Persistently Chasing Excellence
Until is usually a middle of the sentence kind of word. Something to be overlooked. However when used properly, it has real power. It takes self control though.
Until puts something that you want to do up against something you need to do. When until is used this way, it can be life altering. But you don’t get to reap the rewards UNTIL you use it!
It is graduation season! Whether high school or college or even pre-school, millions of students will be walking forward to receive their diplomas. This tradition has carried on for centuries and will probably continue into the foreseeable future. The act of public recognition of achievement is extremely important. It releases a cascade of chemicals into our systems that act as a reward/marker for the accomplishment. Our feelings are what drive us to do almost everything in our lives. So the event is important but what about the paper? What does it say or not say about us as individuals?
The things, that a diploma is, are numerous. It is a certificate of completion of requirements. Depending on the level of study, it may indicate certain levels of outstanding performance. It is a signal of a certain level of commitment. At the university level, it is almost a form of tribalism that uses the reputation of the institution to in theory say something about the individual. All of these and many more are things that a diploma may say. But even more important for graduates at the moment is what a diploma does not say.
It does not say:
Obviously this is just a short list but at this point you probably get the picture. A diploma is a piece of paper. In the end it is not the paper that matters, it is you! You are the one who will go out into the world to make things happen. Pinning that paper to your chest to use as a shield against all future challenges is a poor strategy. INSTEAD use the diploma as a milestone. A marker that delineates the difference between one portion of your life and another. The story that we tell ourselves about ourselves is extremely important. So recognize that the paper is flimsy, easily tarnished and not very valuable on its own because another copy is available at a price. However you have the ability to be anything that you decide to be regardless of the paper. You are what truly matters and your continued pursuit of life will be the record that you will be judged upon. There is no other copy of you, even if you’re a twin. Take your individuality and mix it with what you have learned and pursue those things that create energy within you. Build a life that you will be excited to get up and live every day!
Best of luck to all of the graduates!
Pete
In the 1970’s Philippe Petit walked a high wire strung between the Twin Towers in New York City. It was an amazing feat that was a result of a slow but steady progression of skill and daring over years. The film “Man On Wire” is a great documentary about the planning and execution of his walk. A slight warning that if you are afraid of heights, you may feel uneasy. Even though you are safe from any imminent danger, you may feel dizzy or tingly based on the images. I cannot imagine how Philippe Petit felt during the walk, over one thousand feet in the air without a net! Sure, he had years of experience and successful walks but the scale of this endeavor dwarfed everything else. It is easy to look at Philippe and say that he is special, talented or even crazy. Closer to the truth is probably that he was passionate about pursuing something to an extreme level. The use of a net negates the entire reason that he was walking in the first place. Under no circumstances and am I suggesting that a tight rope walk from dizzying height should be be in anyone’s future (I’m one of those people who tingles just seeing the photos). I am suggesting that the intersection of passion and stakes is a place of power. It’s someplace that we need to become more comfortable going to.
Unfortunately at the moment, we seem to be faced in the opposite direction. The formative years of youth and adolescence are spent with nothing but safety nets around. Whether it is literal foam padding to avoid injury or systems that are meant to insulate young people from failure, responsibility or any other stakes that could injure physically or emotionally. The dichotomy of these systems are interesting because they protect in the short term and potentially injure in the long term. Finding the balance of those two extremes is the name of the game. Philippe did not start out on the roof of the World Trade Center. Those stakes would have been overwhelming. His passion for walking the tight rope also would not have grown if he never went higher than six inches off the ground.
For each one of us, we have things that could grow into passions but we are afraid to raise the stakes. Failing, looking foolish and uncertainty are being trained out of our young people. We have given many young people a “safe space” but the counterweight needs to be put into place as well otherwise we do not have a creative space. All creation is messy, uncertain and possibly even dangerous. We are born from a series of chances taken with an element of risk. So to protect our future generations from that risk is robbing them of what is to be human.
As I often say to my players, “to be a leader, you need to go first”. So if you have young people in your life, be a model of a balance in both passion and risk. Perhaps you also need to break out of the foam rubber because comfort and security are things that many of us desire. Unfortunately they also allow for little emotional intensity which is what passion is all about. Go! Take a chance! Maybe even a small one and be an example for those onlookers who need someone to show them what is possible!
