The U of SC football program had just won the first Bowl Game in the 100-year plus history of the school.
After joining the rugged and tough SEC in 1992, the Gamecocks were still struggling to be the elite SEC teams like Florida and Tennessee.
Tennessee had a young QB with a head-turning last name…Manning. We had a pony-tailed enthusiast named Taneyhill, along with two offensive lineman, two running backs all headed eventually to the NFL.
We were desperate for a signature win in the SEC.
JAMES DEXTER STORY at Tennessee turning the table over, driving down to the five-yard line
Often, in life, sports, and business, we do desperate things in desperate times in order to solve desperate problems.
The last 2 years have created a desperate longing. Let’s articulate the challenge that you are up against today.
PAIN - Skyrocketing material and sub Pricing, Uncertainty, Subcontractor frustrations, Schedule delays, unrealistic clients, and PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE!
Let’s think through some of the desperate things you (or someone you know) may have tried in the midst of a desperate situation in your business…
We are running around, spinning in circles, a slave to an over-heated market, the client, to the employee, to the sub, to the vendor.
And we just want it to STOP. Just for a second so we can catch our breath.
Talked to a custom builder in Kentucky two weeks ago who said, “I’m actually looking forward to a market slowdown.” I was waiting for lightning to strike.
You had a grueling week, and then you have a Saturday where you are fired up about a late breakfast where you are going to eat donuts, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, bacon, cheese grits…then after you’re done you turn on a game on tv watching world-class athletes and think, “I need to work out!”
Chaos can often translate to unhealthy habits because we are vulnerable. In the chaos of the market, we tend to rest in the cash flow, while KNOWING that we are neglecting the discipline of purpose, process, and systems that will create a long-term FIT-ness for us, our team, and the mission we are on in our business.
I’ve seen it reported recently that both Quarterback Russel Wilson and basketball megastar Lebron James each spend over $1 million on the health and fitness of their mind and body.
A friend of mine, Chad Jeffers is the lead Dobro player for Carrie Underwood. He was passing through Columbia, SC a couple of years ago as we were in town and we had coffee in the lobby of the downtown hotel he and the other band members were staying at.
I asked Chad a simple question that I had never asked, “what is it like to play in front of all of those people?” His response was sobering.
He mentioned that most nights he forgets where he is at, and that the “repetition of the event” can get quite boring. In order to be great and find joy in touring, you’ve got to go back to THE FITNESS of your repetition and training.
In preparation for Carrie Underwood’s Las Vegas residency shows, Chad said
"Typically for tours (including Vegas), we will rehearse for a month and a half to 2 months (7 days a week) prior to the first show. Personally, I prepare for the rehearsals about a month prior to that (especially if we are learning new music)."
Kobe Bryant was 41 when he and his daughter died tragically in a helicopter crash in January of 2020.
He was notorious for his relentless work ethic. Writers Scott Davis and Connor Perrett chronicle some of Bryant’s more remarkable disciplines.
Here is a question for us. It’s easy to scream, yell, turn over tables, run out of the tunnel with a new idea, rally the troops for a momentary push.
But what about the long hard grind of repetition over a long period of time?
The best bourbon is aged and evaporated.
The best wine comes with full ingredients and time.
The best friendships have intentionality and longevity.
Some of you are coming to the BuildExpo hoping for a hail mary, hoping for a silver bullet, a bright idea that will change the game for you.
I want to offer you something else.
When explorer Ernest Shackleton was preparing for his Trans-Antarctic Expedition, he needed the right team. It is said that he published an advertisement…
"Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small Wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success."
The advertisement may not be true, but Shackleton’s expedition with his crew aboard the “Endurance” was heroic and transformative for an entire British society.
Reading through Alfred Lansing’s aptly titled book “Endurance”, you realize what kept Shackleton and his men alive during months of isolation and loneliness in what has been billed as one of the most remarkable pictures of survival in modern history.
What two things kept these men going, when all other expeditions facing similar challenges, died?
FITness and repetition.
In the new Post-COVID reality, do you want to stop spending your days putting out silly fires? You want to discover REAL purpose in your business? You want to make time for what matters most?
To emerge out of the fog in this post-COVID reality, you must commit to becoming F.I.T.
1. Fundamentals
The most fundamental step to creating a FIT business, is to painstakingly spend time on the fundamentals. Blocking, tackling, throwing, catching
The second step in becoming FIT, is to…
2. Invest In People
We must go back to the fundamentals, we must invest in people, and in order to grow in the post-COVID reality, we must…
3. Trail A Mentor
FINAL STORY:
Sitting w/ the APD team. Nicole’s biggest win…the OWNER being away from the business for 7 straight days with little to no check in. That was NICOLE’s BIG WIN!
Tim and the APD team have spent the last few years getting FIT: focusing on the Fundamentals, Investing In People, and Trailing Mentors…
And a distraction-free picture from the Mountains of N. Carolina is the outcome…
THAT’s punching chaos in the mouth and setting yourself up for growth in the NEW post-COVID reality.
ACTION: Which of the 3, needs to be your 1st priority after you get out of your seat?
Fundamentals?
Invest In People?
Trail A Mentor
If you want to test your business fitness, go to mybusinessonpurpose.com/healthy
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More