WHAT IS A CHAMPION

 I am always asked the question, What is a Champion? since my business name is called 

WAY OF CHAMPIONS. So here is my way of answering that question. What are your thoughts on this and does my definition make sense?

CHAMPION CHARACTERISTICS

Champions share many characteristics, none of which are determined by their talents. Here are some of those characteristics. How many of these statements also describe you and your life?

• A champion has the courage to risk failure, knowing that setbacks are lessons to learn from.

• A champion uses an event to gain greater self-knowledge as well as feedback on physical improvement.

• A champion trains their thought processes as well as their body to produce a total approach to performance.

• A champion understands their athletic weaknesses and trains to strengthen them.

• A champion actively creates a life of balance, moderation and simplicity - values that help improve running and life.

• A champion views competitors as partners who provide challenge and the chance to improve.

• A champion understands performances are like a roller coaster, with many ups and downs, and that you have to accept both the good and the bad.

• A champion enjoys sport for the simple pleasures it provides.

• A champion has vision. A champion dreams of things that haven't

  been and believes they are possible. A champion says "I can."

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

 Another excerpt from my coming book, The Competitive Buddha. You can pre-order it on Amazon now. 

Gratitude is the bedrock of all grate leadership and performance. If you like this, you'll love the book as it is chock full of similar nuggets. 

According to Buddhist thought gratitude is one of the best practices for living in daily life. It is closely connected to the concept of mindfulness. Practicing gratitude helps us all to get connected to our lives and how we are a small part of a larger purpose. It liberates us from the worry, endless desires and suffering caused by seeing what we lack. Gratitude is the key to personal happiness and joy. It helps you to change fear into faith, and faith into courage. It brings about feelings of love, compassion and connection. It is life changing.

Buddhist thought encourages us to be mindful of all the good that is in our lives. All that we’ve been given by our parents, friends, teachers and to do it intentionally, to cultivate it rather than to let it happen randomly. It is a simple daily practice of what I call “counting your blessings.”

How relevant is this concept to the world of sport? Many athletes complain about what they don’t have, what they’re not getting rather than what they have been given. The Buddha athlete does not dwell on lack of playing time, poor stats, little or no recognition. Rather, the focus of this athlete is on feeling well, healthy, strong and all the fortunate opportunities given like friendship, community,
growth, development, joy and fun being able to be part of a team, something bigger than personal gain or loss. It has become well known that gratitude is good for athletics: it tops negativity, rewires your brain, eliminates stress, improves self- esteem, and raises levels of performance.

What I notice working with athletes over several decades is how most of the truly great ones are filled with gratitude, one of the foundational strengths of the Mamba Mentality. The teams that perform at their very best are grateful. They are also very happy and joyful, states of mind that translate into better performance. My friend and Benedictine monk, Brother David Steindl-Rast reminds me that theroot of joy is gratefulness...it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.

In the world of sports, we fall into the trap of what’s missing; we’re not big enough, strong enough, talented enough, good enough...enough already! It’s easy to think about scarcity rather than abundance, to be grateful for what we have. To help with this, I recommend expressing gratefulness as a daily practice. For five minutes each day, focus on your gratitude for what you have been given, all of your blessings. Then go about the rest of your day making everything you do and how you’re being a mere reflection of these gifts.

Gratefulness is the process of becoming mindful of what is genuinely important and holding that feeling in your heart. What’s important to you, what you’re grateful for, can change each day depending upon what comes your way. For me, certain items are more constant, as in, “I am grateful for my family, my life partner, my ability to make a difference in the lives of others through my writing and work, my healthy body, my comfortable home, my mental clarity, my sense of humor,” and so on. Each day new items get added to the list.

Here’s an exercise that I practice regularly. I do this before getting out of bed, and it has the power to transform my days and impact everything I am doing and how I am being. Give this a shot and be sure to include everything that’s good and special about your life.

• Make a list of five or more items that make you feel grateful.

• Go over the list and get connected to how these make you feel:

  calm, peaceful, loving, fortunate, blessed...all feelings of

  gratefulness.

• Take in one deep, slow breath through your nose. And as you

  do, take in this feeling of gratefulness. Have the feeling surround your heart, hold your breath for four seconds, and then slowly release it.

• Repeat this deep breathing three times.

• Notice how relaxed and peaceful you feel. Now – go about the

  rest of the day and make everything a reflection of what you’ve been given. In other words, give back.

  Notice the difference in how you perform. The ordinary will become extraordinary. This alignment with your heart will give you a broader, richer, more meaningful perspective on all the mundane realities of sports as well as in life.

  Here is more wisdom from Brother David:

  Look closely and you will find that people are happy because they are grateful...Everything is a gift. The degree to which we are awake to this truth is a measure of our gratefulness, and gratefulness is a measure of our aliveness...We are never more than one grateful thought away from peace of heart.

  Having gratitude is an attitude...the “attitude of gratitude” contributes to your overall health and has a profound impact on masterful performance as you go from “grateful to great.”

DEVINE PONYTAIL ON THE PITCH

 Now I am back to my next book out in late Spring of 2021,THE COMPETITIVE BUDDHA. This excerpt is about a sensational soccer athlete who used Buddhist thought to excel mon the pitch and in life. 

Here is a glance of the cover, brilliantly done by Mango Publishing artist, Roberto Nunez.

