I love quotes. I use them all the time, I try to come up with my own,
I read them on t-shirts and bumper stickers... if I'm somewhere and someone
says something awesome, I try to write it down so I can remember it and pass it
along. I was attending a clinic at Penn State probably 7-8 years ago, and I was
sitting in on Larry Johnson, Sr.'s portion of the event. He's going through his defensive line drills and coaching points and he's
starting to wrap up so he turns off his overhead projector and begins walking
back and forth across the stage, sharing a story about a conversation he had
with some other high school coaches and a couple of their players. Repeated how
the coaches missed their high school days so much and how it was the best time
in their life and the "good ole days," (a phrase I now despise) and how they try to
teach their kids to cherish the moments because they’ll never return and it'll
never get better... ... and Coach Johnson just stood there staring at the
crowd and I immediately had that crazy old feeling running through me because I
knew what was coming and it actually reminded me of the way my old coach used
to talk to me... goose bumps. He said "NEVER GET BETTER THAN
THIS??? THEY TEACH THEIR KIDS THAT THEY HIGHLIGHT IN HIGH SCHOOL?!?!?" From
here he went on a 10 minute verbal rampage, like a preacher at his most
passionate, lecturing the rights and wrongs of never looking back and
highlighting every single day and being opportunistic and I remember having
goose bumps and literally fighting back some tears (and even right now,
thinking about it, takes me right back there.) That day, that man and that
speech changed me forever. Without a doubt in my mind.
Highlight every single day.
Opportunistic... I love that word.. and I don't think it’s a real
word because my auto-correct is highlighting it J I have nights where I can't sleep because
there is something I didn't get a chance to finish. I used to play video
games and now I think about it and think "there has to be something better
I could be doing." I had a season where I coached defensive backs (and a
few coaching linebackers and calling plays) and I used to preach "be
opportunistic," daily. "When that ball goes up, IT'S YOURS! Go get
it!" How every single play is an opportunity to make something positive happen.
HHHMMM... think that translates into
real life?
Every single day, every single work day, training day, days with
friends and family... or just moments! It doesn't have to be a full day at
all. A moment at the grocery store where you see someone who may need a hand or
to just be friendly to someone you don't even know! Sound corny? Good. Because
really, the days and moments aren't all about you! It's
about us. They're about the finger prints and footsteps you leave.
And it's not about being noticed or recognized either.
Its about making a
positive impact to IMPROVE. Improve lives,
improve your life, improve your surroundings, improve the workplace, improve
your home, improve your relationship, and improve the lives of the people you
care about most.
Otherwise, what are we doing here?
