Challenge+and+Inspire

Challenge and Inspire
//‘The end of learning is action, not knowledge.’//

include page="span_centre"

media type="custom" key="42090" media type="custom" key="37626" Simply a listing of inspiring websites, books, readings and poems that challenge and inspire. include page="span_centre_end"

One Click Away
media type="file" key="New Zealand All Blacks The Hakka"

Braveheart
media type="file" key="Braveheart.mp3"

Global-mindshift.
This is No1. Truly breathtaking. [|Global-mindshift] a remarkable collection of resources. If you only have a few minutes, then visit watch and listen to this clip, [|Reflections from Space]. Please share it with others. [|1/10000 of a second] is also powerful.

TED
A summary of everything you had not yet thought about. Ted is an event like no other. It brings together more than 1,000 thought-leaders, movers and shakers. The unique breadth of content and the quality of people that deliver it, is what makes Ted unique. You can access this content through the [|TEDtalks,]perhaps the [|TEDtalkstrailer] will wet your whistle of curiosity. A couple of my favourites.

[|Why do people succeed?] Richard St. John [|A case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity.] Sir Ken Robinson

John Goddard
At the age of fifteen [|John Goddard] listed 127 goals he wished to experience or achieve in his lifetime. The list is impressive and audacious, but the results have been truly incredible.

38Lemon
Diagnosed at age 38 with a LEMON-sized brain tumor that was widely considered inoperable, David Welch has documented his journey since then, from a patient's perspective. [|38LEMON] is not a medical website. Rather, this is one patient's entire experience with brain cancer, from December 2004 to today.

Rick Hansen
//'Don't look down the road you might scare yourself. Just wheel one section at a time, three hours or 23 miles per session, three sessions per day. Don't think about 24,901 miles just think about 23 and keep yourself going.' Rick Hansen//

Rick Hansen 'Man in Motion.' The plan was to take 19 months and wheel himself 40,000 km around the world, approximately 113km a day. 26-months later, 34 countries on four continents Rick returned to Vancouver's BC Place Stadium to cheering crowds of thousands after raising $26 million for spinal cord research and quality of life initiatives. //'Any barrier can be overcome.'// Read more at the Rick [|Hansen Foundation] and definitely watch the [|'Man in Motion'] video.

Dean Karnazes
On his 30th birthday, while drunk, [|Dean Karnazes] found that he was disgusted with the corporate rat race he found himself 'running' in. He walked back to his house, found a pair of old sneaks on his back porch, stripped down to only his t-shirt and underwear, laced up, and started running. He sobered up about 15 miles from his home - but decided to keep on running. After 30 miles, he had a realization: There were untapped reservoirs within him. Some people find inspiration in desperate situations. The thing is though, it is up to you and you alone to make the first move toward change. Will this be your moment? Make yourself your own hero.

Dean Karnazes is his own hero. Inspired by himself he has gone onto accomplish feats of endurance, pushing himself to reach one extreme goal after another. He's run **350 continuous miles**, not sleeping for 3 nights straight. He's run across Death Valley in 126 degree heat and he's run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. On 7 different occasions, he's run a **200-mile relay race ALONE**, racing alongside teams of 12. Age 44, he completed [|50 marathons] in 50 consecutive days, one in each of the 50 states.

Marathon Monks
In Mount Hiei of Japan, there can be found a small group of monks who live in a monastery and attempt to accomplish a remarkable physical feat of endurance in the search for enlightenment. [|Find out more.]

Kakudo puts a pair of handmade straw sandals on his bare feet, and carries a couple of spare pairs. He also carries a straw raincoat and paper lantern. This will be only the first of 100 //successive// nights that he will get up at midnight, attend the service and start his marathon run/walk (//kaihogyo//) around Mount Hiei, completing the route between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. He will then attend an hour-long service, followed by bathing and the midday meal. After lunch, Kakudo will rest, then attend to temple chores. The last meal is taken around 6 p.m., and Kakudo gets to sleep around 8 or 9. The only variation in the **100 day** ordeal will be a special 33-mile run through Kyoto, robbing him of one night's sleep altogether.

