I have just finished a physically exhausting but very mentally rewarding stretch of work where I have been fortunate to interact and exchange ideas with a wide range of professionals in the area of athletic development, rehabilitation and sport coaching. As I spent the last week reflecting on the last three months- What I saw and what I learned, I came back to something I wrote in one my first blogs in 2005, it is my personal manifesto. I thought I would share an expanded and updated version it to provide you with an understanding of where I am coming from and frame my ideas:
- Innovate- Lead do not follow. Look at old ideas and concepts with new eyes. Operate on the edge, constantly search for a better way.
- Educate- Share ideas and be a sustained positive influence on how those I teach think act and feel.
- Change the World- Lofty but each of us have the responsibility to make our own world better. I define the world as my world, what I can directly control and directly influence.
- Define the Field of Athletic Development- Athletic Development is coaching and coaching is teaching.
- Values Driven- Never compromise values for money or fame
- Define Myself- Do not let others define me. Stay true to my beliefs and myself. Keep the compass oriented to true north and make sure the compass is working.
- Know what you know- Do not try to be something you are not. A corollary to this and in some ways more important is to know what you don’t know.
- Know History – Honor and respect people and events that have opened the doors for you and have blazed the path you walk. Recognize that you stand on the shoulders of giants.
- Enjoy the ride- Take some time to reflect and be absorbed in the process. Take one step at a time. Enjoy success and learn from failure.
- Collaborate- Find people who are willing to share, to challenge your ideas and who have been there before.
- Know your destination- Make sure there is a there, there.
Finally I will end with a quote from Martha Graham: ” Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.”