Viking Coach

In his book "Talent is Never Enough" John C. Maxwell explains that there are two types of people you will run into in life. . . "Firelighters" and "Firefighters".

Definitions:

FIRELIGHTERS - people who will go out of their way to keep your fire(passions) hot

FIREFIGHTERS - people who will throw cold water on the fire of passion that burns with-in you.

I ran into one of my "firelighters" at a wedding this weekend and she gave me the push to get this season going. . . So here I go!

First off I want to share with you the next great book that I recommend you buy, read, understand and transfer into your life. . . The book is the one I mentioned above and you can click on "Talent is Never Enough" under my "links" section to order it today!

I have a passion for motivation. . . I simply can't get enough of it and the more I read, the more I write, and the more I promote the benefits of motivation the more I want to hear other's thoughts about the subject.

No matter how many motivational talks or advice I read or hear I have found something that has become quite apparent. . . If I don't put what I read or what I hear into action the motivation is short lived.

The more I profess my beliefs to my kids, my students and my athletes. . .the more I work hard to "walk the walk" and not just "talk the talk". . .the more I find myself benefiting from this idea of the power of positive thinking.

The key to motivation is that you have to make it a habit. Too often, players rely on a coach's motivational talk to provide them with the "fire" that is needed to be a success. However, these "pep" talks are only a spark that is meant to reignite a fire that might be in need of attention.

In his book, John C. Maxwell, explains that ". . .beliefs determine your expectations, and your expectations determine your actions." Beliefs, he goes on to say, are habits of the mind.

So. . . If a player relies on the coaches motivational talks for his or her motivation the spark can easily be doused by a fumble, a missed serve, a 5 - 0 run, etc. . . However, if the player has made positive thinking a habit they will be able to survive these set backs. They will have higher expectations and instead of despair they will react in a more positive manner.

Creating good "thought habits" in children is one of the greatest things you can do for their future success. Some of the best moments to teach these habits are when things don't work out well for your child, student or athlete.

When my two boys were younger and faced a tough or frustrating situation, I can't count the number of times I asked them the following question:

"Is what you are doing helping make the situation better?"

Tears may have been streaming down their face, anger may have been bubbling in their eyes and basically human emotions were probably at there peak, but my aim was simple. . . I wanted them to develop better "thought habits". I wanted them to be able to understand their emotions but not use them as an excuse. My aim was to make them create a better strategy to handle adversity.

The sooner we can help young people develop better "thought habits" the sooner they will increase their own expectations of what they can do. Once they increase their expectations their actions will move them towards success.

I wish parents would ask themselves three questions when things aren't going the way they wish they were when it comes to their child.

Question 1 - Is what I'm doing helping make the situation better?

Question 2 - How am I going to show my child I am proud of them no matter what?

Question 3 - How am I going to use this situation to help my child develop "thought habits" that will one day make him/her a success?