If successful, an option for the //gyoja// who passes the 100 day test, is the opportunity to completed a 1000 day journey, an ordeal that covers 27,000 miles, a distance greater than the circumference of the earth. Since 1885, 46 marathon monks have reached enlightenment. Watch the documentary extract [|here].

Team Hoyt
Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son marathon, triathlon and ironman team from Massachusetts, a rather extraordinary team at that. Rick was born with cerebral palsy and to compete in the races Dick carries him in a special seat up front as they bike, pulls him in a special boat as they swim, and pushes him in a special wheelchair as they run. You can read more about [|'Team Hoyt'] and watch their incredible commitment to living [|here].

media type="youtube" key="flRvsO8m_KI" width="425" height="350"

Wooden
My most shared book for coaches. Neither a conventional narrative, a biography, nor a how-to book on basketball. It is instead a compilation of the tenets and teachings of arguably the greatest basketball coach of all time. His focus was not on winning (outscoring your opponent), but on preparation, on reaching your own level of competency, and on emphasizing teamwork over individiual focus (to a degree that would be hard to imagine in today's game).
 * A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off by John Wooden.**

Man's Search for Meaning
‘It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual,’ Viktor Frankl
 * Viktor Frankl**

Slaying the Dragon
**Michael Johnson**
 * (How to Turn Your Small Steps to Great Feats)**

media type="file" key="PE Podcast Goals Michael Johnson.mp3" 'There are challenges we can all skate through, days when we get by because of our natural ability or low expectations placed upon us. But you will find that self-discipline becomes especially vital at two very different and equally important points in your journey: when the goal is to finish first, and when the goal is just to finish,' Michael Johnson. media type="file" key="PE%20Podcast%20Goals%20Michael%20Johnson.mp3"

Its Not About the Bike
media type="file" key="Glad to be Alive.mp3"
 * Lance Armstrong**

'The real reward for pain is self-knowledge. If I quit, however it would have lasted forever, that surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, would have stayed with me for the duration. When you felt like quitting, you had to ask yourself which you would rather live with?' Lance Armstrong

//'//To continue believing in yourself, believing in the doctors, believing in the treatment, believing in whatever I chose to believe in, that was the most important thing, I decided. It had to be." "Without belief, we would be left with nothing but an overwhelming doom, every single day. And it will beat you. I didn't fully see, until the cancer, how we fight every day against the creeping negatives of the world, how we struggle daily against the slow lapping of cynicism. Dispiritedness and disappointment, these are the real perils of life, not some sudden illness or cataclysmic millennium doomsday. I knew now why people fear cancer: because it is a slow and inevitable death, it is the very definition of cynicism and loss of spirit... So, I believed.’

Sacred Hoops
**Spiritual Lessons of Hardwood Warrior** 'Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball.' Phil Jackson

One of the most successful coaches in NBA history, Phil Jackson provides an inside look at the higher wisdom of teamwork and mindful basketball. Filled with stories on how Jackson directed his players to act with a clear mind; to respect the enemy and be aggressive without anger or violence; to live in the moment and stay calmly focused in the midst of chaos. Mindful basketball.

//'Trying to get everyone uniting at the same beat, same rhythm, same mood, that's when everything becomes perfect," **says Phil Jackson on ESPN Classic's SportsCentury series. 1174649497**//

Touching the Void
'The closer you are to death. The more you realize you are alive.' //Joe Simpson's account of physical endeavor. [|Touching The Void] is an astounding true story of one man's survival against seemingly insurmountable odds. This story is told with such graphic truth that you can almost feel his agony and share his despair. You are there with him on the mountain, book first, film second.//
 * Joe Simpson**

The Damage Done
**Warren Fellows** In 1978 Warren Fellows was convicted of heroin trafficking and sentenced to life imprisonment in the notorious Bang Kwang prison. It was the beginning of 12 years of physical and emotional torture. It is not a plea for forgiveness nor his denial of guilt, but a story of endurance and survival and the abuse of human rights during the decade of a life wasted.
 * (Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison)**

Pat Tillman
Patrick Daniel Tillman, Jr. was an American football player who left his professional sports career and multi million dollar contract to enlisted in the United States Army so that he could serve with his brother in Iraq. A story of choices, honour and values.

