You may find it difficult to believe, but some of the most valuable lessons about life, I learned in high school. But the lessons were generally not in some lesson plan, they were a by product of the experience.
I want to share one with you. I “played” football in high school and I was outstanding – as a blocking or tackling dummy. My only contribution was in practice – being a live dummy.
But there was one team meeting I remember rather well. Coach David Owens told the team that if we gained just three yards on every play we would win every game we played. Now you may remember that football in those days was quite different from the wide open high octane way it is played today. Then it could be described as three yards and a cloud of dust. The average play was designed to gain three yards. His comments made an impression on me that I still hold to this day. If we would make every play count – if we would make every play successful, then we would win every game we played.
The point was a game had to be broken down into its most basic parts – each play. While the lesson had to do with football, it spans everything we do in life. Break the task down to its most basic part and then execute that basic part correctly and you will be successful.
Take life. What is a successful life? It is nothing more than a series of successful days. Successful days turn into successful weeks, months, years and life.
As you are struggling with a big task, break it down into the basic parts. Then make sure you execute each part successfully. If you do, you will win the game.
In Celebration of MHS Class of 1958
Thursday, May 29, 2008
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4 comments:
You post is very good. I shall pass it on to others. Reminds me of my method to try to gain three yards.
I was once extremely disciplined and stayed very focused. Now I'm all over the place and very easily distracted. I walk into my office and papers and projects are everywhere. My desk top is layered with one thing after another. It is overwhelming. The only way I am able to bring order back into the chaos is by setting the timer for an hour at a time and telling myself that I do not have permission to do anything else until the bell rings except get rid of the clutter. One bite of the elephant at a time, I tell myself. This is the way I gain my three yards. Otherwise, I would be in deep dark pit.
My delete was because of a GD typo. Sorry.
John,
It's too bad more people don't think with the clarity of this post. As I told Ouida, "Look out at the crowd and remember that, by definition, half of them are below average." Those folks are hard to reach. But here, they are not your audience. If just one person who reads this will resolve to follow your clear, simple suggestion, that of "short interval scheduling", your post will not have been for naught.
I suspect your clients appreciate the low key, straight forward wisdom of your counsel. I enjoyed reading how you tie life lessons into an analogous story. Thanks.
Thank you both for what you have written. I'm continuing to think about your post, John. Remember the story of the little engine that could. The big engines refused to try to pull the train over the mountain, but the little engine said "I think I can, I think I can." And so he did - three yards at a time.
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