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Archive for March, 2009

Staying Excited

“I feel sorry for the person who can’t get genuinely excited about his work. Not only will he never be satisfied, but he will never achieve anything worthwhile.” – Walter Chrysler
Yesterday I had the occasion to walk through Times Square.
Having done it thousands of times, I now enjoy the tourists more than the site itself. [...]

Working on a Dream

“Don’t let life discourage you. Everyone who got where they are started from where they were.” — quoted by Gary Pritchard
Are you working on a dream?
From minor-league baseball players hoping to reach the majors, to high school athletes working to win a scholarship, to people just hoping to find a job, we’re all working on [...]

Riding the Biggest Waves

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” – Mario Andretti
When he was just a boy, a big wave taught Makua Rothman something that every athlete should learn.
It happened in a surfing competition; Rothman was one of the youngest people ever in the event. And then came tons and tons of water.
“I [...]

The Mistake Most Athletes Make

“If you’re wasting your time or your attention, then start investing it wisely.” – Mitch Thrower, author, The Attention Deficit Workplace
Back in his college days, Rob Gilbert lost a career but gained a story he could tell for life.
Gilbert was studying to be medical doctor, and as part of the training he was required [...]

The Greatest Celtic

“Winning isn’t everything, but the will to win is everything.” — Vince Lombardi
St. Patrick’s Day marks a perfect time to discuss the greatest Celtic of them all.
Bill Russell is more than just a Hall of Fame basketball player; he is one of the greatest winners in the history of North American sport. His resume includes [...]

The Lessons of Watermelon

“In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing.” — Vincent Van Gogh 
Have you ever had a Wal-Mart watermelon day?
In case you’ve never heard the story, many years ago the opening of a new [...]

How to Become a Genius

“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together (make) genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.” — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
As I write and post these words, it is the last several minutes of Albert Einstein’s birthday. He was born on March 14, 1879.
As great as Einstein’s achievements were, I [...]

Deciding to Be Great

“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln 
This year’s tournament season has already produced an instant classic.
It will be hard for any game to top the UConn-Syracuse contest, which went six overtimes.
But strip away the dramatics, and the game came down to one statistic — free throw [...]

Lucky or Unlucky?

“Some folk want their luck buttered.” — Thomas Hardy
Pro poker player T.J. Cloutier has seen his share of changing fortunes.
He received a sports scholarship. Good luck.
But family financial problems led him to drop out. Bad luck.
He even got a chance to play a pro football in Canada. Good luck.
But got hurt. Bad luck.
He tried his [...]

The Enemy of Every Coach

“It ain’t so much the things we don’t know that get us into trouble. It’s the things we know that just ain’t so.” —  Artemus Ward 
Two years ago the Washington Post tried an experiment. The paper persuaded a violin master — Joshua Bell — to set up and play in a subway station to see [...]