100 Ways to Motivate Yourself: Change Your Life Forever
'13. Become a performer: We do not sing because we are happy. We are happy because we sing.' //Steve Chandler gives you the 100 most effective ways to turn your defeatist attitudes into optimistic, enthusiastic accomplishments. Steve includes many reflections on youth and academic experiences.//
 * Steve Chandler**

Blink
//It's a book about rapid cognition, about the kind of thinking that happens in a blink of an eye, the concept of how fast we really do make judgments or 'thin slicing.' How deeper analysis can sometimes provide less information than more. It is all about cognitive speed. You can find him at [|TEDtalks] as well.//
 * [|Malcolm Gladwell]**

The Prophet
The book is written as a series of passages; the format is that of a "Prophet" answering questions on life. The passages are short but profound and leave your vision of this world subtly enriched.
 * [[image:http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0330319728.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg width="95" height="82" align="left"]]Kahlil Gibran**

The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari
A great story full of meaning and it reminds you that living a balanced life is important. It tells the story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life following a near fatal heart attack.
 * [[image:http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0007179731.02._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg width="98" height="84" align="left"]]Robin Sharma**

The Way of the Champion
'Knowing yourself as a person and athlete is more important than knowing your opponent.' Jerry Lynch encourages readers to develop the capacities and qualities that typify Champions, notably courage, fortitude, determination, perseverance, tenacity, self-awareness, integrity, the ability to take risks, and the ability to learn from failure.
 * [[image:http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0804837147.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg width="99" height="94" align="left"]]Jerry Lynch**

Thinking Body, Dancing Mind
**Jerry Lynch** "Thinking body, dancing mind" shows you that all you have within you is all that you need to be and to do anything you wish. Jerry Lynch provide many exercises and tools to support athletes including visualization, focusing, and centering. Examples of how athletes and others have benefited by incorporating elements of Taosports are included throughout. A must read for those easily distracted by the arena of competition.

Catch Them Being Good
DiCicco coached the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team to victory in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Hacker is a psychology consultant for the team. Primarily written in DiCicco's enthusiastic voice, the book's practical advice covers forming a team, nurturing exceptional players; criticizing and motivating effectively; working with parents; and evaluating one's own coaching performance.
 * [[image:http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0142003352.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_AA240_.jpg width="105" height="94" align="left" link="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/0142003352/ref=dp_image_0/203-5217898-6355900?ie=UTF8&n=266239&s=books"]]Tony Dicicco and Colleen Hacker**

Lion or Gazelle
'Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.'

What is your Deepest Fear?
‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.'

Serenity Prayer
'Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference,' //attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr.//

Opportunity
'Some people will be as lazy as you allow them to be. Stern measures may be the only way to reform them. When a mother eagle is pregnant she builds an aerie high up on the ledge of a cliff. There she births and nurtures her young hatchlings. When the mother decides they’ve lived long enough in the nest, she lifts them up with her beak and drops them over the edge. It’s a long way down. Those who wish to fly have a golden opportunity to learn. The lazy ones are in for a big surprise,' Bobby Bowden.

//**(The Chinese use the symbols for opportunity and danger to represent the word crisis.)**//

Believe in Bumblebees
Scientists interested in how the bumblebee navigates to and from the hive discovered that aerodynamically the bee should not be able to fly. Their body is too large and creates too much drag and their wings aren't big or powerful enough to get that much weight off the ground. Apparently this research was done in Switzerland or Germany, regardless the point of the story: the bumblebee doesn't know any of that stuff so just gets on with business collecting pollen and is obviously a wonderful flyer!! Despite what people might tell you, you can be as good as YOU want to be. Alan Kirkup.

