How to Use Visualization to Improve Your Game _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________ How to Use Visualization to Improve Your Game 1. Decide what you want to achieve. This can be the mastery of a skill, the solving of a problem, or the development of a positive habit or attitude. Make this your goal. Winning starts at the beginning. Set specific goals. 2. Decide why you want to achieve your goal. You must have a reason that is important to yourself. You'll need to have a strong purpose in order to commit to the daily visualization exercises of Volleyball Cybernetics. 3. Write your goal down on a goal card Put the goal in your bedroom where you will always see it before you retire at night. This could be next to your alarm clock, on your night stand, or on the mirror of your dresser. Make copies of it and place them where you will see them at various times throughout your day. This could be on the inside door of your school locker or inside the cover of a folder you normally carry around. This will help you to stay focused on your goal, as well as be a reminder to do the visualization exercises each night before falling asleep. 4. Find someone who has already mastered your goal. Watch him or her perform and learn to develop your own mental video of this performance. This can be done either by watching your role model live or on videotape. Once you have developed a strong mental picture of your role model performing, replace him or her in the video with yourself. Keep watching your new mental video until you have a strong memory of it. 5. Each night when you go to bed, play side one of Living the Miracle audio cassette. This will help you achieve the relaxed State necessary for the visualization exercises. 6. The more often you do the Visualization exercises, the better. Shared by Dave Cross and Stan Keller ______________________________________________________________________________ Each day provides its own gifts. -- American Proverb The future is purchased by the present. -- Samuel Johnson _________________________________________________________________ Conquer Stress 15-minute tension-busting workout By: Mike Mejia, M.S., C.S.C.S In this workout, you'll perform a power move first in each superset to prepare your nervous system to hoist heavier weights in the subsequent exercise. The result: greater strength gains. In each pair of moves, do six repetitions of each exercise without resting between exercises. Complete two rounds of every superset, resting for 2 minutes after each. SUPERSET 1 Plyometric Pushup Assume the standard pushup position. Quickly lower yourself to the floor, then push back up with enough force so your hands leave the floor. Land and immediately go into the next repetition. Dumbbell Bench Press Lie on a bench, holding a pair of heavy dumbbells with your arms extended over your chest and your palms facing your feet. Slowly lower the weights to the outside of your chest. Pause, then push them back up. SUPERSET 2 Explosive Step up Stand with your right foot on a sturdy step or bench and your left foot flat on the floor. Keeping your torso upright, push hard off the bench to thrust yourself in the air. Cycle your legs so your left foot lands softly on the bench and your right foot lands on the floor. -- Alternating Dumbbell Step up Holding dumbbells, stand with a bench in front of you. Step up with one foot, then back down. Repeat with the other leg. That's one repetition. SUPERSET 3 V-up Lie on the floor with your legs straight and arms extended. Contract your abs to lift your torso and arms off the floor as you bring your legs toward you. Touch your toes with your hands at the top of the movement, then return to the starting position. Weighted Swiss-Ball Sit up Lie back on a Swiss ball, holding a dumbbell with both hands against your chest. Curl up, stopping just short of upright. Slowly lower yourself to the starting position. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "We need people who influence their peers and who cannot be detoured from their convictions by peers who do not have the courage to have any convictions.” -Joe Paterno ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do The Right Thing - 10 Rules for Ethical Leadership by Cresencio Torres, Center for Creative Leadership It's been all too easy to criticize the unethical behaviors of business and political leaders these days. But if your company isn't among those generating scandal and scorn, consider yourself warned. CCL's Cresencio Torres reminds us that lapses in ethical judgment occur every day in our organizations and, likely, in our private lives. "Ethical leadership isn't about avoiding the worst behaviors. It isn't about technically following laws and regulations," says Torres. "Ethics determines fair and honest behavior and establishes boundaries about how we relate to each other. In that sense, the only way for people to work well together, and to have good professional and personal relationships, is to think and act in an ethical way." To reclaim ethical leadership for yourself and your organization, Torres offers these 10 Rules for Ethical Leadership: 1. The rule of mindfulness. Pay attention! Mindfulness means being attuned to what is going on and then reflecting (without judgment) on the impact your decisions have on others. Organizational mindfulness requires connecting mindful people together to help others in the organization achieve greater congruence between their intentions and outcomes. 2. The rule of respecting others. Recognize and reward the positive intent of others in their actions. It helps create a culture of appreciation and encourages support. But don't leave out self-respect. It is true that you must respect yourself before others can respect you. 3. The rule of engagement. Take the high ground. Understand the limitations, strengths and circumstances under which you initiate and manage your interactions with others. Engage others by being prepared, polite and positive. 4. The rule of wisdom. Let your wisdom govern your actions and decisions. Wisdom is the ability to discern or judge what is true, right or lasting. Sometimes, it is merely common sense and good judgment, blended with a smart plan and clear course of action. Wisdom is usually considered to be a trait that can be developed through experience but not taught. 5. The rule of action. Respond in a timely way to any unethical behavior you observe or receive information about. Stop any inappropriate activity and rectify the situation immediately. Action requires clear intention. Knowing why you are taking action is a considered response rather than a reaction. 6. The rule of power. Know your power and use it well. Power is a person's ability to influence others. Through influence, you spread ideas, set direction, make choices and guide outcomes. All these require accountability and honesty. 7. The rule of dialogue. Talk about ethics and keep the conversation going. Encourage people to understand the full meaning of ethics by talking about it in staff meetings and other work-related areas. 8. Create ongoing communication, rather than attempting to reach some conclusion or express personal viewpoints. 9. The rule of acting without self-interest. Place high value on the fact that other people are actual or potential co-workers, peers, bosses, customers and neighbors. When we act with the best interest of others in mind, we enjoy less conflict, easier problem solving and a greater sense of trust. 10. The rule of listening. Learn to listen. Most of us take listening for granted, so we don't work very hard at improving it. But effective listening doesn't just happen; it takes a great deal of purpose. It's hard work and requires your complete attention. 