Philippe didn’t leap but he had to take a step off the edge and you can too!
Pete
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Today my son’s game had an extremely good referee group. The center referee and his two linesmen called the game very well. Despite the fact that they did a great job and got the majority of the calls right (even the ones that went against my son’s team), there were still complaints from parents. Which made me wonder if people really have any idea what makes for a good referee or if they just want calls to go in their team’s favor? Here are some thoughts to consider.
The level matters – Recognize that the job of a referee changes as the age and the level of play changes. At the lowest levels, the referee is part of a learning process. Their job is more about managing the understanding of the game rather than calling “fouls”. Often the sidelines are complaining about things that are poor body control and not actually a foul. The higher levels require much more reading of the flow of the game. A good referee will identify possible problems developing in the play. Their use of cards, advantage, player discussions and fouls called/not called will depend largely upon their reading of the game and individual’s roles within in it. So as you are watching a game, give some thought as to the level of soccer being played and what the referee’s role truly is at that level.
Perspective matters – By design, referees are intended to be a neutral third party at the game. So they are not carrying the bias that most of us bring to the game. Their decisions are based upon what they see and not what they feel. This creates another issue for most fans because their vantage point is completely different from that of the referee’s. So it is not only possible but actually completely accurate to say that fans and referees have seen a different game. Most of the time this is done with no instant replay, no VAR with different camera angles. This is done live with twenty two players running in all directions and possibly screening the view. Despite these major obstacles, perfection is the standard that many expect.
The Laws are the Laws – A good referee will call the game based on the laws of the game, not public perception of what the laws are. There are many things that are commonly shouted from fans or even coaches about things that do not apply to the Laws of the game. “Winning the ball” for example does not make a player immune from having a foul called against them. If the play is deemed to be reckless, then a foul is appropriate regardless of who won the ball. A large number of players, fans and coaches have only a cursory knowledge of the Laws that are based more on hearsay rather than actual study.
Obviously this is just a small sample but each is worth considering. The game requires referees and the good ones need to be identified, praised and promoted. I fear that many people involved in the soccer world would not be able to identify a good referee if they saw one. That is unfortunate because that means that people are unable to see past their own desires. Most of the soccer played in this country is youth soccer. Therefore the majority of children are getting a skewed view of right and wrong. Right means in my favor and wrong means anything else. The ability to be objective could be lost.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am your new coach. That’s a role that I take very seriously. It’s a mixture of teacher, mentor, psychologist, personal trainer, confidant and many other jobs that coalesce into a position of great possible influence. The word possible is in there because people are put into roles like this every day but just because someone leads does not mean that anyone will follow. A position of power does not make someone a leader. Leaders must be willing to go first. My hope is that I am able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am.
At this point, I could list all of my past experiences and accolades but they are only slightly relevant. Prior success is not a guarantee of future success. Also that term is something that we will have to define together. So what am I offering? Commitment… A similar commitment to the ones that I make to my wife and children. I take it that seriously. The commitment to do what I believe is best in the long run. Not particularly today. Not the things that are easy. Not the things that most people would do but rather the things that few people would do. Things that may lose games but improve lives. Ultimately that is the game that I care the most about: LIFE. Eventually everyone’s playing career comes to an end. The things that we carry with us after the games are over are the true victories. The friends, confidence, self-discipline, self-awareness, and so many others are the trophies that we not only carry with us but can rely upon for years to come. In the end, your ability to control a ball will probably amount to very little but your ability to control yourself will give you everything.
So where do we go from here? Forward! We are going to take the necessary steps in order to prepare for what lies ahead. There is no way to predict what those things might be. Every team and every season is different. So we will do our best to anticipate the challenges and prepare for them. We will endure hardships. Face opponents external and internal. Enjoy the successes but no matter what it will be done together. Every one of us will contribute to whatever we accomplish. From the starting captain, all the way down to the last person on the bench of the lowest level team, we all have something to give. It may not be goals, saves or minutes but there is value in all of it.
I could go on but rather than talking about starting, we should just start. So for now, let me just say that I am extremely excited to be working with you.
See you soon!
Coach
P.S. Below is something that I wrote a few months back. Not sure how it will play into my plans but I’m putting it here for your consideration.
