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- Will Power July 29, 2010
- The Laughable Life July 28, 2010
- Knowledge is Not Power! July 27, 2010
- Extraordinary Self Control July 20, 2010
- You’ll Achieve Whatever You Believe July 12, 2010
- Your Life’s Reflection July 11, 2010
- Real Self Help July 10, 2010
- Quick Fix? How About the Real Deal Instead? July 3, 2010
- Monday Love June 8, 2010
- To Have Succeeded June 7, 2010
To Have Succeeded
There’s a great little poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson that I love and thought was worth sharing with you today.
There are many definitions of success, and truthfully because we are all so unique, we will all have different ways of measuring it in our own lives. It’s always great to get someone’s perspective on success, particularly if they are a really sharp person and successful themselves, like Emerson was.
Read the poem he wrote and see if it inspires you or moves you in any certain way. I think it is as brilliant and meaningful as it is succinct. Leave your own comments and let me know what you think. Here’s to your ongoing success. Enjoy.
Success
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
Talk About Awesome
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting the Los Angeles King’s President of Business Operations, Luc Robitaille.
Now, if you happen to be a hockey fan, you know that Luc is also a former player. And not just any former player…he is an NHL Hall of Famer. He played for the Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings over his 19 year career, 14 of those seasons in Los Angeles with the Kings. By the time he retired he had scored more goals than any other left winger in the history of the league (668), been selected as an all star eight times, played for the Stanley Cup twice, winning it with Detroit in 2001-02, and had become the all-time career leader in goals for the Kings, lighting the lamp 577 times. Truly, one of the greats.
He also happens to be a really cool guy!
I was lucky enough to get a tour of the King’s practice facility in El Segundo, California, and then sit down and have some lunch with Mr. Robitaille.
He has been the President of Business Operations since May of 2007, and if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve seen that the Kings have made significant and steady improvement over the past three season. Luc Robitaille has been a huge part of that.
There is a giant bottle of champagne in the facility that is housed in a glass case. That bottle can only be opened when the Kings win the Stanley Cup. I could tell from talking to Luc that he really, really wants to break that glass and celebrate a championship in Los Angeles. he is driven and committed to making that a reality.
One of the things that he talked about with me was how important it is for the team to adapt the mindset that they can win the Cup.
I asked him for his own ideas on how to go about changing the culture and the mindset of a team into one that believes it can go all the way and win a championship. He answered by telling a story, and I thought it was fantastic, so I wanted to share it with you.
He said the first step is to start talking about it. Talk the talk.
He told a story of when he played for the Detroit Red Wings. To set the table, Detroit is an organization that has been incredibly successful over the past 17 years. They have played for the Stanley Cup 6 times, and have won it 4 times in that span. They’ve been a playoff team in each of those 17 seasons, and are adding to their NHL record of tallying 100 points or more for eleven straight seasons, including the most recent campaign.
Luc said that when he played in Detroit, the players expected to win, and they expected to be playing for a championship every year. It was a mindset. And it was established by everyone talking about it as if it was absolute reality.
What impressed him then, and to this day, is that when he first joined the Red Wings he was asked by a trainer what type of vitamins and supplements he wanted to use. He remembers sort of shrugging it off, and saying something like “whatever you think is best”. And then he told me that the trainer said, “No, I want you to tell me exactly what you need. We want you to be as healthy as you can be so you can help us win the Stanley Cup”. Even the trainers were talking titles.
That’s the kind of attitude and energy that Luc has now brought to the Kings.
Talking the talk is such an important part of success. I believe that before you actually walk the walk and end up being successful, you have to believe that success is inevitable and let that faith drive you toward being your best. It’s the same in your personal life as it is for a hockey team on the ice.
Start telling yourself that you are an achiever. Tell yourself that you are already successful. Hear yourself talking as if failure were not possible and start accomplishing all that you want to in this life. If you start talking big, then you will start thinking big. And if you start thinking big, you will start doing big things. At that point, big time achievement is the only possible result.
And it all starts with a little conversation that you can have with yourself right now, today, right where you are.
I have to say, after meeting Luc, I am now absolutely rooting for the L.A. Kings. And I can’t wait to see them win a championship one day, and know that the big bottle of champagne is being passed around in that locker room to celebrate the occasion.
Talk about awesome…
High Anxiety
I once heard a speaker making the distinction between the physiological reactions of two performers. One was someone who was scared to death to go on stage and the other was a person who couldn’t wait to get out there and be in front of the crowd.
It was pretty fascinating stuff.
The person with stage fright said that they could sense the fear as they were about to go out on stage because their heart started to race, their palms got real sweaty, there was a lump developing in their throat and they started to shake with nervousness all over.
The person who was jacked and ready to get out there and perform said that they knew they were ready to rock when they felt their heart start to race, their palms get all sweaty, had a lump in their throat and actually started to shake with anticipation.
They had the exact same physical reactions, but their minds were interpreting the information totally differently. How interesting is that?
It seems that the major difference between stage fright and being a natural born performer all exist in the mind.
The truth is that all of life is like that. Shakespeare was right. It’s all a stage and we are merely players. How do you feel before you go out to perform?
Attitude is such a vital part of our lives, and yet sometimes I think we totally disregard how our mental approach to things can make all the difference.
Think about the examples from above. One of those people was stricken with fear when they felt the sweat form on the palms of their hands, and the other started to get excited. One of the people viewed the energy shift as negative and the other thought of it as positive.
It really solidifies the belief that perception is reality, and that self perception is maybe the truest and strongest form.
Another good example is the popularity of horror films. No one would ever come right out and say that they like to be scared. In fact, the idea of being alone in the dark is enough to push some people over the edge. But yet there are lines that go around entire movie theaters, as people wait their turn to pay to be frightened. It makes me think that the rush we receive, if we interpret it as “fun” or happening to us as a result of watching something that is “just a movie” makes it okay and actually makes us feel good in a strange way. Whereas, if we are in bed at night and hear a noise that comes from downstairs, we are more likely to interpret that as “scary” and potentially “dangerous”, so it freaks us out.
I would challenge you to try and shift your attitude about some of the things in your life that you might be hesitant about or even afraid of.
Think of the adrenaline rush as a positive thing before you speak to a group of people, or meet with someone who strikes you as a little intimidating. Convince yourself that it’s fun to feel a little jittery before taking on a big assignment. See if can make a difference for you.
Bring the crowd to it’s feet or stay backstage…it’s all up to you!