11. The rule of safety. Protect others. Safety is the condition of being protected against physical harm - socially, spiritually, financially, politically and emotionally. Strive to do no harm and make certain that people around you have a safe harbor to do what is right. – Shared by Coach Rich Czeslawski _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Tips from the Hoop "The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." While I was in Eilat, Israel I visited a factory for the Eilat Stone that they make beautiful jewelry from. I saw first hand how ordinary and unattractive the rock was before they polished it with a sanding belt. So in life our trials become our sanding belt to make us polished and beautiful if we don't shrink back. The Eilat stone is a mixture of: Azurite, Chrysocolla, Malachite, Pseudomalachite, and Turquoise Coach Ray Wilkerson _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aim for service and success will follow. -- Albert Schweitzer _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "At 49, I can say something I never wouild have said when I was a player. I am a better person because of my failures and disgraces." Bill Walton _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person." - Albert Einstein _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Continuous effort -- not strength or intelligence -- is the key to unlocking our potential. Liane Cardes -- From My Daily Insights _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Believe it and you will see it. Imagine yourself achieving your goals, and your chances of making them come true go up dramatically. Imagining yourself not achieving your goals almost guarantees that you won't achieve them. When you talk to people, talk about how sure you are you are going to make your dreams come true, be positive and keep picturing yourself doing what you want to do. Never talk yourself out of your dreams, because you will probably listen to yourself. -- Edward W. Smith _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Spectacular achievements are always preceded by unspectacular preparation.” -Roger Staubach _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ten Tips for Motivating Your Players by Jeff Haefner "Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their players and motivate." -- Vince Lombardi One of the biggest challenges that basketball coaches of all levels face is the challenge of keeping your players focused, motivated to play, and playing as hard as they can. The following are 10 tried and true tips to keep your team motivated. 1. Set a precedent on the first day of practice. Establishing your expectations from the very beginning is the best way to not only establish your role within the team but to also let your players know what kind of coach you're going to be. For example: As your first practice starts and players are milling about blow your whistle and call them to the center of the gym. If they don't sprint to you, they get to run right then and there. After they've run, blow the whistle again. This time all your players will enthusiastically sprint to you. And more importantly, you'll have their full attention for the rest of the year. 2. Show your players that they matter. Probably the most effective method for getting your players to work hard for you, and for themselves, is to let them know that you care about them. Show interest in their lives outside of basketball. Get to know your players as individuals. Spend time talking to them one on one. It doesn't have to be for hours; a couple minutes will do the trick. The point is to let them know that they're important to you on and off the basketball court. 3. Model motivation in all of your actions. Have fun, remain positive, and let your players know what is expected of them immediately. Your players will pick up on everything that you say and do and they will respond accordingly. Verbalize your philosophy so your players know what to expect and to what to strive for. For example: If you tell your players that the best rebounders will be starters, then players will all strive to be good rebounders. You've told them through your words and actions that rebounding is important to you. It's all about what you emphasize! If you're constantly talking about rebounding, you're players will pick up on that and become good rebounders. 4. Offer verbal rewards. Rewards grab attention - players and people love compliments. Whether you're running beginner basketball drills or drills that require more skill, give praise for improvement and for working hard. Occasionally, for significant effort, praise players in front of the team. Public praise is often well received and players will work hard to earn such praise. Remember that if negative feedback is required to sandwich it between positive feedback. For example: "You did a great job hustling down the court, next time wait for a better shot. Keep up the great hustle and the good shots will be there for you." 5. Offer occasional non-verbal rewards. Players can be motivated to achieve goals by occasionally offering tangible rewards like a Gatorade or by utilizing a tactic of the great Morgan Wooten. Wooten offered "Permissions" to his players. Permissions were rewards granted to players based on outstanding efforts or reaching set goals. The permissions are earned throughout the practice and then totaled up at the end. Each permission resulted in one less lap, suicide, or other conditioning drill. You can also add laps to players for not meeting expectations. For example you can set up a basketball rebounding drill and players that get 5 or more rebounds pick up a permission and those that get less than 4 pick up a lap. 6. Coach the success of the team. When it comes down to it, it is more fun to win together than it is to win alone and basketball is a team sport. Your players are more likely to give greater effort if they know the team is counting on them. By reminding players, through your actions and words that they are a team, they'll be motivated to work together to succeed. Often this can be accomplished by verbally praising players that are working well together or by offering a non verbal reward for practices where they work together particularly well. Also, by knowing your players strengths and weaknesses you'll be able to keep an eye out for potential conflicts and enforce a team attitude. 7. Add competition to your drills. A great way to spice things up and keep players working hard is to add competition to your drills. As an example, you could establish teams for a shooting drill and reward the team or individual player that makes the most shots successfully. With a little imagination, you can come up with ways to make almost all your drills competitive. Just remember that comparisons between teammates can make some players feel badly about themselves and can spur rivalries between teammates. In short, it can squash a player's motivation. If you need to compare teammates, do so only to model a desired behavior or skill. For example, "Watch how Joe follows through with his free throw shot, try that next time you're at the line and see how it feels." 8. Teach visualization. Visualization is a valuable coaching tool and it is the one skill that all athletes can take away from their sport, no matter what level they perform at, and use the skill to attain success the rest of their lives. Teach your players to visualize reaching their goals. Visualization teaches focus. It teaches planning, executing, and succeeding. Incorporate a few minutes of visualization in each practice by asking the team to visualize a play that they're having difficulty perfecting, a shot that they need to work on, or executing the drill of their choice. Teach them to utilize all their senses in the visualization so that they can hear the ball bouncing, see the ball bouncing, and feel their gym shoes squeak on the floor. 9. Don't punish, discipline with the intent to teach. Punishment for poor or inappropriate behavior only serves to fragment the teams focus and hinder their motivation. Instead, discipline with the intent to teach your players how to conduct themselves appropriately. Rather than yell or punish players that aren't living up to their potential, ask them, "Is that the best you can do? Are you trying your hardest?" Often simply by acknowledging to you or to themselves that they're not trying their hardest, players will try harder, particularly if they know that you notice. Additionally, discipline with consistency. For example, if it is unacceptable to be late to practice then all who are late to practice receive the exact same consequences no matter what. 10. Set the right type of goals for your team and for your players. Players and teams need goals so that they know what to focus on and they know what to strive for. But the key is the "type" of goals you choose... I'm a firm believer that you should NOT set goals for the prestigious statistics, like scoring the most points and even winning games. Players already want those things without setting goals. Not to mention, it gives them the wrong idea. However, if you set goals for other critical aspects of the game you will see huge success! You can set goals for a low number of turnovers, team shooting percentage, your opponents shooting percentage, team rebounds (not individual), defensive stats, and possessions per game. You always want more possessions that the other team and that comes from rebounding and taking care of the basketball. You could even have conditioning goals like 100 push-ups or run a mile in less than 5 minutes. Just be careful about the message you send your players when setting goals. When used properly, goals are a powerful motivator. Don't forget to reward players for achieving their goals. Know that what motivates some players will not motivate others. It is important to get to know your players as individuals and to know how they will respond individually and as a team to motivational tactics. In the end, if you're involved, excited, and willing to take the time to keep practices interesting, then your team will respond. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Characteristics of a Good Teammate Courtesy of "The Servant" by James C. Hunter (One of John Wooden's favorite books) - Honest - Good Role Model - Caring - Committed - Good Listener - Hold People Accountable - Treat People With Respect - Give People Encouragement - Positive and Enthusiastic - Appreciate People -- Shared by Shane Dreiling How Much Do You Hate Losing? No, I'm not talking about how many pounds you do or don't want to lose. I'm talking about whether or not you HATE losing in sports, contests or the game of life itself. Make no mistake about it. Winners hate to lose even more than they love to win. As the Lombardi saying goes, 'Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser.' Fact is the pain and humiliation of losing often drives champions on to victory. I know it did me. Yes, I love winning and I train to win - but the biggest life-changing moments for me were when I was distraught over a loss and needed to pick myself up and start again. I used the pain associated with losing to help me succeed at a higher level. If I was ho-hum about losing, I doubt I would have advanced very far. I've been on winning and losing sides in sports, martial arts and business. And I can unequivocally say that even though the last thing I ever wanted was another loss, in some ways they did more to influence my character and future victories than the wins. Winning comes to you a lot faster when you don't just train for and expect to win - but when you absolutely hate losing and have an attitude of intolerance about it. This does not mean that you beat yourself up over your mistakes and failures. You forgive yourself, move on and start again. At the same time, though, you remind yourself of what leads to failure - and you do everything you can to stay away from the pitfalls that cause it. And one of the biggest causes of failure is NOT trying again and again and again - until you eventually succeed. Mistakes and failure lead you to greater heights of achievement; they help you overcome all odds. They are not there to derail, de-motivate or discourage you. -- Matt Furey _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Synergy …is a group of elements working together to produce an enhanced effect greater than the sum total of the individual parts. Early automobile manufacturers learned that one man trying to build a car would take 10 times as long as a group of five men working together and applying their own specialties. That`s synergism. In other words: (1 + 1 = 4). Five men working together accomplish more than twice what one man working ten times as long could. Each man was more than twice as productive when part of an organized team. That is what Teamwork is all about...SYNERGY Basketball is a game of the fast break, the give and go, the pick and roll, and finding the open man or doubling down on the big man in the low post and rotating out, and team defense. This is a game of teamwork, of coordinated efforts. Obviously these plays can not be performed alone - the better the teamwork, the better the offense or defense. That is synergism. From The Coaches Office, by Ray Lokar _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Every man is a fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limits." – Elbert Hubbard YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TEAM PLAYER WHEN... •You don't care if you are the one who sets the screen or the one who hits the winning three, because fulfilling your role, whatever that role is, is most the important thing. •You have a desire to excel for the benefit of those relying on you. •You have an unquenchable need to exceed your past limitations • You play without the option of defeat •You play and know, without a doubt, that you competed like a champion. •You understand your commitment to your teammates. •You understand that basketball is a team sport. •You finish playing and only your body leaves the floor your heart and soul are captured within the game. •You will exchange your blood, sweat, and tears for the benefit of the team. •You understand the irrelevance of individual awards. •You would rather encourage a teammate to success than benefit personally from his mistakes. •Your respect for the game outweighs your personal pride. •You make mistakes and use them to improve instead of using them as excuses. •Your ability to make your teammates better increases each time you play. •You do the little things right when nobody is watching. •You serve your teammates with unselfish motives. •You understand your role and strive to perform it better. •You have done all you can and still feel you haven't done enough. •You play with pain without creating a scene. •You give more than what is asked and take less than what is deserved. •Your effort is constant and your play is consistent regardless of the situation. •You think you can, and you do. -- From The Coaches Office, by Ray Lokar _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Top 4 Jump Box Exercises for Explosive Speed 1. Depth Jump to Sprint Recent trainers have adopted a different version of Jump box training that includes quick accelerations forward or laterally in sequence with Jump Box exercise. The Top Exercise for Explosive Speed off a jump box is a Depth Jump to Sprint. Do a depth jump off a, 18, 24, or 30 inch box and land with your feet shoulder width or more apart. We like to do them with our feet in the same position - not with one foot in front of the other. Then crouch and explode forward into a 10 or 20 yard sprint. Alternate the back leg you explode from and work in sets of 5 for each side. 2. Lateral Depth Jumps to Springs This is a more advanced exercise where you land stand sideways and jump off sideways and do sideways sprints. Keep these to 12 inch or 18 inch box heights. 3. Flying Step-Ups If you've been doing regular step-ups - try these modifies step-ups and see how explosive your one-legged leaping will get. Start with one foot on the jump box and one foot on the ground. Explode straight up from that position and switch legs in midair, landing in the start position but with your feet reversed. Then, jump again and switch back to the original starting position. This is one rep. Do sets of 10 reps, and work your way up to 3 sets when you are in good shape. 4. Advanced Flying Step-Ups For Advanced Flying Step-Ups you can jump higher off the box with the foot that is on the box. Step up with the foot on the ground, and then hop with the foot on the box to gain more elevation. This will make the exercise much harder. The elevation should only increase after you master the lower Flying Step-Ups. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why are Depth Jumps so beneficial? Jump boxes are the single best piece of training equipment you can incorporate into your speed or vertical jumping workout. The Depth Jump in its simplest form is simply stepping off an elevated platform and landing. When you land, your jumping and speed muscles must still work hard to keep your body upright and in control of your body position. Once you gain the power you can use it for forward and upward movement Box Jumps themselves can increase your vertical at least 1-3 inches, and Depth Jumps allow you to gain even more elevation. ________________________________________________________________________ Moderation is the key. Don't try to do too much of whatever you are trying to do, or you will burn out. Shooting too low won't get you anywhere and shooting too high will hurt you as well. Sometimes aiming too high will cause our subconscious mind to turn off on the goal, or we may give up before we start, because we feel overwhelmed. Set goals that are a stretch, but yet attainable and you will optimize your progress. Edward W. Smith ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ One man with courage makes a majority. Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in. Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error The above 3 Quotes by Andrew Jackson ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.” -John Wooden _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Responsible adults take control of their own lives because life expects us to learn and stretch. It expects us to make choices, set a course, develop skills and work hard. Life asks us to try things, make mistakes, and commit to a path of growth and maturity. Anyone can get old, but growth only comes with effort and commitment. Fortunately, this is not difficult and brings enormous rewards! -- Dr. Phil Humbert This is a great article by Brian McCormick The winter issue of United States Olympic Committee features an article written by Carol Dweck, the author of Mindset, about the that same subject. In the book and the article, titled “Mindset: Developing talent through a growth mindset,” Dweck distinguishes those with a growth mindset and those with a fixed mindset: Those with a fixed mindset believe that their talents and abilities are simply fixed. They have a certain amount and that’s that. In this mindset athletes may become so concerned with being and looking talented that they never fulfill their potential. People with a growth mindset, on the other hand, think of talents and abilities as things they can develop—as potentials that come to fruition through effort, practice, and instruction. In many ways, the current basketball system fosters a fixed mindset because recruiting and exposure dominate high school and college basketball. Rather than focusing on the development of new skills, these levels now center on showcasing skills for the next level. Players care more about showcasing their talent than improving it. Three years ago, I and my business partner, Ceasor Dennis, ran a free clinic for high school players. After watching the guys play, we spoke to them and tried to advise them. I spoke based on my experience as a college assistant coach and he spoke based on his experience as a high school player being recruited by Division I colleges, as well as a big brother who helped his brother get recruited. We did not believe that there was a Division I player in the gym, yet several of the players believed that they were DI prospects. One kid was trying to map out his summer plans between his junior and senior year. He spoke to several AAU programs and told us about the different offers, the promises, the gear and the big tournaments that he would play in. We told him that he was not good enough and none of it mattered if he did not improve. We offered to train him and get him ready to play in two exposure camps in July. He ignored our advice. He joined one sponsored team for the first couple weeks of the spring and never played. He quit and joined a more local team and played behind another player. He never stood out on his AAU teams. He chased different teams and different events all summer and never really got a look. Meanwhile, he did not do the things that he needed to do to improve and give himself a chance to play at the next level: he did not improve his flexibility, his lateral quickness or his explosiveness; he did not engage in deliberate shooting practice to refine his shooting stroke and make his shot more consistent; he did not play outside his comfort zone to develop a more allaround guard game by scoring on penetration and different finishes in the key. He remained the same as a good, not great shooter who was not a good finisher and was not particularly explosive or physically strong. I don’t know if his mindset held him back or if he was too easily swayed by the marketing pitches of AAU coaches who promised him scholarships and told him what he wanted to hear – that he was good enough – rather than the honest truth, which we supplied. Research has repeatedly shown that a growth mindset fosters a healthier attitude toward practice and learning, a hunger for feedback, a greater ability to deal setbacks, and significantly better performance over time. Coaches and players underestimate the importance of a player’s mindset, but, to me, there is almost nothing that is more important. A player who is unwilling to go outside his comfort zone is never going to improve, and those who have a hunger for feedback seek more instruction and advice. Most importantly, however, is the ability to deal with setbacks. In today’s society, parents often seem intent on preventing their kids from facing failure or obstacles. A Nation of Wimps touches on this phenomenon. When a player sits on the bench, parents blame the coach or pull the kid from the team and transfer schools or switch club teams. My sister is a teacher and whenever a kid gets a bad grade, the parents blame her, rather than asking their kid why he never does his homework. Parents are so protective of their kids that many kids do not learn how to deal with setbacks, challenges or adversity. Unfortunately, nobody makes it to a high level of anything without facing obstacles or setbacks. Those who succeed are not the ones who face more pleasant experiences or lack challenges, but the ones who develop coping strategies that help them persist when they face setbacks. Developing a growth mindset is one of these strategies. Imagine Michael Jordan when he got cut from the varsity team as a high school freshman. If he had a fixed mindset, he might have believed that he lacked the talent to become a great player. Without that belief, his motivation likely would have suffered and he would not have worked as hard. With a fixed mindset, he may have lacked the coping strategies to handle the setback of not making the varsity team. With a fixed mindset, we may have never had a Michael Jordan. Instead, Jordan possessed a growth mindset. When he was cut, he did not believe that he lacked the talent. Instead, he became even more motivated to learn and develop his skills. He worked harder. When people criticized him for not being a good shooter, he worked on his shot in the off-season until he became a very proficient three-point shooter. He did not believe that he lacked the talent. He always believed that he had the opportunity to develop his skills. This belief stems from a growth mindset. In the article, Dweck outlines her Mindset Rules: Rule 1: Fixed Mindset: Look talented at all costs. Growth Mindset: Learn, learn, learn! Rule 2: Fixed Mindset: Don’t work too hard or practice too much. Growth Mindset: Work with passion and dedication—effort is the key. Rule 3: Fixed Mindset: When faced with setbacks, run away or conceal your deficiencies. Growth Mindset: Embrace your mistakes and confront your deficiencies. With those rules, it is obvious to see why people with a growth mindset excel while those with a fixed mindset often do not maximize or fulfill their potential. The key to becoming great at anything is a willingness to learn, to work hard and to confront deficiencies. While the system leans toward the fixed mindset with its emphasis on showcasing rather than developing talent, individual parents and coaches can create an environment which fosters a growth mindset with their kids or players. Praising children’s or adolescents’ intelligence or talent puts them into a fixed mindset with all of its defensiveness and vulnerability. Instead of instilling confidence, it tells them that we can read their intelligence or talent from their performance and that this is what we value them for. After praising their intelligence or talent, we found that students wanted a safe, easy task not a challenging one they could learn from. We found that praising students’ effort or strategies (the process they engaged in, the way they did something) put students into a growth mindset, in which they sought and enjoyed challenges and remained highly motivated even after prolonged difficulty. If you have a player with a fixed mindset, before you work on his physical tools, you have to change his mindset. The mental has to come before the physical so that he gets outside his comfort zone to improve. The Most Powerful Person in the World Most of the world's truly great people will remain forever unknown. You and I will not hear of them and no one will write their biographies. Sure, I love reading about Oprah Winfrey and being inspired by her life story. It's fun to follow Donald Trump's financial ups and downs, or marvel at the movies of a Steven Spielberg. But most of us will never be famous, and that has little to do with greatness. I prefer the greatness Thomas Stanley and William Danko described in The Millionaire Next Door. I love the fact that even after the financial storms of recent months, there are millions of millionaires in world! Even better, I love that most of them started with nothing and created wealth with their own hands. Perhaps even more than that, I admire the great parents, teachers, artists, farmers and builders who have inspired