Doc Rivers Advice--"Finish The Race"

"Finish the race". Was the advice Doc's dad gave him. He said it took him several years before he actually understood completely what his dad meant.
Doc said he came to understand that most people fail, because they don't keep going..
They will be doing well, take a look back and get passed, then they give up.
They will trip and fall over a hurdle and don't get up to finish the race...
FINISH THE RACE....

Thoughts on Taking Action From Starbucks

I don't drink coffee but I picked up some great thoughts on taking action and leading from the book, "It's Not About The Coffee" by Howard Behar, the President of Starbucks International.

Take Action—Think Like a Person of Action and Act Like a Person of Action

• Create a culture of big goals, independent thinking and passionate caring for one another and the people you serve.
• Everything that works takes persistence.
• Things that get done are performed by people who possess that level of commitment.
• “The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”—William James
• On Performance—“…an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises—but only performance is reality…Only performance is reality…only performance will give you the freedom to grow yourself”—Harold Geneen
• Passion, Purpose and Persistence are necessary to succeed
• Get the one person—one believer, doer, early adopter—who is willing to take on the challenge and stick with it and over time, perhaps sooner rather than later, others will come on board to join the cause.
• Keep going, keep taking action.
• Balance action with patience.
• Taking actions isn’t blind pursuit.
• Wise action means, we’re guided by all our principles. We need to test and question ourselves. We can be sure that we’re on the right track when our actions are guided by our principles. Wise action requires that we listen to the truth as we pursue our passion.
• Paradox: nothing happens unless you do something, yet whatever you do needs to be thoughtfully considered.
• Enter the struggle, thoughtfully.
• Motto: “Think like a person of action, and act like a person of thought.”
• Principles of Personal Leadership—caring, listening for the truth, being accountable—all require consistent action balanced with thought and feeling.
• Without action there is no life.
• You can’t get results, you can’t experience your potential, if you don’t take action.

The Five Enemies of Perseverance

From John Maxwell’s Talent Is Never Enough

The Five Enemies of Perseverance

1. A Lifestyle of Giving Up
a. If you desire to be successful and to maximize your talent, you need to be consistent and persistent.
b. Talent without perseverance never comes to full fruition.
2. A Wrong Belief That Life Should Be Easy
3. A Wrong Belief That Success Is A Destination
a. Pat Riley—“Complacency is the last hurdle any winner, any team must overcome before attaining potential greatness. Complacency is the success disease: it takes root when you’re feeling good about who you are and what you’ve achieved.”
4. A Lack of Resiliency
a. Jerry West—“You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days you feel good.”
5. A Lack of Vision

Anatomy of a Comeback/ Bouncing Back From Setbacks

Anatomy of a Comeback

1. Stay in touch with your fundamentals
2. One thing you must do in the face of adversity is to be honest with the people you are trying to lead. Don’t point fingers, don’t recriminate and don’t make excuses.
3. Common denominator in all comebacks:
They began with positive energy on the floor, on the bench and in the huddles. They began with a belief that things would get better if we persevered through adversity, trusted each other and worked together.
4. Consistent effort inevitably would turn the tide.
5. Reliance on fundamentals. Don’t desert them in a crisis.