MONOMANIAC WITH A MISSION

MONOMANIAC WITH A MISSION
By James Ray

“Any time I have seen someone accomplishing something magnificent, they have been a monomaniac with a mission. A single-minded individual with a passion.”
Peter Drucker

    You may recall my coverage of the idea of “monomania” in a previous e-letter regarding, “The Curly Principle.” In the movie City Slickers starring Billy Crystal, we observed the story of a man who (going through mid-life crises), decides to go out with some buddies and rustle cattle for a week.
The trail boss they report to is named Curly (played by Jack Palance).
    Curly really seems to have his head together and Crystal’s character keeps asking him what the secret to life is. Curly’s only reply is to hold up his index finger and say, “Just One Thing.”
    Finally, in frustration Crystal asks, “Well, what is that One Thing?”
To which Curly replies, “That is what YOU have to figure out - no one can do it for you.”
    The Curly Principle teaches us the same lesson that the renowned management consultant Peter Drucker has observed in highly successful people.
Monomania - in other words, a single-minded focus and passion for that “one thing.”
    Jesus taught us, “If your eye be single . . . your whole body shall be full of light.” (Light meaning truth and power).
    What are you singularly focused on?
    Frequently, I meet individuals who want to have their dreams and yet are not willing to give up anything to achieve them. This is self-deception.
Choosing to become great in any area means choosing to not be great in something else. There will always be a price to pay - there will always be a sacrifice.
    You can only ride one horse really well at any one time. Yes, you may be able to ride two, but nowhere NEAR as well as you can ride one. Nowhere near as agile, responsive, quick. Understand difference?

The secret to success in life is making your vocation your vacation.”
 Mark Twain

    Last weekend I was in LA with some good friends attending an Elton John concert. I was asked a frequent question, “What do you do for fun and recreation?”
    This is always a difficult question for me to answer, because I know there is an expectation that I come up with a whole list of activities I am involved in. Bottom line . . . I am a monomaniac. My work is my passion as well as my recreation (notice the true meaning of the word). When asked the question, “How is work?” I honestly answer, “Work is play.”

The Master in the Art of Living simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, Leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he's always doing both.
James Michener

     I ABSOLUTELY LOVE what I do. I can think of nothing more fulfilling and recreating than to meditate, study, read, learn, write, create, help and coach others, talk with you and share insights.
    Yes, I do hike, workout, ski form time to time, go to movies, and play golf poorly once in awhile; but these are not the things that make life meaningful for me. Many see their work as a “means to and end,” for the monomaniac their work is an end unto itself. Not just a job . . . a meaningful, passionate mission.
    Your work is your passion, and your love made manifest through action.”
    Is this the right approach for you? I am not qualified to answer that question. What I am qualified to do is to check my own observations and experiences and agree with Drucker and Curly.
    To accomplish anything of consequence . . . anything magnificent and great, you must be willing to literally trade your life for it. To be so passionately focused and committed that nothing will divert you. Nothing and no one can stop you.
    My wish is that you find that “one thing” in your life. Your white-hot-passion that brings you tremendous meaning and purpose.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE?

What Do You Make?
Unknown

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued: "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

...

  He reminded the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about  teachers: "Those who can do.
  Those who can't teach."

  To corroborate, he said to another guest: "You're a teacher, Susan," he said. "Be honest. What do you make?"

  Susan, who had a reputation of honesty and frankness, replied, "You want to know what I make?"

  "I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face if the student did not do his or her very best."

  "I can make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence."

  "I can make parents tremble in fear when I call home"

  "You want to know what I make?"

  "I make kids wonder."

  "I make them question."

  "I make them criticize."

  "I make them apologize and mean it."

  "I make them write."

  "I make them read, read, read."

  "I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, and definitely beautiful over and over and over again, until they will never misspell either one of those words again."

  "I make them show all their work in math and hide it all on their final drafts in English."

  "I make them understand that if you have the brains, then follow your heart... and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you pay them no attention."

  "You want to know what I make?"

  "I make a difference."

  "What about you, what do you make?"
FreebNote: Teaching iis Coaching, Coaching is Teaching; as a coach what would be some skills you woulr add: Attitude, Disciline, Motivation, Goal Setting, Teamwork, Cooperation . . .
AND: What percentage of businessmen and CEOs have an MBA Degrees obtained after years of attending educational institutions in classes conducted by . . . Teachers.

STAFF QUALITIES

Bill Walsh: Checklist of qualities in potential staff:
1. A Fundamental knowledge of the area he is hired to manage. Expertise is more important than friendship or other user-friendly characteristics.

2. A relatively high – but not manic – level of energy and enthusiasm and personality that is upbeat, motivated and animated.

3. The ability to discern talent in potential employees.
4. Ability to Communicate.
5. Unconditional Loyalty to both you and other staff members.

