Am I Doing My Best

"Nobody who ever gave his best, regretted it."
~ George Halas
***
In high school, John Baker did not look like much of athlete; he was short and on the thin side. Because of his physical stature, John did not participate in any of the traditional high school sports. Instead he developed a passion for distance running and set his sight on making the high school track team.

In his first race, John beat the defending state champion and set a new meet record. Baker was asked how he came from behind to win the race. He responded that during the first half of the race he knew he was struggling and he asked himself. “Am I doing my best?” Wanting to give his best effort, he focused on the back of the runners ahead of him. He convinced himself that he would overtake them, “one by one.” Instead of focusing on the struggle, Baker’s entire focus was on passing the runner in front of him. He blocked out anything that could have caused a distraction. Baker eventually passed the last runner and hung on to win the meet.

John Baker had a remarkable high school career. He was considered one to the best distance runners in the State of New Mexico. He never lost a race in his senior year and finished his high school career as a state champion. Baker attended the University of New Mexico on a track scholarship and continued to excel in the sport he loved. Baker graduated from college and began training for the 1972 Summer Olympic Games.

When he wasn’t training, Baker was enjoining a newly found passion; coaching children. Baker accepted a coaching job at Aspen Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The children quickly found themselves endeared to Baker. He cared about the children, and they knew it. He was referred to as, “the coach who cared. Baker taught each child the importance of giving their best.

In May 1969, John Baker was diagnosed with cancer. His prognosis was not good; six months at best. Devastated, Baker contemplated suicide. He did not want to put his family, or the children through the pain watching someone die of terminal cancer. Prior to taking his life, in a brief moment, Baker saw the faces of the children at the school. He thought about what they would think of him. He taught them to give their best, yet he wasn’t willing to do the same. Right then, Baker decided to once again, give his best. John Baker wasn’t going to be a quitter. He decided that he would live the remainder of his life, asking himself at every opportunity, “Am I giving my best?”

After having surgery and follow-up treatments, John Baker returned to Aspen with a goal to make the sports program better than before. He declined to take pain medication because he was concerned it would affect his ability to relate to the children. Certainly, John Baker was giving his best. The school became inundated with letters from parents praising Baker for his positive impact on children.

In early 1970, Baker was asked by a small Albuquerque track club for girls to coach the team. True to fashion, Baker got the best out of each girl. The girls had become so good that Baker boasted that they would be competing in AAU track finals later in the year.

Throughout the summer months, Baker's condition continued to decline. By October, Baker found it difficult to attend practices. On Thanksgiving Day in 1970, John Baker passed away. Giving his best to the end, he lived one year longer than any doctor expected. Two day after his death, his girls track team not only competed in the AAU finals; they won the AAU championship in honor of Coach Baker.

In May of 1971, Aspen Elementary School officially became John Baker Elementary School. The name change was put up to a vote after the children began calling the school “John Baker School.” The name change proposal passed without any No votes.

John Baker was a young man who constantly asked himself, “Am I giving my best.” His legacy is evidence that he gave his very best. He was state champion in high school. He had a successful track career in college. He had an elementary school named after him. And, more importantly, he left an impression in the lives of many children. An impression they’ll likely never forget. Not bad for someone who only lived to be 26 years old!

How about you? Are you willing to adopt John Baker’s motto, which asks the question, “Am I giving my best.” It certainly worked for John Baker in the short time he had here on earth. Now, I can’t guarantee you that you’ll have a building named after you, but I can guarantee that you'll become a better person in everything that you do. Just as Baker, while running, knew that his focus had to be on one runner at a time, I ask you to focus on giving your best in the present moment; one event at a time. For if you do, just like John Baker you’ll eventually find yourself a winner.

It's your life: Live it, Love it & Celebrate it
MJD

A Game Plan for Success - Lombardi Style

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."
~ Vincent T. Lombardi

***
Vincent T. Lombardi (1913 -1970) would be considered a "heart and soul" type leader. He became an icon of excellence in the sport of football. Most football enthusiasts believe he was the greatest coach to grace the game. Lombardi’s philosophy of success goes far beyond the game of football and can be applied today in any setting. Lombardi believed the following qualities are the basis of success: commitment, discipline, pursuing excellence, mental toughness, habit, faith and passion.

Coach Lombardi focused on commitment. Lombardi believed that when you commit to something, your making a decision to do something. You give 100%, %100 percent of the time. There is no room for excuses or rationalizations. You do it or you don’t do it. There is nothing worse than a half-hearted commitment. How about you? What commitments have you made? Are you giving your 100%?

Coach Lombardi focused on discipline. To Lombardi, discipline meant hard work and sacrifice. Hard work and sacrifice are the cornerstone of discipline. Discipline also means making choices; you’re willing to give up something for something else. Lombardi consistently preached, “Are you willing to pay the price?’ Success and happiness comes from being disciplined, and being disciplined means having to make choices. How about you? Are you willing to ‘pay the price?

Coach Lombardi focused on excellence. Lombardi demanded that every player work hard to become the best they could possibly be. He demanded that each player accept responsibility and be accountable for their actions and obligations. Every player was held to a high standard. Lombardi had great faith that human potential is unlimited. He knew that if he raised the bar, his player would eventually get there. How about you? Will you pursue excellence or are you willing to be ordinary and just get by?

