Get Knocked to Your Knees & Rise Up - Victorious!

The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. That's the essence of it. - Vince Lombardi

I had the opportunity to attend a luncheon last week that honored Santonio Holmes and Dick LaBeau. I was thrilled to see Santonio Holmes speak - he went to the Ohio State University and played on the National Championship team the same time I was in grad school (at OSU). He went on to play for the Steelers and made the winning touchdown in the Superbowl for the Steelers in 2009.

Surpisingly to me, while I enjoyed seeing Santonio very much - it was Dick LaBeau that brought tears to my eyes.

Dick began by telling us his of experience playing for Woody Hayes at the Ohio State University in the late 1950s. He went on to play for the Detroit Lions for 14 years, and then would spend the next 36 years being the assistance coach for various NFL teams. He explained that he was fired 5 times throughout his career and would continue to move on to the next opportunity, hopeful to have a career high with his next position. At the age of 65, the Buffalo Bills 'let him go' and it was at that point in time when most people are expected to 'retire' and move on to the next stage of life. Dick said he didn't feel ready to do that. While he had pressure and encouragement to 'let go' of coaching and just enjoy his life, he accepted an assistant coaching position with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has spent the last five years with the Steelers and in those 5 years, he has won 2 AFC Championships and 2 Superbowls. This is more than he had won in the previous 30+ years of coaching combined.

His message to us was this: 'Don't let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. If you believe in something, go for it. If you get knocked down, get back up. If I would have listened to what everyone else told me to do, or if I would have questioned if I was a good coach because I was 'let go' throughout my entire career, I would have missed out on some of the greatest moments in my coaching life. I believed I was meant to do something and I stayed committed to that passion, despite getting knocked down.'

So I challenge you this week - don't settle for what you have come to know as 'what you are supposed to do'. Shake it up. Be daring. Listen to that inner voice that tells you to go after that thing you really want. We all fall. We all fail. We all get knocked down. We all have choices to keep going in pursuit of our dreams or to give up and move on to some other stage in life. I challenge you to decide what you want and continue. Expect pitfalls, challenge the hurdles. The roadblocks and mountains in your way are only there so you can climb over them. Decide what waits for you up top and begin your journey up. After all, the best moments of your life are just up ahead.

Let Luck Find You

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

-Coach Darrel Royal

Do you know someone who seems to have luck on their side? They seem to always have the best opportunities, the most unique circumstances, the most incredible outcomes? They seem to be in the right place, at the right time? And, they seem to find the needle in the haystack - the diamond in the rough -they see the things in life that most of us somehow miss.

So, what is this 'lucky charm' they seem to possess, and how do we get one?

While I don't have all the answers (and have my fair share of various forms of luck!), I think finding your own 'lucky charm' is simpler than you think. I promise each one of you reading this that you can increase your luck, no matter where you are in your life, what circumstance you are facing, or what decision(s) you have at your hands, just by adopting two simple principles in your life.

I am a strong believer in the idea of 'like attracting like'. When you focus on the happy things in your life, express gratitude for the opportunities you have (no matter how big or small), and find the joy in each day, you throw a signal out in the world of positivity. When you 'throw this signal' people can't help but be attracted to it and it tends to manifest more opportunities, joy and passion. Pretty soon, it looks like you are just an extremely lucky person, and, that may be a part of it, but you have enabled the 'luck' to find you as well.

In addition, being at the right place isn't enough for luck to occur. If you were waiting to meet the love of your life, and he/she walked past you, would you know what to do? If you were hoping for a promotion and your boss called you into the office tomorrow morning to ask for a business case on why you should be promoted, would you know how to respond? Luck tends to find those who have prepared for the opportunity to present itself.

So, I challenge you to make friends with luck this week. To do this, follow two simple steps.

1.) Throw the signal of joy and gratitude out to the world. Focus on the things that make you fabulous. Embrace each day and look forward to each opportunity. See the glass half full. Do somethat makes someone else smile. Live with energy. I promise you, you'll manifest your luck.

2.) Prepare for what you really want. If you want to meet the person of your dreams, understand how you would react if you really met them. If you want that dream job, decide what you would do in the interview for it. When you prepare for what you want, you'll know what to do when it comes around. Don't miss the opportunity because you didn't recognize it. (Some people suggest creating a 'vision board' that takes what you want and crystallizes it by cutting out images an putting them on paper so you know exactly what you want). Decide what you really want and what you will do with it when you get it. I promise you, when it comes, you will know just how to get it.

Shout from the mountain tops about your present joy - give off that glow; prepare for the opportunities you want to come; celebrate the luck that will follow.

Look For the Lightning to Strike

Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived. You never know when lightning may strike. ~William Parrish (from the movie, 'Meet Joe Black').

Love. The most interesting of all topics in the world. It can cause the greatest joy - the deepest pain. It speaks many languages, looks and feels different to each person, and causes incredible confusion, and yet is the most amazing feeling that exists.

Recently, a dear friend of mine told me to watch the movie, 'Meet Joe Black' (she even bought me a copy to ensure I would watch it). I usually don't spend a lot of time watching movies by myself, but for some reason, I was drawn to have a night in, by myself, to view this recommended film.

Within 20 minutes of the movie, I knew I loved it. The quotation above was uttered from a doting father who was trying to counsel his beloved daughter on making sure she married the right man. At the time, she was in a relationship with a man who seemed 'perfect on paper' but didn't bring much excitement, joy or passion to her heart. Her dad told her to 'be open' and look for the 'lightning to strike'.

So many times, we fall into love with the comfortable, verses the passion and joy. I challenge you to keep your heart open to find the passion and joy that only love can bring you. If you have felt it, you know there is no feeling like it in the world. There is nothing better. There is nothing that you can't handle when with the partner that you love with all of your heart. After all, that's why the heart was created. To love. (supplying bloodflow circulation/oxidation is secondary!) Your heart was created to love with every ounce of your being. So why would you be ok with anything but that?

In addition, the movie depicted the idea that true love comes when the other person knows everything about you and loves you just the same... moreover, when you trust someone enough to tell them your deepest secret and trust they won't run away after hearing it.

Sure, this kind of love is hard to find. But I know it is out there.

So how do you find it? I wish I knew the black and white answer. But I can tell you this... Believe that you deserve to be loved by someone with all of their heart, and that you could love someone that much...

and then be open... and look for the lightning to strike.