Your Life is Too Complicated.
Your life is too complicated - simplify, simplify. Your life is too complicated - simplify. Life is too complicated - simplify. Life is complicated - simplify. Life's complicated - simplify. Life: complicated. Simplify. Life: simplify. Simplify. Simple.

The Struggle is Part of the Conquest.
A young man was sitting, working at his desk, when he noticed a butterfly on his window sill trying to break free from its cocoon. As the hours past he watched the butterfly struggling to break free and started to feel sorry for the determined insect. So he went to help the butterfly and gently broke open the cocoon, leaving the butterfly there to fly out. Later that day he notices the butterfly was still there and that it was walking along the window sill, but not flying. The point is, the butterfly could not fly and never would. The young man failed to realise that when a butterfly is coming out of a cocoon it is meant to struggle so the fluids in it's wings could drain and the wings would become strong. Since the young man helped the butterfly it hadn’t had to struggle and instead of being strong it was unable fly. Life is designed to build strength, the struggle is an important part of the conquest.

The Competitor
‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’
 * Theodore Roosevelt**

The Power of Not Knowing
A cowboy rode into town and stopped at a saloon for a drink. Unfortunately, the locals had a habit of picking on strangers. When he finished his drink, he found his horse had been stolen. He went back into the bar and with a quick move of his hands, he flipped his guns into the air, caught them above his head without even looking and fired at the ceiling. "Which one of you sidewinders stole my horse!?" he yelled. No one answered. "Alright, I'm gonna have anotha beer, and if my horse ain't back outside by the time I finish, I'm gonna do what I dun in Texas! And I don't like to have to do what I dun in Texas!" Some of the locals shifted restlessly. He had another beer, walked outside, and his horse was back! As he swung up into the saddle and started to ride out of town, the bartender ran out of the saloon and asked, "Say partner, before you go... what happened in Texas?" The cowboy turned back and said, "I walked home."

Making a Difference
An old man went walking along the beach at dawn. Ahead of him what he saw a young man running, rhythmically bending down to pick up a starfish and throw it into the sea. The old man gazed in wonder as the young man rescuing hundreds of individual starfish, throwing them back into the water. The man approached the boy and said, "Young man, what are you doing? This appears to be a waste of your time?" The boy replied, "I'm just trying to save the starfish. You see, if these starfish are left in the sun they will most assuredly die." "But son, don't you realize that there are thousands of miles of beach and millions of starfish. How can your single effort possibly make any difference?" The young man looked down at the starfish in his hand and threw it to safety in the sea. Looking up, he said to the old man, "Sir, it makes a difference to that one."

Making Decisions
If a task is important and urgent, then we should be doing it now. If a task is important but not urgent, then plan it. If a task is not important and urgent, then don’t be tempted. If a task is not important and not urgent, then don’t do it.

The Longer I Live.
Charles Swindoll ‘The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our attitudes.’

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
‘This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.’

The Space Between the Wheels.
Chen Chen 'See beyond what is seen.' In the 3rd century BC, the Chinese emperor Liu Bang celebrated his consolidation of China with a banquet, where he sat surrounded by his nobles and military and political experts. Since Liu Bang was neither noble by birth nor an expert in military or political affairs, some of the guests asked one of the military experts, Chen Cen, why Liu Bang was the emperor. In a contemporary setting, the question would probably have been: ‘What added value does Liu Bang bring to the party?’ Chen Cen's response was to ask the questioner a question in return: ‘What determines the strength of a wheel?’ One guest suggested that the strength of the wheel was in its spokes, but Chen Cen countered that two sets of spokes of identical strength did not necessarily make wheels of identical strength. On the contrary, the strength was also affected by the spaces between the spokes, and determining the spaces was the true art of the wheelwright. Thus, while the spokes represent the collective resources necessary to an organization's success-and the resources that the leader lacks-the spaces represent the autonomy for followers to grow into leaders themselves. In sum, holding together the diversity of talents necessary for organizational success is what distinguishes a successful leader from an unsuccessful one: Leaders don't need to be perfect, but they do have to recognize that their own limitations will ultimately doom them to failure unless they rely upon their subordinate leaders and followers to fill in the gaps. So find a good wheelwright and start the organizational wheel moving. In effect, leadership is the property and consequence of a community, rather than the property and consequence of an individual leader.