me. The fascinating thing is that it's not hard to live a great life! Recently, we watched Walk the Line, the biography of Johnny Cash, and how close he came to wasting his talent. It made me think of Elvis Presley, John Belushi, Howard Hughes and the thousands of others who made small decisions that led them tragically astray. What's the difference between the sadness of Marilyn Monroe and the greatness of Mother Theresa? We all have greatness within us. Every one of us is born to make a difference, to play our part, and transform our corner of the world. We may not become famous, but we can live with joy and gusto and greatness. Why do so many of us settle for small problems, and small lives? I think too many of us fail to seize and use our personal power. Because we are not "powerful" on the world stage, we forget that we have tremendous power in our choices. We may not be rich or famous, but we have the power to smile, and to persist. We have the power to live with dignity and integrity and ambition. We have the power to be loving, to be kind, to be generous. We have the power to create and live our own lives. My sense is that it helps to have a big dream. My father always told us that if we were going to dream, we might as well dream BIG dreams. I am convinced that what we expect in life really does matter. I think it helps to expect the best and focus our thoughts, our attention and our intention on big dreams. But I also think it's vital that we not be distracted or get lost in our own dreams. It's nice to aim high, so long as we realize that even the biggest dreams happen one step at a time. Donald Trump's fancy skyscrapers are build one rivet at a time. Oprah built her empire one meeting, one interview, one decision at a time. "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." -- Use your power! Hug someone, or call a friend. Spend an hour reading a good book or getting some exercise with your kids. Do it today, not tomorrow or "someday." Take action and use your power to skip dessert or to make one more sales call. Take some action to move your life in the direction you want to go, and do it today. Both Nelson Mandela and Marianne Williamson have been credited with the insight that our greatest fear is not that we are powerless, but that (in fact!) we are powerful beyond measure. Whoever said it first, I think it's true. You are powerful beyond measure! You have the power to change your world any time you wish. Use your power! Give a smile to someone who needs one. Get up a bit earlier, or work a bit longer. Put legs under your dreams and make them happen. Begin today, one step at a time. -- Shared by Dr. Phil Humbert _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." -- Helen Keller "If you really want something, you can figure out how to make it happen." -- Cher "A year from now you may wish you had started today." -- Karen Lamb "In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only by pressing the limits do you ever find them." -- Dr. Joyce Brothers _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. - Winston Churchill _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Unless a man undertakes more than he possibly can do, he will never do all that he can. –Henry Drummond _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Smile. It makes people treat you better, and you feel better. People will be more likely to help you if you look approachable and pleasant. Also acting happy and smiling, makes your body and mind follow suit and you actually will become happy. So smile and the world will smile back. Edward W. Smith _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ "A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." -Mahatma Gandhi _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ America Needs More "Teaching" From Its Coaches by Jay Bilas Fundamentally sound players need to be able to handle the ball, shoot the ball, pass the ball, and use their feet. Unless a player has these basic skills mastered, he will be limited and therefore easy to guard and difficult to play with. Here are the basic skills needed by every player on the court: Ball handling: If a player cannot handle the ball with either hand, he will get attacked and overwhelmed by the defense because he cannot go anywhere off the dribble. To be a competent ball handler, a player needs to be able to control the ball with either hand, and know the proper use of the dribble given the situation. Once a player knows when and how to dribble, how to set up his man to make a dribble move, and has the basic skills and footwork, he becomes much harder to guard, and much more valuable to any team. The best way to become a better ball handler is to handle the ball more often. Repetition is the key to success as a ball handler, whether it is doing game speed drills in dribbling around cones or executing the footwork and handling of a spin move, rocker step or reverse pivot. Ball handlers must also learn to handle the ball playing against a defender. That is the only way to learn how to protect the ball, use the body, and learn to set the defender up for counters. If you want to make players better handlers of the ball, make them handle the ball. And make the big guys handle it in the same situations you ask guards to handle it. Shooting: If you cannot shoot the ball, you will always be able to get an open shot, because nobody guards a substandard shooter. Like ball handling, the best way to become a better shooter is to shoot the ball over and over again at game speed. The motto for shooters in practice should be "game shots, game spots, at game speed". Shooting "game" shots over and over creates muscle memory, and provides confidence to the shooter. The first thing shooters must learn to do is to look at the basket when they catch the ball. Defenders must believe that you are a threat to shoot the ball, and nobody will by that if you don't look at the basket, and no good defender will go for a shot fake. In looking at the rim, a player will be able to see what is going on under it as well. To be a good shooter, a player has to use his feet effectively to create space and get open, and must be ready to shoot as the ball arrives. Good shooters go straight up and down without drifting, and therefore don't have to shoot at a moving target. They have their shooting hand under the ball, and the elbow under their shooting hand. The motion should be up and not out in order to shoot a soft ball with good trajectory and velocity. Whatever shot a player wants to perfect, the proper repetition of that particular shot is the key. No player can get that proper repetition by simply playing in games, but must be made to do it in practice. Passing: No skill in American basketball that is more neglected than passing. Good coaches will tell you that the quality of the pass determines the quality of the shot. That is absolutely correct. In order to score, the defense has to be moved, and the pass is the most effective way to move a defense. Players need to be taught how to properly throw two-hand chest passes, overhead passes, bounce passes with either hand, and to pass with exactness and imagination. The first rule of passing is that, if you have a clear path to an open player, pass him the ball. You do not pass-fake to people who are open, you pass the ball to them. Passing should not be a last resort, after you have exhausted all possibilities to obtain your own shot. Rather, you should pass the ball to get your team the best quality shot. Watch any game, on any level, and notice how many times passes are made only when all other avenues have been closed. It happens a lot. If a player cannot pass, he cannot play, and the ball dies in his hands. Footwork: Basketball is played with the feet, and every phase of the game is dependent upon good footwork. In any game, a player plays 90 percent or more of the game without the ball. Learning how to play with your feet, offensively and defensively, is of vital importance for basketball players at any level, and an area in which youngsters need the most attention and instruction. Without attention to detail of the footwork necessary to execute basic moves in the game, and to create space, the player is severely limited. The United States has the best athletes, the best coaches and the most basketball resources in the world. We need to spend less time coaching, and more time teaching, especially at lower levels of the game. We need to encourage coaches to teach, not just to coach, and for players to practice, not just to play. There is no reason why our best athletes cannot be our best players. If we do a better job of teaching, the level of play