Month: March 2014

There are many things out there that I’m sure you would like to have, do or be. The only question I have is “Why not you?” Is there really anything insurmountable standing in your way? Who is really trying to stop you? Or do you stop yourself before you even start?

If you’re really afraid, start out small. Do something that seems like it would be hard. Once you’ve done that, do something that seems really hard. Then do something that seems like it would be impossible. I hope that you have some good failures through this process and you learn that failure isn’t fatal.

No one wants failure. It is the “not so attractive” girl that has had a crush on you since the second grade. She is the only one at the school dance who asks you for the slow dance. So what do you do? Reject her and wait for opportunity to shine on you? No, you dance.

You learn from your time with failure. She is not your ideal partner but almost no one starts off with ideal. Besides if you were not willing to dance with failure, you wouldn’t know what to do if ideal asked you to dance anyway.

Fantasy sports are a popular pass time between many people.  It is no longer a young male adult game but something that any sports fan can attempt.  For me, the only one that has ever held my attention was fantasy football.  The scoring is easy to follow and the games are only once per week.   The concept behind fantasy sports is a simple one, try to compile the best team that you can in order to earn the most points each week.  There are many different perspectives on drafting players but the overwhelming concept is filling your team with as many “superstars/point getters” as you possibly can.

I have friends and colleagues who spend hours or even days planning out their draft selections.  These choices are important.  Getting the right players off the bench each week and into the game is the key to survival.  It is natural for players to be dropped to the bench or even released from the team when more desirable players are available.

It’s easy to see when talking about sports and fantasy that compiling the best team in order to win is important.  That you would drop players that are holding you back and look to add players that will bring you forward.  Why don’t we do the same thing with our friends and acquaintances?

In many ways our friends are part of our team.  They not only support us but they also shape us.  There are acceptable norms within relationships.  Depending on your friend group, it may be unacceptable for you to smoke cigarettes.  Or if you are part of a different group, it may be expected that you smoke.  These acceptable norms are not limited to simple things like smoking.  They extend out to your expectations of life.

When you add a player like Peyton Manning to your fantasy team, you do it because he is going to get you closer to what you want because he’s an all-star.  Take a look at your friends.  Are they all-stars?  Are they helping you get to where you want to go?  Do they hold you back?

Like it or not, your friends are influencing who you are.  Did you pick them consciously and for the right reasons?  Are you going in the same direction?  Can you get where you want to go with them around?

Perhaps some of your friends need to be put on the bench or cut from the team.  This should not be a decision that is made quickly.  People can serve all kinds of purposes, so do your homework on why your friends are your friends.

Also in a very real sense the internet has made fantasy football possible when it comes to the people who influence you.  In the past, you might have been limited to your town or school.  Now you can listen to leaders of almost any kind, speak about almost any topic.  Who are you listening to today?