Your Time at College.
[|Achaan Cha] looked down and smiled faintly. He picked up the glass of drinking water to his left. Holding it up, he said “You see this goblet? To me it is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on a shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters." "Of course." I hear you responsd. But understand this, only when you think that the glass is already broken, is its true valued revealed. Is every moment with it is precious.”

Mr Meant
'Mr Meant has a comrade, and his name is didn’t do. Have you ever has the chance to meet them? Did they ever call on you? These two fellows lived together, in the house of never win. And I am told house is haunted by the ghost of what might have been.’

Hope
'In 1957, Dr. C. P. Richter of the Psychobiological Laboratory of Johns Hopkins Medical School carried out an experiment that attempted to measure the motivational effect of hope. The experiments involved placing rats into cylinders of water thirty inches deep and eight inches wide. After a short time, half the rats were momentarily rescued -- lifted out the of the cylinder for a few seconds, then put back into the water. The other half were not. The group that was given hope swam for more than three days. The other rats drowned almost immediately.'

Remember This
Remember this your lifetime through, tomorrow there will be more to do. And failure waits for all who stay with some success made yesterday. Tomorrow you must try once more, and even harder than before.

The Indispensable Man
Sometimes when you're feeling important Sometimes when your ego's in bloom Sometimes when you take it for granted You're the most informed man in the room.

Sometimes when you feel that your leaving Would leave an unfillable hole Just follow these simple instructions And see how it humbles your soul

Take a bucket and fill it with water Put your hands in up to the wrist Pull them out and the hole that you leave Is just how much you would be missed

Splash all you please as you enter Stir up all the water galore But stop, and in that split moment It looks just the same as before

The moral of this is quite simple Do just the best that you can Be proud of yourself but remember There is no indispensable man

What I Asked and What I Got.
I asked for strength, that I might achieve, I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things, I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy, I was given poverty, that I might be wise. I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of others. I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life, I was given life, that I might enjoy all things I got nothing that I asked for—but everything I had hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all people, most richly blessed.

Lead By Example
A mother once brought her little girl to Gandhi and asked him, “will you tell my girl not to eat sugar?” “Bring her back to me in three weeks,” Gandhi replied. When the mother returned with the girl in three weeks, Gandhi told her, “don’t eat sugar; it is not good for you.” Why did you wait three weeks to tell her that?” asked the mother. “Because,” said Gandhi, “three weeks ago I was eating sugar.” = =

Highest Rated Attributes of Fortune 500 CEOs
Decisiveness Leadership Integrity Enthusiasm Imagination Willingness to work hard Analytical ability Understanding others Ability to spot opportunity Ability to face adversity

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
'Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know.'

Yogi Berra
'The future ain't what it used to be.'
 * Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra** is a former MLB player and manager. He played almost his entire career for the New York Yankees and was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame 1972. Berra, who quit school in the eighth grade, has a tendency toward [|malapropism] and fracturing the English language in highly provocative, interesting ways. Simultaneously denying and confirming his reputation, Berra once stated, "I never said half the things I really said." (See [|Yogiisms].)

= =

Never Stop Trying
‘Today you must do more than is required of you. Never think that you have done enough or that your job is finished. There is always something that can be done, something that can help ensure victory. You cant let others be responsible for getting you started. You must be a self starter. You must possess that spark of the individual initiative that sets the leader apart from the led. Self motivation is the key to being one step ahead of everyone else and standing head and shoulders above the crowd. Once you get going don’t stop. Always be on the look out for the chance to do something better. Never stop trying to fill yourself with the warrior spirit and send the warrior into action.’ **General Patton.**

What it takes to be No 1
'Winning is not a sometimes thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. you've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.

Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is. It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat. I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.'
 * Vince Lombardi**

Persistence
As a young man, **Abraham Lincoln** went to war a captain and returned a private. Afterwards, he was a failure as a businessman. As a lawyer in Springfield, he was too impractical and temperamental to be a success.
 * Winston Churchill** failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62.
 * Socrates** was called "an immoral corrupter of youth" and continued to corrupt even after a sentence of death was imposed on him.
 * Sigmund Freud** was booed from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe.
 * Thomas Edison's** teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive."
 * Albert Einstein** did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7.
 * Henry Ford** failed and went broke five times before he succeeded
 * Kurt Warner** bagged groceries, played Arena ball, then American Football in NFL Europe before posting one of the best individual seasons in NFL history and Super Bowl success to boot.

The Bamboo Story
You prepare the soil, pick the right spot, then plant the Chinese Bamboo seed. You water it and wait. You wait an entire year and..... nothing appears. No bud, no twig, nothing. So you keep watering and protecting the area and taking care of the future plant, and you wait some more. You wait another year and still, nothing happens. You are a persistent person not prone to giving up, so you keep on watering. Another year passes,you check the soil and, and there is still no sign of growth.

It has been three years. Should you give up? Someone told you that it might take a while to really see the fruits of your efforts, so you keep on, keeping on. More water, more care. You even offer a few kind words to encourage growth. Another year passes. You look around at all the other plants growing in the garden, their stunning beauty. No sign of a bamboo shoot.

So you begin year number five with the same passion as day number one, albeit deflated. You water, you wait. You keep watering and you keep waiting. You water some more and then, sometime during the fifth year.... could it be? Is it really? There, just showing through the dirt. The following day you return and you are left amazed, the bamboo has grown more in 24 hours than in the previous five years. In the six weeks that follow, it continues to grow approximately three feet every day, until it is over 80 feet tall! Yes, 80 feet in six weeks! Well, not really. It is 80 feet in five years.

The point is simple. If you had given up for even the shortest period of time, there would be no tree. The bamboo has spent the five years growing its extensive root network, in preparating for this explosive growth. Those roots made the bamboo strong enough, before it even made pursuit for the sun. Not all rewards are immediately achieved.

Pay it Forward. (2000)
Schoolboy Trevor McKinney (Joel Osment is given a project to complete by his social studies teacher Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey). His task is to come up with a plan that will change the world through direct action. On his way home from school later that day, Trevor notices a homeless man, Jerry and decides to make a difference to Jerry's life. Trevor then comes up with the plan to "pay it forward" by doing a good deed for three people who must in turn each do good deeds for three other people.

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced. Watch the trailer [|here].

The Pursuit of Happiness
This movie will challenge your visions of family, business and society. Enter the [|film site].

'Dont let somebody tell you you cant do something. You got a dream and you gotta protect it. If you want something. Go get it. Period.' Chris Gardener

'Hey dad, you wanna hear something funny? There was a man who was drowning, and a boat came, and the man on the boat said "Do you need help?" and the man said "God will save me". Then another boat came and he tried to help him, but he said "God will save me", then he drowned and went to Heaven. Then the man told God, "God, why didn't you save me?" and God said "I sent you two boats, you dummy!"

Coach Carter (2005)
Ken Carter, owner of Carter Sporting Goods, takes over the coaching job at Richmond High School, where their basketball team 'The Oilers' struggling. As much dismayed by the poor attitudes of his players as well as their dismal play performance, Carter sets about to change both.