Coach Lombardi focused on mental toughness. Lombardi knew that mental toughness helps you to persevere when the pressure is on. He preached staying the course when things appear to be falling apart. To Lombardi, mental toughness is the unwavering belief in yourself, regardless of the circumstances. It’s all about maintaining focus. Lombardi recognized that failure in life is inevitable and the mentally tough use failure as a catalyst to come back stronger than ever. How about you? Are you mentally tough or do you give in when the going get tough.

Coach Lombardi focused on habit. Lombardi was keenly aware that habits are formed from beliefs. Habits become the unconscious means of getting things done for us. Beliefs are formed from self-talk. Self talk is a cognitive assessment of yourself. Lombardi knew the association between belief to habits; habits to behavior; and behavior to character. Lombardi was a master at influencing his players self-talk. He knew that positive self-talk would result in positive outcomes. How about you? Do you engage in positive self-talk or are you constantly putting yourself down? Are you overly critical of yourself? Are you holding yourself back because of negative self talk?

Coach Lombardi focused on faith. Vince Lombardi attended mass daily and relied on God as his strength. Lombardi believed that much of our human dilemmas were the result of a disconnection from our spiritual being. Lombardi used his faith as a means to connect with God; to gives thanks and to ask for guidance. He recognized that fame and prestige pales compared to a spiritual relationship with God. Lombardi never preached his faith, he simply lived it. How about you?. Do you feel connected to God? Do you allow God to walk with you everyday of your life?

Coach Lombardi focused on passion. Lombardi, once said, “If you can’t get emotional about what’s in your heart, you’re in the wrong business.” Passion is the spark of achievement. Lombardi was able to motivate his players, because of his display of passion. It’s hard not to believe in someone who enthusiastic about what they do. Lombardi’s passion radiated a contagious energy; energy which had everyone around him believing that nothing was impossible. How about you? Are you enthusiastic about what you do or are you just going through the motions
Coach Lombardi’s laid out a simplistic philosophy of success. He practiced his philosophy daily; not only on the football field, but in his personal too. Vincent T. Lombardi’s record and accomplishments speak for themselves.

If you are serious about becoming a winner, I encourage you to adopt a game plan for success – Lombardi style!

It’s your life: Live it, Love it & Celebrate it!
MJD

Keep On, Keeping On

“How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game – a winner or a loser.”

-Lou Holtz

***

The football equipment has been put away. The jerseys washed, folded and stored. Most of the season seems to be fading away like the slowly setting sun on the horizon. This past season provided me with a few memories that will not likely fade with time. The third game of the season is one that that I, and I'm sure our team will likely remember for quite some time.

In the third game of the season, we did not perform very well in the first half. We did not execute our plays well; we made too many mental mistakes and seemed to lack passion. At half time, each of the coaches admonished the players about performing below expectations. Simply put, we were not playing up to our ability. At half time, I recited this quote from Lou Holtz, “How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game – a winner or a loser.”

In the third quarter we saw some improvement in our play, but fell behind 18-6. I was impressed that our team never quit. It would have been easy to “throw in the towel” being down by two touchdowns at the start of the 4th quarter. The team didn’t! We scored with four minutes remaining, but failed on the extra point try. Still trailing by a touchdown with less than two minutes to play, our defense gave our offense an opportunity to score. With 20 seconds remaining in the game, we scored! We were stopped short of the goal line on the extra point try and ended the game with a tie.

The next day in practice I repeated the quote from Lou Holtz. I told the team that they were all winners regardless of the score. We had our backs against the wall and never quit. The way they responded to adversity made them all winners. I told them I understood they were disappointed that they didn’t win the game, but, tomorrow, a week, a year from now the score of the game would be insignificant in their lives. What was significant was the life lesson the game offered them; the importance of perseverance. They faced adversity, believed in themselves and one another, and played with a “can do” attitude. As a result they walked away a winner in a much more important game than football, that being the game of life. I wanted them to remember belief, passion and action.
How about you? What do you do when you’re faced with adversity? Are you apt to “throw in the towel?” On the surface, it appears so much easier to give up. However, whenever you stare adversity in the face and accept a challenge, you automatically become a winner, regardless of the outcome. The fact that you try makes you a winner. There are so many real life examples of people who overcame adversity only to be rewarded with success. I often wonder what life would be like if the great inventors, scientists, entrepenuers, politicians, humanitarians, artists, athletes, and others quit the moment before the achieved their goal/dream. How many trials did it take for these people to get it right? How many times did they want to quit, but kept going. How many times did they hear people say it couldn’t be done? William Feather once said, “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging after others have let go.”

Why do people keep going in the face of adversity? It’s a gut feeling that they're doing the right thing. They’re pursuing their passion. Their passion cements a belief that it can be done. They understand that failure is the cornerstone to success. They understand that it’s through failure that we get things right. They know failure is meant to teach us one of two things; to give up or to keep going. Successful people use failure as a reason to keep going; they see opportunity in failure and understand that failure is a necessary step(s) toward success.

From this day forward I ask you to embrace and live THE CHAMPIONS CREED, written by Thomas Hopkins:

“I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed. And the number times I succeed is in direct proportion to number of times I can fail and keep trying.”

Keep on, Keeping On!

It’s you life: Live it, Love it & Embrace it!
MJD