FUNdaMENTALS

Continued mastery of the FUNdaMENTALS
Enables you performance to become an
Upward HyperSpiral of Achievement.

by CoachFree

To be successful you must be FUNdaMENTALly sound. You must be able to execute the routine play flawlessly, effortlessly, automatically. Only through the mastery of the FUNdaMENTALS will you be able to move to ever higher levels of performance. Every discipline has its own basic FUNdaMENTALS whether it be sports, education, business related, or any other routines that are currently demanding our attention. In baseball you must be able to field the ball and make an accurate throw to first base before the runner gets there, or you will never have the opportunity to be at the plate and take a swing. There are proper techniques to fielding and throwing when, if followed, produce desired performance. There are proper techniques for blocking and tackling, shooting and rebounding, running and jumping, driving a car. Everyone can remember the trials and tribulations of learning how to drive that stick shift car or truck. Remember looking at the pedals and thinking, “Three pedals and only two feet?” The same can be said for touch typing. I can remember thinking that my dad got taken by a salesman because there was no “B” on his keyboard at the office. Remember those days in typing class trying to get that pinky-finger to reach all the way to “Q?” Now, of course, after practicing the FUNdaMENTALS for many years all these behaviors are done easily, gracefully, unconsciously. What we used to have to think about consciously (hitting that Q; letting the clutch out slowly while giving it just the right amount of gas without rolling back into the Cadillac behind us on the hill), we now perform smoothly with little or no conscious thought. Our performance becomes “automatic.” Let us not forget that math has FUNdaMENTALS (once you get the basics of addition and subtraction down; you move on to fun things like algebra and trig), as does English, science, music, yes, every discipline does. How about family life? Are there basic FUNdaMENTALS of marriage, motherhood, fatherhood? Behavior is rule governed. Rule governed behavior involves discipline and FUNdaMENTAL correctness. The path to greater success that Upward HyperSpiral of Achievement begins with disciplining yourself to master the FUNdaMENTALS.

CoachFreeb says work at mastering your FUNdaMENTALS – The FUNdaMENTALS of your position. What would happen if EVERYONE were FUNdaMENTALLY the best players on the field at their position in this week’s game?

WARRIOR

Being a Warrior is not about the act of fighting. It's about being so prepared to face a challenge and Believing so strongly in the cause you are fighting for that you refuse to quit. Mack Machowicz


After 15 tries, Jeff Rhodes thought this was going to be his day - the day he would qualify for the Ford Ironman World Championship. He was racing with all the top men in his 40-44 age group in St. George, Utah last Saturday, feeling on top of the world. Two miles to go on the bike, though, things went horribly awry when he rolled a tire going around a corner.



Rhodes hit a brick wall and flew over his handlebars. No sooner had he hit the ground than he tried to get back on his bike. He saw the tire was off. Ever tried to get a tubular back on a rim? Ever tried to do that with one hand, because your other arm won’t work? Rhodes deflated the tire, put it back on the rim, re-inflated it with a quick-fill, then realized that his shoulder was up by his ear. He popped his shoulder back in place and tried to get back on his bike again. This time he realized his chain was off, too. When he finally was able to get back on his bike, Rhodes managed the last two miles of the ride by holding his shoulder – it wasn’t just dislocated, he’d broken his collarbone, too. When he managed to get some medical attention in T2, he was assured that he had broken his collarbone and should get into an ambulance for some medical attention. “I told them I could still qualify for Kona,” Rhodes said in an interview today. “I got them to help me change my shoes.” It only took three steps before Rhodes realized that there was no Kona qualifying for him last Saturday. Rather than quit, though, he was determined that he would finish the race, and started walking. “It never even crossed my mind – I was going to get through it,” he said. “This was my 16th Ironman and I’ve never DNF’d. Last year in Japan I had an asthma attack during the swim. I had to pull myself along from buoy to buoy. It was the closest I’ve ever come to death. I knew I could get through the run with some shoulder pain.” So he started walking. Meanwhile, just behind him, Quinton Berry, one of the five men from Orange County who had been training together for Ford Ironman St. George, started the marathon. Like Rhodes, Berry was having an incredible day – he was also in the hunt



for a Kona spot. Berry ran up to his friend and stopped to walk with him. “You’re having a great race,” Rhodes said. “You keep running. I’ll be fine.” Berry made it a few feet up the road and turned around. “At some point you’re going to need some help,” he told his friend. “If you’re going to walk it, I’m going to walk it with you.” A short while later, another of the group, Scott Callendar, came across his two training buddies. He started walking, too. He and Berry took turns finding ice packs for their friend. They got his food at aid stations. They tracked down ibuprofen from the medical crew. The re-strapped his shoulder. The three came across the line together. It was their slowest Ironman. It was also the best. “This was the best Ironman I’ve ever done,” Berry wrote in an e-mail to Rhodes. “It’s what you do for a friend,” he told me. “It was pretty impressive to see the support he had out there. There were some pros out there who said they were inspired by him.” Pros? These three inspired an entire community. You want friendship? You want perseverance? You want grit and determination? They showed it at Ford Ironman St. George last Saturday. It might not have been the fastest Ironman, but it will go down in history as one of the most inspiring and impressive of Ironman achievements. Rhodes is registered to race at Subaru Ironman Canada later this summer. “I know that I’m going to qualify there,” he said. “Those bumps in the road, you learn a lot from them.” I think we can all learn a lot from Jeff Rhodes, Quinton Berry and Scott Callendar.