Your Personal Draft...Mid-Round Pick

Mid-Round...Is THAT Where YOU Belong?

That guy in the picture there is Ryan Mallett, former Arkansas Razorback football quarterback.

Why do I have him as the picture for today's topic? Because in the recent NFL Draft he wasn't drafted until the 3rd round which was unexpected.

Now, even though there are 7 rounds you could technically say that Mr. Mallet was not a "mid-round" pick. And, you'd be right.

However, his talent and ability is definitely worth more than a 3rd round pick. Why, then, did he not get selected until the 3rd round? "Off the field issues" is what they are called and a lot of NFL team owners and coaches want to stay as far away as possible from someone that might have problems with these AMPLIFIED "off the field issues" once getting into the NFL.

Am I picking on Ryan Mallett? Absolutely not! He now has something to prove (and he has said that himself) to a lot of people out there that overlooked him as an addition to his team. Will he? Only time will tell.

But, here's the deal...he'll have the OPPORTUNITY!

You see, for all of us, that's all we can really expect or ask for. An opportunity!

No matter who you are or what you do, YOU have an opportunity each and every day to better yourself and your position at whatever it is that you are doing.

EVERY DAY. OPPORTUNITY!

You may be one (like Mr. Mallett) that belongs in a higher position than where your currently find yourself. Maybe you are one that WAS in a higher position but, like we discussed yesterday, got distracted and lost some valuable ground. What are you doing about that TODAY?

Or maybe you are one that has always been considered "average". Your parents never pushed you much or expected you to do more than "average". And, because of that, you never really pushed yourself or expected much out of yourself other than "average".

WAKE UP!

Now, yes, I understand that you may be doing 100% where you are right now. And, if that is so, my hat is off to you and I also say, "keep up the good work!".

But, for many of you/us...we're NOT doing 100% where we find ourselves right now.

Hey, raise the bar of expectation a little bit and see what happens not only in YOUR life but also in the lives of everyone around you.

Yeah, really. Go ahead. Give it a try and see what happens.

Be DETERMINED that you are going to prove anyone that ever said you were average WRONG!

PROVE IT TO YOURSELF!

Separate yourself from the crowd and rise above the rest.

(Hey, where's my trumpet? I feel like I need to do the "charge" thing!)

But seriously. Whoever told you that you were average and that you never should expect more were likely average themselves and didn't want you to excel above and beyond them.

And, by the way....who told you that you had to listen to and believe them in the first place?

Think about all of this and share some of your thoughts on this and how it relates to your life or the lives of those around you. I'd love to hear from you.

But, until next time...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

www.MichaelSpillman.com

Your Personal Draft - First Round Pick

First Round Pick

Does this describe YOU? Are you a "first rounder"?

In connection to the "NFL Draft" scenario that I began using yesterday a "first rounder" is a player that is drafted in the first round...the cream of the crop. They have excelled in their career in college and have been predicted to do well at the next level in the NFL.

In the months and weeks leading up to the actual draft day just about every highlight that ever exists of this person is shown again and again while all kinds of "experts" (and I do use that term very lightly!) talk about why this person is so good and worthy of a first round pick.

Over my lifetime I have seen several situations where these first round picks DID do as expected when they got into the NFL. They lived up to the hype and the expectations.

However, I have also seen MANY go in the opposite direction. Usually they loose their focus on what got them there in the first place and they fail miserably. They get distracted by all of the "bling" that now surrounds them and the "big money" that goes with it and, as I said before, they lose focus on why they are there in the first place.

I have watched many "hopefuls" with great potential simply get lost in the drugs and other "trappings", lose their standing on the team that chose them and, finally, drop out of the NFL completely to never be heard from again (as far as the sports world goes).

What does that have to do with what I'm talking about in this series?

Perhaps YOU are one of those that have done well all through your life up to this point. Perhaps you graduated high school at the top of your class and followed that up by doing the same in college. Perhaps after leaving college you have done quite well with your first job and moved up quickly in the company. It seems as if everything you touches turns to gold!

Great potential. Great expectations.

YOU have expectations of yourself and you KNOW you can do whatever you set your mind to do! And, on top of that, due to your past accomplishments, others have great expectations of you as well.

What will you do with this opportunity that is before you? Will you continue to learn and grow and be open to advice from others around you or will you decide that you don't need to hear anything from anyone else because, after all, you ARE a first round pick!

Hey, we've all seen this in the "real world" (as opposed to the world of sports stars) haven't we?

Opportunity.

It's yours, REGARDLESS of what "round" you get "picked".

What will you do. What ARE you doing?

One last thought: Don't let the expectations of others overwhelm you! It CAN become too much and others CAN put unrealistic expectations on you. Be careful with that and, yes, live up to your potential and what you KNOW you can accomplish.

Now...get after it!

Until next time...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

http://www.michaelspillman.com/

YOUR Personal Draft

The NFL draft for 2011 just ended over this past weekend after MONTHS of speculation and predictions.

And, you know what? It just proved once again that the so-called "experts" really don't have a clue what they are talking about! If you've watched along the way then I'm sure that you agree with me on this - at least to SOME extent, right?

There were "high, first round" predicted picks that not get picked until much later and, on the other end of the spectrum, there were some picked early that were not even really talked about.

Experts, huh?

So, this week I'm going to compare some of this to your OWN "personal draft" and what that means for you. Here are some of the things we'll be taking a look at in the next few days:

- How much does what others say influence you and your actions?

- If others have high expectations of you, how does that impact you?

- If others have low (or "NO") expectations of you, how does THAT impact you?

- What are YOU doing with the OPPORTUNITY that is before you RIGHT NOW?

Be thinking about those things and I'd also love to hear any other analogies that you may have come up with in comparison to the NFL draft - send them to me right away so that I can use them during this week's podcast and blog articles.

So, what will YOU do today? It matters!

Until next time...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

www.MichaelSpillman.com