in the United States will skyrocket, and the game will be better for it. -- From ESPN.com -- Shared by Coach Rich Czeslawski _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can be aroused by two things: first, an idea which takes the imagination by storm; and second, a definite, intelligible plan for carrying that idea into action. -- Arnold Toynbee _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Two Sides of Respect -By Dave Cross Two instances that stuck out in my mind this week-must be time to write an article! :) Last weekend my 15N team played in our first tournament of the season. In our first match of the second morning, we scored on a block kill. As normal, the girls rushed together to celebrate, raising their arms in a blocking motion and then flicking their wrists down as they yelled something in unison, (couldn't really tell what they said), and then they turned to the net and repeated the motion at our opponents. Oh no....."Timeout!". I called them together and told them, "I want you to celebrate, but we celebrate amongst ourselves, not at the other team. I know you weren't thinking about it, but that is disrespectful to them, and we will not do that." They got the point: Never disrespect your opponents! Not only is it poor sportsmanship-which I will not allow-but in doing this, you also run the risk of your opponent taking offense, getting fired up and starting to play with more emotion. At the time of the play, we had the game in control, leading 21-16, and our opponent was showing no signs of fighting to rally. Never wake up a sleeping dog! It just might spring up and bite you! Which leads me to: The well-publicized Kobe Bryant-Ron Artest incident last Tuesday night in the Lakers-Rockets game in Houston. In case you missed it, Artest was talking trash to Kobe all night, and as usually happens in these cases, it really escalated toward the end of the game. As Kobe stepped to the line in the last few minutes, they had the following exchange of words: (posted by a lip-reader who watched the video) Artest: You’re not ready for me! Kobe: What?! You talking to me? Artest: Yea you aint ready for me! Kobe: I’m not ready for you? (weird facial expression) Kobe: You’re a stand-up comedian now? Artest: See me Kobe: Yea, a comedian now. If you have seen the video clip of this, Bryant's reaction is pretty funny. You could tell he was getting annoyed, and he pretty much laughed at Artest while standing at the foul line. The result? Kobe scored 18 points of his 37 points in the 4th quarter of the Laker's 102-96 win, rallying L.A. from a 14 point 3rd quarter deficit, and thus breaking Houston's 12 game home winning streak. As Kobe said after the game, "You know, we've had some battles in the past, he's won some, I've won some, but he's never talked trash to me before, so that that kinda got me going a little bit. He should know better than that." It's pretty obvious Bryant took Artest's verbal antics as being disrespectful. He woke the "sleeping dog", and his team paid for it. Coaches: Make sure your players understand being respectful to their opponents, and always are. And if an opponent ever "disses" them, lead them to make their point as Kobe Bryant did-on the scoreboard! -Dave Cross _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. -- Charles Darwin _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do. -- Elizabeth Smith _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ "The difference in winning and losing is most often... not quitting." Walt Disney ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bobby Unser, race car driver "Success is where preparation and opportunity meet." _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ To a Child Love is spelled... In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows. Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs, he tilted the top box toward the light and began to carefully lift out one old photograph album after another. Eyes once bright but now dim searched longingly for the source that had drawn him here. It began with the fond recollection of the love of his life, long gone, and somewhere in these albums was a photo of her he hoped to rediscover. Silent as a mouse, he patiently opened the long buried treasures and soon was lost in a sea of memories. Although his world had not stopped spinning when his wife left it, the past was more alive in his heart than his present aloneness. Setting aside one of the dusty albums, he pulled from the box what appeared to be a journal from his grown son’s childhood. He could not recall ever having seen it before, or that his son had ever kept a journal. Why did Elizabeth always save the children’s old junk? he wondered, shaking his white head. Opening the yellowed pages, he glanced over a short reading, and his lips curved in an unconscious smile. Even his eyes brightened as he read the words that spoke clear and sweet to his soul. It was the voice of the little boy who had grown up far too fast in this very house, and whose voice had grown fainter and fainter over the years. In the utter silence of the attic, the words of a guileless six-year-old worked their magic and carried the old man back to a time almost totally forgotten. Entry after entry stirred a sentimental hunger in his heart like the longing a gardener feels in the winter for the fragrance of spring flowers. But it was accompanied by the painful memory that his son’s simple recollections of those days were far different from his own. But how different? Reminded that he had kept a daily journal of his business activities over the years, he closed his son’s journal and turned to leave, having forgotten the cherished photo that originally triggered his search. Hunched over to keep from bumping his head on the rafters, the old man stepped to the wooden stairway and made his descent, then headed down a carpeted stairway that led to the den. Opening a glass cabinet door, he reached in and pulled out an old business journal. Turning, he sat down at his desk and placed the two journals beside each other. His was leather-bound and engraved neatly with his name in gold, while his son’s was tattered and the name “Jimmy” had been nearly scuffed from its surface. He ran a long skinny finger over the letters, as though he could restore what had been worn away with time and use. As he opened his journal, the old man’s eyes fell upon an inscription that stood out because it was so brief in comparison to other days. In his own neat handwriting were these words: Wasted the whole day fishing with Jimmy. Didn’t catch a thing. With a deep sigh and a shaking hand, he took Jimmy’s journal and found the boy’s entry for the same day, June 4. Large scrawling letters, pressed deeply into the paper, read: Went fishing with my dad. Best day of my life. To A Child Love is Spelled T-I-M-E. 525,600 There are 525,600 minutes in every year. Question: How do you use those minutes? How many of those minutes do you exercise? Or do you use the old excuse, "I just don't have time"? In his book, "Fit For Success," Dr. James M. Rippe surveyed Fortune 500 CEOs and was surprised to discover that these busy executives were three times more likely than others to exercise. Two-thirds of them engaged in aerobic exercises at least three times a week. They said it helped them to reduce stress, increase their energy, improve their health and boost their productivity. I'm certainly not the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, but I believe I'm as busy as almost anyone. Yet, I have found that by maintaining a regular exercise schedule, I have increased my energy level, improved my health, reduced my weight, and lowered my blood pressure, resting heart rate and cholesterol level. Thought: Nobody asks, "When do you have time to eat?" The answer is obvious: We make the time. Exercise is much the same way. Experts maintain that three 20-minute walks a week will do wonders for your health. Since I started exercising, my productivity has substantially improved. It's actually made me more aware of my time and helps me to organize it better. Reason: Every moment is important, so I don't waste them. I encourage you to put exercise in your daily program. It will improve your health, and you'll be amazed at what it will do for your organizational skills. Remember, if you don't plan your time, someone will take it. Plan your time to include exercise, and you'll get more done in every area of your life. That will give you something to smile about. -- Zig Ziglar ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ That's Not Fair -- Zig Ziglar …One famous American, Dr. Edward Everett, gives wise counsel. When a newspaper had published false and misleading accounts concerning a certain man, the man went to Everett for advice. After listening patiently to the man's complaints, Everett said, "My dear sir, do nothing. Half the people who buy that paper never saw the article about you. Half the people who did see it failed to read it. Half of those who read it failed to understand it. Half of those who understood it knew you and refused to believe it. Half of those who believed it were people of no consequence anyway." So do not worry about it! ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one.” -Benjamin Franklin _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dream Bigger for Your Young Athletes. In my early years as a Coach, I was guilty of matching the expectations I had for my young athletes to the expectations they had for themselves. I never played favorites at all, but I certainly had higher expectations for the kids who worked hard and wanted more than I did for the kids who seemed to be going through the motions and didn't really have any direction or ambition. And although that's wrong, it really isn't hard to get into the habit or develop the tendency as a Coach. But you have to remember the lessons of the Pygmalion Effect... Kids meet the expectations you place on them. When I found that piece of research, it opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking. I was a Coach. - a mentor. My job was not to accept the place in life that all my young athletes had for themselves out of hand, it was to raise their level of ability and self-esteem and let them know that I believed in them and any dream or desire they may want for themselves. Placing positive expectations on ALL your young athletes is the very essence of coaching. Are you doing that, Friend?? - Something to consider. -- Brian Grasso _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible. -- Anonymous In work, the greatest satisfaction lies - the satisfaction of stretching yourself, using your abilities and making them expand, and knowing that you have accomplished something that could have been done only by your unique apparatus. This is really the center of life, and those who never orient themselves in this direction are missing more than they ever know. -- Kenneth Alsop (1920-1973) By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn. -- Latin Proverb _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WISDOM "Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." -- Winston Churchill "Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself." -- Oprah Winfrey "True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often, and changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance." – Akhenaton _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How to Handle a Defensive Trap by Brian Schofield – of Hoop Skills Some teams are very aggressive on defense and try to pressure the ball as much as they can. When this happens you could easily find yourself in a situation where two or more players are chest-to-chest with you trying to keep you from dribbling or making a pass. This is called a defensive trap. This article explains how effective players should handle trap situations. #1 Avoid the Trap -- Why even get trapped in the first place? Traps are typically set to happen at certain spots on the floor. If you notice those spots and avoid them then you are in good shape. I know that sometimes it can't be avoided and we'll cover those situations, but for now realize that most situations can be avoided by being smart and knowing what the defense wants to do. Most teams like to trap in corners so try to keep the ball in the middle of the floor. If you find yourself nearing a sideline try to make a pass or make a quick dribble getaway. #2 Don't Panic -- You have teammates to help you. When in doubt you can probably call a timeout. Teams want to force you to panic and make a poor choice. Don't give in. Stay in a basketball position and learn to pivot. Every good player should be able to pivot in all directions without losing position. That means you stay low to the ground and maintain your space. I was watching a professional player during the playoffs last year get trapped and the player didn't pivot correctly at all. He simply leaned back and lost his position and turned the ball over. This was a PRO player. It should never happen. Know the Rules -- Once you pick up your dribble you have 5 seconds to make a decision. That may seem quick but you have teammates there to help you. Like I said earlier, most traps are done in the corners so I tell my players to attempt to keep their dribble if they can because it creates more options. If you give up your dribble and you are trapped then you are relying on everyone else to assist you out of the situation. You don't want that. Split the Trap -- This is where you go in between the two players that are trapping. This isn't done by everyone and needs to be a strong move. If you are afraid of contact then it won't work for you. Make sure you are low to the ground and push right in between the defenders using your body to protect the ball. Be strong with the ball and don't shy away from contact. Back the Ball Off -- This is my favorite way to avoid the trap. When I see the defenders in their trap position I simply take two hard fast dribbles backward and change direction. It works and it forces the defense to shift focus. Often it causes the defense to chase the ball and can create easy offensive opportunities if done right. If you learn to back the ball off to avoid pressure you'll be very hard to press. Score -- When you beat a trap it creates an offensive advantage. Take advantage of it and score a basket. The more easy buckets you get the quicker the defense will come out of the trap in the first place. Punish them for what they are doing and force them to change. The point of offense is to score as many easy points as possible and that happens by taking advantage of situations. When a team presses and traps you and you beat it, then you need to score quickly to get them to change. Nothing beats a trap like scoring 12 points on 6 layups in 6 possessions. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Your Bowl Of Light Whenever I am in Hawaii, I take the opportunity to talk to the young men incarcerated at the Koolau Youth Correctional Facility situated on the windward side of the Island of Oahu. The visit to the facility is as rewarding as it is painful. In stark contrast to the island paradise with its majestic mountains, dancing blue waters and proud and joyous Hawaiian people, the jail is filled to capacity with defeated teenagers gone astray because of the wrong kind of thinking and doing. I was saddened to discover over 80 percent of them will repeat their incarceration. Why is this so? In spite of the pain of imprisonment attached to their past behavior, they are still not ready to change their strategy of living, nor change the disempowering beliefs responsible for getting them there in the first place. A teacher at the facility told me that one of their problems is that they never learned how to develop problem solving skills. They can't handle their emotions when things go wrong. On my last trip to Hawaii, I met an altruistic man by the name of Umar Rahsaan. He is a fifth grade teacher at a small elementary school on the other side of the island, away from the jail. While visiting his classroom, I was instantly filled with fascination and excitement. The colorful mural walls of the classroom were in complete contrast to the depressing gray surroundings of the jail. The vivid, pastel illustrations on the walls of Umar's classroom were entirely created by his gifted students and produced a feeling of adventure, purpose and discovery. Throughout the room there were projects depicting the history of the people of the world at work and play. As I stepped into this sanctuary of learning, I felt I was in a special place full of love and appreciation. It was there in that room, I found an ancient Hawaiian saying scripted on a plain piece of brown paper centrally placed on an old wooden table for everyone to see. The table sat next to a window overlooking a mountain (very similar to the mountain that borders the correctional facility). Rich with optimism, its simple advice expressed a message of hope that I only wished could be memorized as a code of behavior by the young inmates at the Correctional Facility at Koolau. The next time you get overwhelmed with frustration , anger and disappointment read this untitled Hawaiian saying: "Each child born has, at birth, a bowl of perfect light. If he tends to his light, it will grow in strength and he