Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
A wise man once faced a group of people who were complaining about the same issues over and over again.
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One day, instead of listening to the complaints, he told them a joke, and everyone cracked up laughing.
After two different head coaching stints, I was presented an opportunity to coach at a dream job. It was the same type of school I was currently at but had more resources, more stability, a much nicer campus, and nearly every key player was returning from the prior year’s Top-25 team. The coach had left to take a big-time Division I head coaching job and they wanted me to replace him.
When you listen to coaches speak at clinics and conferences, they are quick to outline what they’ve done to rebuild a bad program. Most stories present an example to follow or a cautionary tale. In that dream job, I took the program from first to worst. That’s right, I ruined that team in just one year.
Not only did we have one of the worst seasons in school history and a 16-win DECREASE but we also lost twice to the team that I had just left.
#Oops.
I don’t remember the context but the other day I told my mother-in-law that “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit but wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad.” She then proceeded to find a magnet that had that saying on it. It is on our refrigerator at home. Hopefully she just thought it was a neat saying and wasn’t trying to tell me something – but, I digress. [Read more…]
As a college student, I spent my summers as a life guard and camp counselor. During the weekends, the camp director would take the staff for boat rides around the lake. It seemed like every five minutes, he said, “See that turtle over there” or “Look at that turtle sunny itself on that log”. I don’t think I saw a turtle before he saw it at any point during that entire summer. Funny thing is that I also never saw a turtle on my own when I went out on the boat out without him.
Have you ever received a pearl of wisdom? You probably have but might not have thought of it in that way. This might be a phrase that you are unfamiliar with. Webster’s dictionary defines the phrase pearl of wisdom as a wise word or statement. It also goes on to say that it is sometimes humorous. The example it gives is “A crowd of reporters gathered around the coach after the game to hear him dispense his usual pearls of wisdom.”
“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know; but when you listen you may learn something new.” (Dalai Lama)“What are you doing? There are cars coming”, said my mother.“Don’t worry mom”, I replied confidently. “Pedestrians have the right of way”.“Yeah and you’ll be DEAD RIGHT”, she retorted.
“How do I get a good job one day?”
“What do I need to do now to start preparing for the ‘real world’?”
“The sports industry is so competitive, what advice would you give?”
“What should I major in if I want to work in sports?”
These are just a few questions that are regularly asked by students or people trying to get into the sports industry. Harvey Mackay wrote a book entitled “Dig Your Well Before You Are Thirsty”. It was primarily a networking book but it also brought up a number of good points in regards to getting a job, getting a better a job and getting ahead in your job.
It seems that every high school and college student-athlete is using some form of social media almost constantly. With the advent of smart phones, it is easier now than ever before to communicate and share opinions and thoughts. With this greater opportunity comes a greater responsibility to be wise.