Leadership
It’s All About MYELIN
The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle is something of a “How To” Book. Coyle asserts that “Talent” is not something you are born with, but something you can develop. According to Coyle, it is really all about MYELIN, the microscopic substance that insulates neural connections, making them faster and more efficient. This can make your movements and thought processes faster and more efficient.
It’s all about Myelin.
There are three key elements to developing Myelin, thereby enhancing your gifts and optimizing your performance in Sports, Math, Art, Music, etc.
DEEP PRACTICE
Highly focused with corrective repetitions, always striving for improvement, if not perfection.
IGNITION
The Motivational Force that makes someone willing to do the hard work, required to gain mastery in any given field.
MASTER COACHING (Talent Whisperers)
The Four Virtues of Master Coaches
1) The Matrix – Must possess a Multi-Layered Knowledge of the Content they are teaching.
2) Perceptiveness – The ability to “sense” things (hearing, seeing, feeling etc.), the often subtle differences between fair and excellent execution.
3) GPS Reflex – The ability to navigate the student through the process. Knowing when correction is needed. Knowing when to be demanding to get the pupil to the next level or when encouragement is necessary to prevent discouragement.
4) Theatrical Honesty – Having the Moral Authority to lead, teach or coach. If you have the first three virtues, you likely have this one. Being Empathetic and selfless allow you to truly connect with your students.
This is a terrific book for anyone interested in how to improve almost any kind of performance. Teachers, Coaches and Parents as well as their Students, Players and Children, can all gain knowledge about the Process of Practice and the Quest to Get Better.
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
FLOW
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The central theme of this amazing work, is that people can improve almost any experience they may engage in (even something that normally may be seen as boring or unpleasant), by learning how to order their own consciousness. Csikszentmihalyi outlines ways to control your consciousness and thereby improve the quality of your life. He calls the truly satisfying state of consciousness, Flow. In terms of athletics, it reminds me of the often used term, “in the zone”.
He goes on to give examples of Flow Activities and the Conditions that must be present for Flow, to occur. These conditions are broken down into “Elements of Engagement”. They are listed here.
- It must be a Challenging Activity that requires skills.
- Action and Awareness must be combined. It requires your complete attention, and you become one with the activity.
- It must have Clear Goals and give Feedback (this reminds me of a “wallball” session, if done well).
- It requires Total Concentration on the Task at Hand. You must block out all else and be totally focused.
- There is a Sense of Control. There is a calmness and lack of worry.
- There is a Loss of Self-Consciousness. People are so focused on the activity, they are no longer pre-occupied with “self”.
- Flow Activities are able to Transform Time. Many athletes, performers, artists etc., report losing track of time, during Flow Activities.
FLOW Chart
The Chart above shows the relationship between Challenges and the Skills required to meet those challenges. To get into the “Flow Channel” (or, “in the zone”), the Challenge Level must be met with the necessary amount of skills. As Challenges increase in difficulty, so too, the Skills Level must rise. If you have more Skills than required you will be bored. If the Challenge is too much for your Skill Level, you will be anxious. For “Optimal Experience” you want to be in the “Flow Channel”.
This is not an easy book to read. But like most good things, it is worth the work!
Competitive Greatness
John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success
The final Building Block in Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, is Competitive Greatness. Great Competitors relish great challenges. The more difficult something is, the harder you have to work to achieve it, making it that much more satisfying when you do. If you have the rest of the Building Blocks in place, you will be able to find your competitive greatness.
Wooden is not talking about winning. He is referring to the exhilaration you feel when you have faced something that has challenged your “mind, body and spirit”. When you are able to muster all that is required to meet such a challenge, you have succeeded.
At the Apex of his Pyramid, Coach Wooden defines Success this way. “Success is peace of mind that is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”
Coach Wooden coached for many years before winning a championship. His team’s at UCLA ultimately won 10 NCAA Championships in 12 years. But his definition of success does not include winning. It is about the Journey and the experiences you have and lessons you learn along the way.
Poise and Confidence
Near the top of Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, are the Building Blocks – Poise and Confidence. These two qualities are natural outgrowths of the Building Blocks that lie beneath them in the “Pyramid”.
John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success
Poise
Wooden defines “Poise” as being yourself, not pretending to be something that you’re not. I think “Poise” is also the capacity to maintain your composure and focus, no matter the intensity of the situation.
Confidence
To be successful in almost anything, you must have the confidence in yourself and by extension, your team, to achieve the task at hand. Real self-confidence will blossom only when you have properly prepared and usually after much hard work and experience. Champions and other leaders seem to exude Poise and Confidence, especially in the most crucial moments.