Links Psychology of Sport and Coaching Principles

Friday Night Lights (2006)
'Hope comes alive on Friday nights.' The Permian Panthers have a big winning tradition in Texas high school football, led by QB Mike Winchell and superstar tailback Boobie Miles, but all is not well, as Boobie suffers a career-ending injury in the first game of the season. Hope is lost among citizens in Odessa, and for the team, but Coach Gary Gaines, who believes that "Perfection is being able to look your friends in the eye and know you did everything you could not to let them down", is somehow able to help the team rise up from the ashes and make a huge season comeback. Now on their way to state, the Panthers must go out and be perfect, because they may never matter this much for the rest of their lives

Glory Road (2006)
40 years ago, Don Haskins went on the recruiting trail to find the best talent in the land, black or white. 7 blacks and 5 whites made up the legendary 1965-66 Texas Western Miners. They were mocked and ridiculed for their showboating and flaunting of black players on the court. Yet, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, Haskins and his Miners came together as a team united to reach the National Championship game against powerhouse Kentucky. (Glory Road is an inspirational movie but not a very accurate movie if you know the history of TWC.)

Remember the Titans (2000)
'Before they could win, they had to become one.' In the early 1970s, two schools in Alexandria Virginia integrate forming T.C. Williams High School. The Caucasian head coach of the Titans is replaced by an African American coach from North Carolina. Tensions arise when players of different races are forced together on the same football team. Many of these tensions are eased during the two-week training camp in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When players returned to Alexandria the players found the city in turmoil due to the forced desegregation of the high school. As the season progresses the team's success caused the community to accept the changes. After the Titans' perfect season, the team and the city were closer than ever.

Hoosiers (1986)
'If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we're gonna be winners.' A classic tale of redemption, this film features a volatile coach and a former star player-turned alcoholic leading a small-town basketball team on an improbable run to the Indiana high school championship game.

Gladiator (2000)
The story of In Maximus Decimus, however take a look at this film from the Sports Psychology perspective and its full of team cohesion and leadership links.

Varisty Blues (1999)
In small-town Texas, high school football is a religion. The head coach is deified, as long as the team is winning and 17-year-old schoolboys carry the hopes of an entire community onto the gridiron every Friday night. In his 35th year as head coach, Bud Kilmer is trying to lead his West Canaan Coyotes to their 23rd division title. When star quarterback Lance Harbor suffers an injury, the Coyotes are forced to regroup under the questionable leadership of John Moxon, a second-string quarterback with a slightly irreverent approach to the game.An irreverent approach that starts to question the leadership of Coack Kilmer. 'Never show weakness, the only pain that matters is the pain you inflict.' Coach Kilmer

Rudy (1993)
Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger grew up dreaming of playing football at the University of Notre Dame. While achieving some success with his local high school football team, Ruettiger lacked the grades and money to attend Notre Dame, and talent and physical size (Ruettiger was only 5'6" and 165 pounds) to play football for the Fighting Irish. Instead, he takes a job at the local steel mill where his father(a huge Notre Dame football fan) works and prepares to settle down. When his best friend Pete is killed in an explosion at the mill, Rudy decides to follow his dream of attending Notre Dame and playing college football for the Fighting Irish.

Who We Are and Want to Be
Make a list of five people who you admire. Do not read any further until you have created the list. Now are you on that list? Think about why or why not. If he failed to include yourself, as most people, write your name as number six. Next list the qualities and attitudes that you most admire in these people. The chances are you chose these people because you possess traits that resemble theirs. Notice of the similarities, you may possess these qualities in latent form if the similarities are not immediately apparent, go on, reveal yourself.

What Makes a Champion?
Jerry Lynch Champions share many characteristics, none of which are determined by their talents. Here are some of those characteristics. How many of these statements also describe you and your life?

A champion has the courage to risk failure, knowing that setbacks are lessons to learn from. A champion uses an event to gain greater self-knowledge as well as feedback on physical improvement. A champion trains their thought processes as well as their body to produce a total approach to performance. A champion understands their athletic weaknesses and trains to strengthen them. A champion actively creates a life of balance, moderation and simplicity - values that help improve running and life. A champion views competitors as partners who provide challenge and the chance to improve. A champion understands performances are like a roller coaster, with many ups and downs, and that you have to accept both the good and the bad. A champion enjoys sport for the simple pleasures it provides. A champion has vision. A champion dreams of things that haven't been and believes they are possible. A champion says 'I can.'