can do all things. Swim with the sharks, fly with the birds, know and understand all things. If, however; he becomes envious, jealous, angry, or fearful, he drops a stone into his bowl of light and some of the light goes out. Light and the stone cannot hold the same space. If he continues to put stones in the bowl of light, the light will go out and he will become a stone, himself. A stone does not grow, and the stones will fall away and the light will grow once more." -- Ancient Hawaiian saying. -- The very next time I returned to Koolau, I brought a large wooden bowl and some lava rocks of different sizes. I asked the young men to think about whom they hated or were angry at the most. I asked them to pick the size of a rock that closely represented their feelings regarding this person. "Now, drop the rock into the bowl," I said. After a half a dozen rocks were placed in the bowl, I passed the heavy bowl around the room for all of them to hold. Then I said to the last one who held the bowl, "turn it over." As the rocks poured out of the bowl, I asked him to evaluate how the bowl felt now that it was free of the burden of the rocks. The young men passed the empty bowl around the room as I read them a copy of the Ancient Saying. Why don't you try this same exercise? Find a large empty bowl and a dozen rocks. Think about your last game and put a rock into the bowl for every incident that created frustration, disappointment, anger or fear. Judge the heaviness of the rockfilled bowl and you tell me do you want to carry that bowl up and down that court as you play (or live life)? The next time you put a rock into your bowl of light because you're frustrated, make a decision. Turn your bowl over and let the rock fall out. Then notice how quickly your bowl fills up with perfect light. -- Shared by by Stan Kellner ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2 Ball Dribbling Series Drill Players perform 10 of the following 2 ball dribbling drills for 30 seconds each everyday at practice. I bought dribbling goggles and tennis balls for the entire team which they are required to have everyday. We use them everyday while doing our ball handling. *Pound together *Pound alternate *Ankle High *Shoulder High (pound hard) *Right hand high, left hand low (ankle) *Left hand high, right hand low (ankle) *Continuous Crossover *Push and pull side *Push and pull front *Left hand pound, dribble around right leg with right hand only *Right hand pound, dribble around left leg with left hand only *Between legs and crossover *Crossover and behind back *Crossover and between legs *Down and back together *Down and back alternate *Down and back continuous crossover *Down and back attack and retreat *Down and back ankle high -- Shared by Coach Sallie Guillory Let Employees Solve Their Own Performance Problems One of your team members has a performance problem. So, you meet with him or her to discuss the issue. You describe the problem and ask for an explanation. Then, you come face to face with an all-too- common trap: Telling the person what he or she needs to do to solve the problem. DON’T GO THERE! Granted, you probably have good ideas about what works and how to accomplish expectations. Keep in mind, however, that it’s the employee’s responsibility to resolve the problem – not yours. Your job is to facilitate the discussion so that the person understands the problem and is given an opportunity to correct it. Be prepared to offer suggestions if asked, but give the employee a chance to come up with his or her own solutions. Why do it that way? The answer is simple: Ownership! People tend to work harder for their own ideas. Solutions they participate in developing become commitments that are much more likely to yield quick and permanent results. You can guide the employee in identifying solutions by asking three simple questions: 1. What specifically can you do … by when? (This helps the person pinpoint specific actions) 2. Can you think of anything that would prevent you from doing that? (This helps identify potential obstacles and eliminates “down the road” excuses) 3. Will you do that? (This locks-in the employee’s agreement/commitment) People commonly respond with I’ll do my best or I’ll try harder. These aren’t solutions – they’re just statements … with lots of wiggle room. If you hear them, respond by telling the employee that you appreciate his or her cooperation, and then ask, “What specifically will you do to carry out these good intentions?” From POSITIVE DISCIPLINE By Eric Harvey and Paul Sims _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “People don't fail because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit." -- Les Brown ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." -- Abraham Lincoln Simple Moves, Big Results Push your muscles to the limit with this four-exercise workout Illustrations by: Kagan McLeod A familiar workout can become easy. For a change, try this complex: multiple back-toback exercises (with no rests between them), using one dumbbell. The strategy taxes every muscle group in a short time, says Robert dos Remedios, C.S.C.S., author of Men's Health Power Training. Perform 3 to 4 sets, resting 2 minutes between each set. 1. Dumbbell swing - With feet shoulder-width apart, hold a dumbbell at arm's length with both hands. Squat and bring it between your legs, so your forearms touch your inner thighs. Then, as you straighten your knees and back, swing it up to slightly above your eyes. Lower it to the start position and repeat. Do 10 reps. 2. Squat and press - With your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and toes pointed slightly out, hold a dumbbell with both hands, arms extended downward. Squat (don't bend at the waist) until it touches the floor. In one movement, stand up as you bring it up to your chest and then over your head with arms extended. Do 10 reps. 3. Row and twist - Hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Bending at your waist, assume a bent-over row position -- right arm perpendicular to the floor, your left leg staggered forward, and your right leg back. Pull the dumbbell to your chest and rotate your shoulders to the right. Do 10 reps. Switch hands and repeat on the other side. 4. Corkscrew - Assume a squat position, holding a dumbbell with both hands at arm's length to the right of your right ankle. Push to a standing position, keeping your arms extended and rotating your torso as you bring the dumbbell above your opposite ear. Then lower it. That's 1 rep. Perform 10 on each side. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Margaret Thatcher "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it." ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Here is a simple but powerful rule: Always give people more than what they expect to get. -- Nelson Boswell This is what I try to do with this newsletter. Ken Sartini says I put too much stuff in each newsletter, but I want to give more than is expected! -- CB ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Victor Hugo once said, “There’s nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come.” _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Managers are people who do things right; Leaders are people who do the right thing. -- Warren Bennis _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Wit and Wisdom From Dogs I am an unabashed dog lover. I've never met a dog I didn't enjoy, and some of them have been among my best friends ever! Here's a collection of wit and wisdom from the world of our canine friends. Enjoy! The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. -Anonymous Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. -Ann Landers If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. --Will Rogers There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. --Ben Williams A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. --Josh Billings The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. --Andy Rooney We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. In return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made. --M. Acklam I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. --Rita Rudner A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. --Robert Benchley If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons. --James Thurber Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth! --Anne Tyler Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. --Robert A. Heinlein If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. --Mark Twain Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. -Roger Caras _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
© Copyright 2024