When all of the previous Building Blocks are in place, “Poise and Confidence” should become present, they cannot be artificially generated. If you possess both, you are well on your way to being successful, in whatever you are trying to do.
Three More Building Blocks in The Pyramid of Success
John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success
The next three Building Blocks in Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, are Condition, Skill and Team Spirit. These are all very important elements for players to possess, if their teams are to be successful.
Condition
As a player, you will never reach your potential if you are not in the best possible condition. Conditioning, is of course Physical Conditioning, but Mental and Emotional Conditioning as well. This is really just another way to discuss the importance of Preparedness.
“Failing to Prepare, is Preparing to Fail” Benjamin Franklin
Skill
This Building Block sits in the very center of the Pyramid. To perform your job effectively, you must possess the required skill set for that job, whatever that job may be. Being able to execute quickly and properly, is essential to your success both individually and collectively.
Team Spirit
The willingness to put the good of your team before your own individual goals. This is what makes someone a “team player”. Your “team” may be a business, your family or community or a sports team. For a team to reach its greatest potential, it must be filled with “team players”, who care more about the welfare of the “team”, than their own interests. A true “Team Player” will always find success in whatever the endeavor.
Give these central building blocks, some additional thought and try putting them into action in your own life. It should yield positive results.
Gleason
A story of one man’s life on the surface is all about football. Relentless, heroic, NFL linebacker who has it all. Steven Gleason is responsible for one of the most dramatic punt blocks in NFL history. His play ignited what is known as re-birth of an entire city.
After that same man is diagnosed with ALS, which is a progressive chronic disease where your brain loses its ability to communicate with the muscles in your body, he starts a video blog for his unborn son. In a hit documentary created in 2016, titled Gleason, viewers get an opportunity to see pieces of that video blog. This documentary takes you on a journey of a man who explores a deeper meaning to life. He explores faith, insecurities, fears, and the importance the father son relationship.
Steven Gleason takes his diagnosis and decides to live more, explore more, love more, and give more. The film is touching, and a true emotional journey through a life that’s getting progressively “worse,” life that’s supposed to “shut down and fail,” and, a life that has “nothing left to give.” Watch this film, and you will actually see a man who’s impact grows each day. A life that continues to give more, and hold back less. A life that triggers a foundation for patients with ALS, and scientists researching a cure for this terrible disease.
Learn more about Steven Gleason’s heroic story by watching Gleason.
Pyramid of Success, Building Blocks
John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success
As we continue to examine John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, we move upward from the Foundation to the next level of Building Blocks.
Self-Control
Self-Control is an essential part of discipline. The ability to control your emotions even at the highest levels of competition is a necessary part of developing the mindset of a Champion.
Alertness
Be focused and observant of all things going on around you, as much of the time as possible. This allows you to be continuously learning. Being alert to all cues will help you exploit an opponent’s weakness or to correct one of your own.
Initiative
Failure is part of Success. You cannot be afraid to fail. You can learn from failure. You must have the strength to make decisions and act on them. If you fear failure, you will never try to get to the next level and therefore, never be the best you can be.
Intentness
Keep your focus on your values and your goals. Don’t be distracted or discouraged by a lack of success along the way. Stay on that course, continue working your hardest to become the best you can be. Be persistent, tenacious and absolutely determined.
Really consider the above “Building Blocks”, and try to make them part of who you are and what you do. I think this will put you on a positive path leading to “success”.
The Wisdom of John Wooden
John Wooden is widely regarded as the greatest philosopher, teacher, and coach in all of sports history. Though he passed away more than six years ago, he left behind many pearls of wisdom, from which we can all, continue to learn. One such gem is his “Pyramid of Success”. As we begin 2017, I will post a series of blogs, highlighting the “building blocks” of the “Pyramid”, and how they can be helpful to us in sports, as well as everyday life.
John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success
THE CORNERSTONES
The First Cornerstone of the Pyramid, is “Industriousness“. At its simplest, Wooden is talking about “hard work”. “There is no substitute for hard work”. Nobody achieves greatness without hard work. There are no short cuts. If you want to be the best you can be, whether it be in sports, school or anything else, work your hardest toward that end. Industriousness is not just going through the motions. It is focused, conscientious and passionate.
The Second Cornerstone, is “Enthusiasm“. To truly attain success, you must enjoy what you are doing. The two elements go together. Enthusiasm can turn hard work into “Industriousness” . If you have enthusiasm for something, it will become contagious. Positive leadership is a powerful force, whether it comes from a Coach or a Player.
If you can be Industrious and Enthusiastic in whatever you endeavor to do (sports, school, work etc.), you will be well on your way to achieving real success.
