the players he wanted…many of whom he got
• Even then, when the playoffs came, he came up weak, playing so poor in games (Celtics) that everyone accused him of(gasp) quitting!
• Never took responsibility for playoff failures, never acknowledged efforts of coaches and management to give him what he wanted
• Drug out free agent signing process…leaving his home team to painfully, publicly twist in the wind waiting for him to decide if he would re-sign
• Made a public spectacle of his announcement on TV, with no courtesy call to his team of 7 years, to alert them he was leaving for Miami
• Alienated many by abandoning Cleveland for Miami so he can have easier road to winning Championships by leaning on Dwayne Wade
• Upon arrival, announced he came came so he could win not 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, not 6, but 7 Championships. Again, Michael Jordan only has 6.
• Continued to frustrate by failing late in games with Miami, just as he had done in Cleveland…Played GREAT until end of game…then folds...still playing the "right way" I guess.
• In playoffs continued to expand his incompetence in the 4^th quarter of games, totally disappearing as a factor, no shots, no points, freezing up.
• Never spoke at press conferences without Dwane, frustrating reporters and others who expect him to stand and speak for himself.
• First season in Miami also loses Championship and it’s his fault, disappearing totally at the end…just as in Cleveland
• Continues to act the big shot role seemingly unaware of his lack of Championship validation…special, entitled, above everyone who is not a superstar
• Still makes lame efforts to, on top of everything, be beloved by all, posing as a humble man of the people, as if he didn’t see himself as KING JAMES.
• Repeatedly insults everyone’s intelligence with interviews saying ingratiating things like '…sure, he’d love to come back to play in Cleveland.'
• Stays oblivious to his role in creating unrest and confusion with his statements…such as how should the Miami fans react to his Cleveland comments?
• Belittles critics as making irrational knee jerk criticisms..."If anything goes wrong anywhere in the world...blame LeBron" ...as he continues to deny that his actions have anything to do with it...thinking he's the innocent victim of unjustified attacks.

He’s criticized because others see what he can’t

• He’s an insanely talented, hard working athlete who is monstrously compensated and who believes in his heart he is the greatest athlete of all time. He may be that good, but…
• It’s hard for the rest of us common folk to enjoy him admiring himself in the mirror as he asks us to accept him as a humble man of the people who we should love as a close friend.
• In spite of his regular season heroics, it’s hard for us to treat him with the same respect as those who have actually fought and won Championships. Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5 but 6!!!! …Or even 11, like Bill Russell with the Celtics! Lebron has 0. So calm down Lebron,
• Even if he wins a Championship, we aren’t going to be that impressed with it if he free loads off Dwayne Wade in the 4^th quarter and especially in the final seconds of the game, since that’s when most playoff games are won in the NBA. If you are the GREATEST…BE THE GREATEST!!!

And even if he wins one and makes the game winning shot…super duper. Get back out there, concentrate on your business and win several more. That way it will be easier to tolerate your self worshipping KING JAMES act!

Note: Hopefully this will help the fine young man understand his role in creating the reasons behind the criticism. 

The Winning Edge is Razor Thin

The fine line

Why do the people fighting for championships work so hard? Because they know they know how hard it is to reach the top. At the top everyone is talented, everyone is driven and everyone works hard. So what separates those at the top? It’s the winning edge.

The winning edge is elusive
People work all their lives to develop it. Teams work like crazy to develop it. It’s scary because you don’t know when you have it and you don’t know when you lose it. You only find out only when you compete. But when you have it you work around the clock to keep it.

Ever notice a team come out flat when they have everything on the line?
It’s perplexing, infuriating and exasperating! It’s what gives coaches heart attacks. Just this year the World Champion Green Bay Packers had an unbeaten season going. They were beating everyone! They were barely even challenged. They won easily. Everyone was impressed because most Super Bowl champions have disappointing follow-up years. The Packers looked like a juggernaut. They were on a mission. They were on their way to win their second Super Bowl!

So what happened?
They lose to the sad Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs! The same Chiefs who had been playing so bad their coach had just been suddenly fired. The same team playing with an interim coach. How did this happen. Green Bay had all the momentum. They came out flat. The Chiefs season was over. They had no reason to make an extra special effort. Yet, that day they amazingly had the winning edge! The Green Bay players and coaches were shocked - they had no idea how they got off track. The Packers lost their confidence and mystique that day and were washed out in the playoffs, long before they got to the Super Bowl. 

This explains a coach’s maniacal attention to detail
They know every detail is important, everything matters. They know in the heat of battle every player will be tested. They know any weakness will be exposed. They can’t assume anything will be O.K. They have to check, re-check and check again to make sure their team is absolutely as ready as they can be to play their best. They know that their players’ skills have to be razor sharp. But equally as important, their attitude has to be at a peak. The frustrating thing is that there’s no way to tell you exactly how to get it. There is no manual on building the winning edge.

The winning edge is elusive but incredibly powerful. 
It gives you the  determination and confidence to perform at your absolute best at the most important times. When you have it you play instinctively, you see things in slow motion, you see the game unfolding in advance. You are in a zone and your competition can tell.

It’s worth the price to get it because when you have it you have an unshakeable belief that you will someway find a way to win no matter what happens during the game.

What Alabama Beating LSU Means for You

Some great lessons for competing in 2012

Many were shocked when Alabama shut out LSU in BCS Championship game January 9. It wasn’t that they won but how they won. LSU was unbeaten. LSU was frighteningly talented. LSU was powerful at every position.

They had even beaten Alabama previously at Alabama. This time the game was to be played in New Orleans just down the road from Baton Rouge. It was essentially a home game for LSU.  

That’s what so great about competition
It didn’t matter that the odds were in LSU’s favor. Once the game began it was all about who was going to get the job done then! None of the past mattered—beyond the fact that it put them in position to do well. For some reason, maybe it was the ferocity of the Alabama players who wanted to redeem themselves, LSU was uncharacteristically jittery as they started the game. They were stumbling, fumbling, and out of rhythm. They certainly weren’t relaxed, confident, and aggressive.

Alabama sensed their hesitation and indecision and kept the pressure on. They were so effective the unthinkable happened, LSU not only got beat, they didn’t even score! They have no moral victories to take out of the game. They didn’t end on a high note. The decision was totally in Alabama’s favor. Alabama won big!  

What does that mean for you in 2012?
You can win big in 2012! You can win decisively in 2012! Things that have stood in your way in the past can be beaten. It doesn’t matter what has happened beforehand. It doesn’t matter what people think. It doesn’t matter how the odds may be stacked against you if you’re willing to compete you can still win.  

Alabama’s huge win over LSU is a loud message to all of us that if we’ll fight and compete we can win in 2012.

Stuff From My InBox: Kindergarteners....

Stuff from My InBox: Frank "Sugar Chile" Robinson

From the movie "No Leave No Love" 1946.

A little more info on Frank Robinson from Wikipedia.