Do you have this ONE thing?
Posted by Joel Marion
The New Orleans Saints are headed to the Super Bowl.
Why?
Well, if you ask me, it all comes down to a single word…a single quality…and the city of New Orleans has it: Resiliency.
You know, in life, in sports, in just about any and every situation, there are lessons to be learned. And when it comes learning lessons, I’m an open book.
If I can learn a life-lesson from a kid (and I have), I’ll take it. From a sporting event, I’m “all ears”…
It’s funny, but I often watch football thinking “what can I learn from this…?”
For instance, every year Andy Reid teaches me extremely valuable lessons about the art of coaching and exactly what not to do in leadership type situations. It’s like a full-out anti-leadership education for free — I’ve learned so much over the years.
On the other hand, the New Orleans Saints have inspired me this year, and I hope by the end of this post they’ll have inspired you as well.
Resiliency, as defined by the Dictionary (by the way, the dictionary does a great job at defining things — seriously, awesome resource for definitions…check it out) is one’s ability to “recovery readily from adversity or change”.
And to say that the city of New Orleans, along with the New Orleans Saints, has exemplified exceptional resiliency over the past few years is an understatement.
From a city destroyed, without so much as a “home” stadium to play in, to 2010 NFC Champions — the whole “turn around” says a great about their team, their fans, and their city.
I can remember several instances where I personally was faced with hardships, obstacles, and various other forms of adversity while chasing my dreams, starting back with my first “transformation” back in 2001. And you know what? It happens to everyone.
Adversity and setbacks are a GUARANTEE on the path to success. Problem is that the vast majority of people lack the ability to fight through adversity. They lack resiliency.
I want to ask you a couple of questions, and I want you to SERIOUSLY take a moment to consider the answers.
1. What goals have you set recently? What dreams do you hold close to your heart?
2. Have you achieved those goals? Are you still going forward after those dreams? If not, what have you let STOP you?
The New Orleans Saints battled through a period of complete devastation to achieve greatness. So many wrote off the city — they said “move the team…New Orleans is done”.
Have people “wrote you off” from achieving your dreams? Have YOU wrote yourself off?
Where are you now in relation to achieving what matters most to you? What are you allowing to derail your progress?
I challenge you: Identify it, and END it today.
Adversity will strike. It’s inevitable. It has, and for many of us, it has stopped us dead in our tracks from moving forward. And yes, I’ve been there.
But today, take a lesson from the Saints. Embrace resiliency and crush every last excuse—regardless of how valid they are (and they often are very valid)—from derailing your progress any longer.
Get up.
Will something come along to knock you down again?
Yes. Guaranteed. And probably sooner rather than later.
But THAT’S what separates the great from the weak. Uncanny resilience.
And on that note, I’ll end today’s post with one of my favorite quotes. It’s from the novel Loyal Subject, by Heinreich Mann, and I believe it to be quite fitting:
“Thro’ greatest struggles, the great emerge…and then they shine.”
Go crush it today.
In strength,
Joel
P.S. Comments section is open! Post ’em below…
Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...