We Have Seen The "Enemy"..... As I have gotten older, it is amazing to me how keenly I have become aware of just how much of an “enemy” we can be to ourselves. It is so incredibly easy for all of us to look at our situations of crisis and chaos, and find the ability to blame others for being where we are. I understand fully that sometimes we are delayed, detoured and even destroyed by forces beyond our own influence…but that is only a small part of our story. We know, alm

Remember, there are only two things you can control: Attitude and effort. Strive to be consistent in both. You will not always have the physical or intellectual effort to succeed. There will be days when we are diminished physically and that will affect our capacity to perform. But it is essential that every day we step onto the field of competition or are in the act of "doing our job", that we still: Believe in ourselves.... Believe in our teammates.... Give it our

We can spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about the losses, defeats, and challenges we have. What we really need to do once in a while is to consider the losses, defeats, and challenges other people have to face. That "vision" doesn't necessarily solve our issues....but it does allow us some perspective that difficulties don't begin and end on OUR doorstep.

It is easy for us to tell others to take the time to better know themselves. It is not so easy for us to take a meaningful inventory of who we are - in such a manner that we can actually find the courage to change, grow, and excel. This enlightening process usually reminds us that rarely do others trip our feet.... It's almost always from "standing on our own shoelaces".

Beware of those forces (mostly other individuals) who endeavor to derail your growth as a person. It is totally irrelevant to concern yourself with the reasons behind their actions.... The only matter to concern yourself with is maintaining a level of personal faith in yourself - so much so that the slings and arrows of your harshest critics can never cause you to stray from the path and fall short of your dreams.

We may endeavor to overcome the everyday challenges of becoming an individual (or team) driven to achievement, but can we maintain our strength on a continual basis? Rarely do challenges come and go. Nor do they rarely disappear without a significant effort needed over a lengthy period of time. And once we have beaten back the forces that want to keep us wallowing in mediocrity, they can (and often will) come back and try to defeat us a second (or third) time. We have to

As a human being, all I ever asked from those people in my life was to give me an opportunity..... As a mentor, all I ever implore of the people I lead is for them to recognize opportunity and make it their own. It's amazing how much time I/we have wasted in this process as little more than "boats against the current" .

How easy it is for us to get caught up in the negativity and confusion of life and lower ourselves to wallow in fear and self-loathing. We invariably realize that immersing ourselves in the cycle of vitriol and victimization is not a place where we can grow - but we go there anyway. We fall prey to the force or the lure of rudimentary criticism, with little more than an attitude better suited for the average preschooler. A True Champion realizes that no matter how difficu

How many times in your life have you been told that you will never accomplish the goals you have set out for yourself? I believe you would be hard-pressed to find too many people who have not been hit head-on with such destructive words. This is, for all of us who have heard those words, the proverbial "fork in the road" . We can either choose to believe that what we have been told is the "truth".... Or we can resolve to prove the naysayers wrong. For one must truly come

The very act of stepping onto the field of competition is the absolute definition of "risk". We put it all on the line and open ourselves up for loss....for failure....for pain....every time we try and reach for the Gold. Far too many people are (sadly) denied the opportunity to taste victory by their own choosing. They let their mind be consumed by the pitfalls of risk. They never grasp the reality that risk is simply another form of opportunity. To become "risk averse"

Defeat, loss, and failure can only be viewed as temporary markers in the Process of Excellence . We cannot allow such setbacks to be the point where we cease to move with a forward purpose. We will discover - when the light shines on us again - that from the ruins we will rise and be that much more prepared for the next roadblock that any CHAMPION will have to face.

We are taught from the earliest age that success in any endeavor is often of a reflection of how well we discipline ourselves to do the things that lend themselves to high levels of achievement. The reverse reality is just as important - maybe more so. It tells us that success is also rooted in disciplining our minds to shut down the attitudinal mechanism that tries to focus our attention into believing all that we can't do. Stop THAT inclination.....and the opportunities a