“Toward Full Stature”
I go out today in search of victory,
Not over the opponent who stands in front of me
But the lesser self that resides within me
Before I can conquer anyone or anything else
I must first conquer and control myself
And if today I am able to stand victorious,
I know that tomorrow will bring a new challenge
Each day my ability to stand tall will be tested
But I am confident that I will reach my full stature
My overall purpose in this world is to help people get the best out of themselves. Whether I do that work in the classroom, soccer field or elsewhere is irrelevant. Most of the time it is done through helping people see the possibility within themselves and breaking through the self-imposed limits that they have. Although my messages are usually positive in nature, I’m not against the idea of leveraging the dark space inside each of us. It is probably the reason that I’ve been a successful coach for many years.
It was my senior year in high school and there were no big expectations for our soccer team. There had been lots of talent in the prior year’s senior class and the season had no trophies or accolades. My senior class had only a couple players of impact. The junior and sophomore classes were full of talented but untested players. As the only senior captain, I believed it was my role to help get every last bit of effort out of our team. If we kept the idea that we were all in it together, we’d do OK. In all honesty, we shocked a lot of people, even me. We had an impressive record with only one loss and one tie as it was getting close to the playoff portion of the season. Our record was good enough to win the conference title. Against all odds in a penalty kick shootout we were able to beat a much bigger school for the county title. We were ranked highly by the papers in the area and the number one seed for our section in the state tournament. I’m not sure if it was one factor or a combination of things but we lost in the first round of the state tournament.
That was over twenty five years ago. Despite that fact, it is one of the reasons that I have so much to give to my athletes from the sidelines. Winning and losing are not actually my concern. The reason why that is such a hole inside of me is that we didn’t give it our all. I, as the leader, was possibly complacent and overly confident going into that game. Sure there were other things that impacted the outcome but I know inside that it was at least partially my fault. So I’ll have this hole inside of me forever because I can’t rewrite the past.
The only option that I have is to leverage that dark space into something positive. That cautionary tale that I lived through is a driving force on the mundane days where no one feels like giving their best. It is that pain that gives me the energy to work harder than others and leave it all out there. I don’t talk about it often or even replay it in my head. I don’t have to, it’s just there in the background.
We all have these experiences. There is nothing particularly special or unique about mine. The question becomes whether or not you can use it toward a future positive end. Even the greatest lose from time to time but it is what you do with that setback that matters. No moment is a definitive statement for the positive or negative on who you are as a person. We are what we’ve done consistently. With todays challenges you should absolutely give them everything you’ve got. But if you come up short, take the lesson from it and allow it to propel you forward. Sometime you win and sometimes you learn!
Have a great day!
Pete
You are the ancestor of survivors! Cavemen and women who braved the bitter cold, extreme heat and dangerous predators just to continue the species. Their successors improved hunting and developed farming in order to make survival more probable. Eventually they were succeeded by people who developed technological advances that gave us every advantage and the ability to bend many of the laws of nature to our will. This is your lineage!
Despite that fact, you feel weak, uninspired, defeated or out of control. For so long our species had one objective: stay alive. Now that survival is less of a concern, we seem to have forgotten how to live. The words “successors” and “succeeded” were used intentionally because they illustrate a point that has been lost in the shuffle of the demands of modern life. Success is now an arbitrary term that people often conflate with money, possessions or other status symbols. It was originally about passing something on to those who would come after.
So don’t balk at the opportunity that you have. You are the descendant of people who were brave, resilient and strong. They left us every advantage and that has tricked us largely into believing that we are weak that we are nothing without them. That we can’t handle the cold or the heat or the difficult or uncertain. DON’T ASSUME THAT YOU’RE WEAK, JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVEN’T FOUND YOUR STRENGTH YET! Inside of your very DNA is the stuff that made survivors. Now it is your turn to do whatever you can with the time that you have. Your strengths, the things that you were meant to do are out there, waiting for you. Your belief in them and your ability to find them will beckon them eventually but first you must act! You must do things that take you outside of your comfort zone. Test the limits to see where your strengths lie!
Go get some!
Pete
This is your one and only opportunity at TODAY! Yes tomorrow is right around the corner but there is no guarantee that the same situations, circumstances or people will be available. Whether you are truly in a once in a lifetime situation or simply building the inertia that will be necessary to get you over the mountain that your climbing; TODAY CANNOT BE DISCOUNTED! So give it the attention and forethought that an opportunity like this deserves. If you treat today like every other day, then that is exactly what it will be. However if you treat it like the unique opportunity that it is, you’re more likely squeeze all of the juice out of it. So ask yourself the following questions:
What do I want long term?