Daley Thompson
Captain of the Great Britain team in the LA Games. On addressing his team mates Daley Thompson noted one important difference between and his fellow athletes; ‘You practice until you get it right. I practice until I never get it wrong.’ At the 1984 Games Thompson went onto outrun, out-jump, out throw and outtalk his great German rival, not only to win the gold medal but also regain the world record with 8743 points.

Carl Ripken
During his career, Ripken played in 2,632 consecutive games. Physical and mental conditioning prepared him for the rigors of playing virtually every day for six straight months for 21 seasons. One might even argue that luck played a part in avoiding injury that could have ended the consecutive game streak. But. Cal felt that there had to be more to achieving this feat. Using his baseball uniform number, he set a goal to identify eight characteristics of an individual who demonstrates perseverance. These are the characteristics he identified:

1. Take the Right Approach: always be ready to play. 2. Have a Strong will to Succeed: don’t let setbacks stop you from achieving your goal. 3. Have Passion for What You Do: love what you do. 4. Be Competitive: its not just about beating your opponent. You have to internalize competitiveness and take pride in what you do. 5. Be Consistent: recognize and adjust to change so that you are always able to make a contribution to your team. 6. Have Conviction: you have to be a little bit stubborn. 7. Strength: you have to be in good physical and mental condition. You must be psychologically and emotionally prepared. 8. Personal Management: don’t duck potential problems; take on the problems directly to prevent small problems from building into bigger problems.

A.C. Green
A.C. Green has played in more consecutive games than anyone in the history of the NBA: 1,192 games. A.C. played through many aches and pains over the course of his 16-year career that included three Championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers. His two favorite milestones are being the only Laker player to have won Championships in both the Great Western Forum and the Staples Center and introducing the A.C. Bear to the world. Little A.C.’s rookie season began December 25, 1999 when 19,000 fans received the bear as a present at the Christmas Day game against the San Antonio Spurs. A.C. played in five NBA Finals and had successful seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns, and the Miami Heat.

Steve Genter
‘Steve Genter emerged as one of the best freestyle swimmers in the world, and at Munich he broke the 200-meter free world record by 1 seconds and the 400 free by seven seconds. But he finished the 200 behind Mark Spitz, who was en route to his record haul of seven gold medals, and was third in the most controversial 400 freestyle in Olympic history. What made Genter's performance even more remarkable is that he suffered a collapsed lung a week before the games began, and spent six days in a Munich hospital. In the hospital, doctors inserted an arrow-like hollow needle into Genter's chest, so that air trapped outside the lungs could be excised. Typically, that process takes nearly a week, but Genter was nearly manic in his physical therapy and the cavity was cleared in less than a day. Doctors waited three days, however, to remove the needle, which they did without anesthesia, because Genter did not want anything in his body that might cause him to fail a drug test.

‘They had four guys hold me down,' Genter recalls. The incision required 13 stitches. Genter stayed in the hospital for three more days and was actually scratched from his first event, the 4 x 100 freestyle relay. The day he was released from the hospital, Genter went directly to the Olympic Pool, followed by four doctors, and went through a painful workout. The next morning he qualified second in the 200 freestyle and found himself in the finals, in the lane next to Spitz. Spitz expressed concern about Genter swimming, but Steve wasn't listening.

‘I told him there was one gold medal in the race, and I wanted it,' Genter relates. So did Spitz.

After the first 50 meters of the race, nothing was going to stop him. He flipped to turn at the end of the pool, but as he pushed off he ripped out every stitch. He lost a pint and a half of blood during the next 50 meters. At the finish line, there was one finger length separating Steve Genter and Mark Spitz. Everyone remembers Spitz, and he deserves his recognition, but I encourage you to note that there were two champions on that day.