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/

Wise OR Stupid Decisions (Part 1)

"Wise OR Stupid Decisions?"

(Part 1)

Today I want to start a discussion concerning several things that have been very noticeable in the news over the past few years - particularly in the world of sports. It seems to have "exploded" over the past few months and been brought to "center stage".

It seems that there has been an "over abundance" of news concerning young men that have been making some really STUPID decisions with their lives!

Now, again, before I get started let me clarify a few things:

1. Yes, most of us -if not all of us - have made really bad and sometimes stupid decisions in and with our lives! Please don't take this as a person trying to sound like they have not seen the "stupidity monster" evident in his own life!

2. Yes, it IS possible to still live a very successful and productive life even after making a stupid decision! It does NOT have to mean that your life is ruined forever! (There is a KEY to making this happen that I will discuss in another podcast/blog entry on this topic still to come.)

3. But, at the same time, we MUST understand that there ARE some people that DO ruin their lives and NEVER live the successful and productive life that they could have lived if they had only made wiser decisions. Again, this usually happens because they failed to pay attention to the KEY that I mentioned in #2.

I didn't really get very far in my discussion of this in today's podcast so I won't go over or past that in this blog entry - but I will give you some of the same "background" situations that spurred my thoughts in this area. Again, I will not use names but you will still likely be very familiar with most - if not all - of these situations.

Example #1: First of all, I did a little extra research on this topic and found out a little extra information that actually starts before I realized it did with this one example. This actually began in 2003 when this college football player for a team in the Big 10 conference filed a false police report about some items he said was stolen from him. They weren't. It was all false. This resulted in him being suspended for the 2003 football season with this college team so he decided to sue the NFL to allow him to enter the draft for the 2004 season - the problem was that he was too young according to NFL rules. He initially won the suit but then it was later overturned. Another problem with this was the fact that he had hired an agent which then disqualified him for playing any further in college and, now, he had to wait until the 2005 NFL draft to have a chance to play football once again. When it came time for him to "show his stuff" to the scouts he was less than impressive. However, he was still signed by one NFL team but was cut in preseason.

Here's the really, really sad part - On January 1, 2006, the young man robbed two people with a .45 caliber handgun, the same night that his college team was playing in a bowl game - one in which he COULD HAVE been involved. In September 2006, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, but could apply for early release after three and a half years.

Example #2: In November of 2009, three college football players from an SEC school were arrested for an incident that stemmed from an attempted robbery outside a convenience store near campus. A powered pellet gun was recovered in the players' car after they were stopped by police. I couldn't find the actual results of what happened with this case, but I do know I heard talk of how at least one of these young men had a very promising career waiting for him in the NFL and that now all of that was likely gone. I DO know that there were charges filed and that there will be legal problems for these three young men for some time to come.

Example #3: Four basketball players from this same SEC school mentioned in #2 were pulled over for speeding and then arrested when guns and drugs were found in their vehicle and charged with gun possession and other counts on January 1, 2010. Obviously, there is still much to come with this situation but the impact to the basketball future of these young men is now definitely up in the air and uncertain - not to mention their personal lives.

Example #4: A prominent NFL player was sentenced to two years in prison in the summer of 2009 after carrying a gun into a night club and having it accidentally fire, wounding him in the leg. This player had been in a Super Bowl game in 2008 and now sits in prison.

Example #5: A prominent NBA player has been suspended without pay indefinitely and now faces legal issues after bringing and displaying several guns to his teams locker room on Christmas Eve, 2009.

Example #6: The most well-known golfer in the world at this time has seen his career collapse - at least temporarily - after news of marital infidelity with several women came out following an early morning automobile accident right outside of his home in late November, 2009.

I DO understand that the sixth example is different than the other five, but it is still BIG NEWS and still shows the major IMPACT of making stupid decisions.

I guess I feel the need for a couple of more clarifications before I close this blog entry for today (again, I don't' want to go further with my thoughts that I did in today's podcast) to make sure you don't misunderstand what I am doing here.

I am not "picking on" anyone or any particular university, etc. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT! These are some of the MAJOR news stories that have come out in the world of sports over a very recent and short time span - THIS SHOULD GET OUR ATTENTION - shouldn't it?

I think we can all be in agreement that, in each of these situations, some very STUPID decisions were made. What will happen for each of the people involved in these situations? It depends.

It will all depend on what decisions and choices that make next.

Bottom line - LIFE IS A CHOICE. CHOOSE CAREFULLY!

Join me tomorrow as I continue this discussion and, as always...

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

Mike