What do I want short term?
What can I do today that will bring me closer to both?
Once you’ve identified those three things, then take action! You can’t do everything today but you can do something. Your life is a series of one day sales. Can you become the best possible shopper or leave the store empty handed because you didn’t notice the signs? The choice is up to you!
Go get what you’re after!
Pete
In my junior year of college, I traveled to Ecuador as part of a winter semester program. I lived with a local family and took a class on literature. It was a life altering experience on a variety of levels. Although I went there to improve my Spanish abilities, I can link many of my fundamental beliefs back to that trip. I changed as a person during my time there. One of the simple ways that I changed was that I became the “King of Introductions”. There was no official coronation! It’s an unofficial title that I developed for myself but it was a key component to many later successes.
Two days after Christmas in 1996, I arrived in Ecuador. After a few days of touring, I was paired with my ‘Ecuadorian family’ on New Year’s Eve. For the next two days, I attended no less than three family parties. If I had to guess, I was introduced to over fifty people in less than 48 hours. Obviously all of those introductions were done in Spanish. It was nothing that I had planned but the more times that it happened, the better that I got at introducing myself. With the first few people, I was only saying ‘hello, nice to meet you’. Eventually the conversations got more robust with full explanations of why I was in Ecuador and my thoughts about the country so far. The repetitions were the key. Even though all of conversations were slightly different, each one gave me another opportunity to organize, edit or add. By the end of those first two days, I was definitely the “King of Introductions”.
It seems so simple but often people ignore this methodology. People give up on things quickly because they’re not “good enough”. The need to not look foolish is ingrained so strongly within us that we tend to avoid even chancing it. So we never get past the peasant status much less reach to the level of king. With something so simple, it would seem like everyone would follow this recipe but often we don’t. Any success requires that you:
It’s almost too easy, isn’t it? The problem usually isn’t a lack of role models to follow. It’s a failure to take any action at all. When there is no guarantee of success, a lot of work and a possibility of looking foolish; peasant status is what is chosen. In the minds of so many, it is better to be the peasant that never tried rather than the one who went for the crown and failed. The most important thing for you to recognize though is that the walls between you and the crown are usually built by you. The world offers all kinds of riches and above is the plan for how to get any of them. We just need to be willing to follow it long enough to get them!
It’s good to be the king!
Pete
In about a month and a half, I’ll be moving to Virginia. It’s an exciting time! Filled with all kinds of possibilities. While we’re looking forward to that future, we must first deal with the daunting task of moving all (or most or some) of our stuff. The process of packing is a necessary evil where you must decide what is going with you and what things just need to go! Some people have trouble letting go of the things that they’ve accumulated over the years. For better or worse, we get attached to things from the past and have trouble letting go.
The same holds true for the events from our past. Some are vital and need to be packed in bubble wrap to make sure that they never get damaged. While others should be sold at a garage sale or taken to the dump. It’s difficult though. Somehow the events of our lives feel like part of us and letting go of anything seems like a mild betrayal to who we really are. Much like the physical moving, the weight of carrying the past into the future is a consideration to be made.
Since we are talking about emotional weight rather than the physical, the process for unloading or putting old memories into deep storage is different. It is actually the process of making the memories that support the new future bigger/more important or re-purposing those unhelpful memories. Talk about, envision and feel the stories from your past that you want to carry forward with more intensity and belief that it is who you are. Let the less than helpful ones fade or flip them to support where you are going rather than where you’ve been. That breakup or firing does not need to be a scar on your self-esteem. It can be a rallying cry for better performance in the future. Those “small” accomplishments that you overlook when you discuss what you’ve done can be made larger and more vivid. It is simply a process of focusing on it in a different way.
So regardless of who you are or what portion of your life you are in. You’re always packing for the future. What are you going to bring with you? Are you going to allow yourself to be weighed down by things that are probably insignificant to where you want to go? Or are you going to be selective about the “baggage” that you carry with you? It’s all your baggage but you don’t need to carry it all.
“It’s my industrial strength hairdryer. AND I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT!!!”
Pete
Huryk Unlimited 