What a beautiful majestic nickname for a majestic Buddha competitor. Roberto Baggio was a Hall of Fame attacking midfielder and one of the most iconic soccer athletes of all time. Dubbed the Divine Ponytail for his Buddhist beliefs as well as his unusual hair style, Baggio was the only Italian footballer to score a goal in three World Cups. His accolades contain a laundry list of achievements on the pitch: a global superstar who was voted fourth in the FIFA’s Player of the Century award, FIFA Player of the Year and chosen FIFA World Cup Dream Team. Strangely enough, what many remember about his storied career is his missed shot in a shootout penalty during the final game of the 1994 World Cup against Brazil. He took Italy’s last PK and put the decisive kick over the crossbar giving Brazil the coveted World Cup title in one of the most upsetting moments in World Cup history.

Yet amid his career of victory and defeat, what stands out most to me was his dedication to his Buddhist beliefs, ergo the word “Divine” in his famous moniker. As a result of his human rights activism, this true Buddha athlete was awarded the 2010 Man of Peace title in recognition of his charitable work and contribution to social justice and peace.

The story of Roberto Baggio is not the tale of a failed penalty kick. Without Baggio, Italy would never have been in that final. The real story is how his Buddhist wisdom helped him to handle his major setback with serenity and equanimity. His Buddhist training enabled him to maintain his composure when all seemed hopeless.

He was introduced to the wisdom of Buddhism following a severe injury in 1987. He became a practicing Buddhist on a team of Catholics. He continues to use meditation as a way to become aware of life’s meaning and the strength to face challenges as they arise. As an act of complete dedication to his Buddha beliefs in 2014 in Milan, Baggio inaugurated the opening of the largest Buddhist temple in Europe to help others to discover what he has found.

In an article written in 1999 in the Irish Times, Baggio has been given yet another name: The Buddha of Milan. In this piece Baggio describes the relationship between Buddhism and soccer: “I believe that the most important thing is to be well, inside yourself, in your soul. If you are at peace with yourself, you can do anything well. Buddhism has helped me find this inner happiness. With Buddhism my game has improved, everybody has noticed, coaches, team-mates and fans.” The convergence of Buddha with sport enabled him to unlock the competitive gate for athletics and life.

LEADING OUTSIDE THE BOX

 Another excerpt from my COACHING WITH HEART best seller. 

When you first arrive at my home page, you quickly become aware of the fluid movement of my provocative Chinese Logo. But, if you look closely, are you aware of the Champion Warrior coach, leader, athlete in the middle of the red box breaking free from the confines throwing arms and legs to the outside. Notice how the color of this figure changes from black to a shade of gray. Let me explain the subtle shifts going on before your eyes. The Warrior is trapped inside the box where everything is black and white( notice that?), right or wrong, good or bad, winner or loser. The Warrior knows that such dualities must be neutralized if success is to be attained. For example, loss isn't good or bad...it's a teacher helping us to refine our game and learn then move forward. Also, our opponents aren't the bad guys...they are partners who, because of their presence, challenge us to improve and bring out our best. Sometimes, less is more and soft is strong ( water is soft but wears away rock). Such thinking is counter- intuitive for most leaders/coaches but for the Warrior coach/leader there is no other way...we must break out and transform. 

But it takes sacrifice, suffering and pain to change, to be different, to follow your heart and not the orders of the masses. That's why the box is symbolically colored red, the Chinese color for fire ( pain, suffering), change and transformation. Anything that comes in contact with fire changes and transforms. Notice the Warrior goes from black to a shade of gray when exiting the red box. Red is also the color of Heart and passion...meaning in this case, follow your heart and what you love...and all will work out the way it suppose to. Hopefully, I have not confused you and you understand the essence of this well thought out logo.

So why is all of this important and what significance does it have in the work that you do? Only you can answer this question for yourself . However, I have noticed that extraordinarily effective, successful coaches and leaders seem to have a way of thinking outside-the-box. They are unusually inspirational and empower others to seek their individual and collective greatness. If you read all of my blogs on leadership/coaching you become aware of how much of the material is different than the norm, unconventional and refreshingly stimulating outside-the-box thought processes. By looking at my Warrior/Champion Logo, I am constantly reminded about the importance of such thoughts while it keeps me focused on what matters. This is The Way of the Champion, the Warrior coach- leader.

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP

 Over the lifespan of my 40 year professional career in various aspects of sports, I can confidently say that thousands of athletes have felt deep resentment, anger, disappointment, dislike and disrespect for their coaches. My take about the cause of these stress producing and performance debilitating feelings is the serious lack of authenticity on the part of their coach, mentor, leader and guide. What they seem to desire is a coach who is first and foremost, a human being ( as opposed to a "human DOING"). They crave ( and I have been told this from the majority of these elite performers) a relationship with someone who cares( wouldn't you?). They want to be positively regarded,recognized, respected , relished and valued for their contribution to the system. In order for a coach to accomplish authenticity in the relationship, there must be love in his/her heart. No love, no coaching...it's that simple. 

The key is to give an athlete the attention they deserve. Look your athletes in the eye; truly listen to them; touch them on the shoulder or pat them on the back. Be present with what is happening right now, as if they are the only important people in your life. Just BE you...and let your imagined role slip away. Work at letting your presence be simple, comfortable, natural, modest, humble and unassuming.

I notice how so many who call themselves coaches, act superior, play a role and fear that if they are themselves, they will not be good enough or that somehow,they will lose control. ( read the blog on Insecure Leaders) So...they hide, pose, pretend, posture, and play the part and while in the process, lose authenticity and become unconscious in a "game without purpose". They fill their egos while emptying their souls. They sacrifice their potential positive influence.

What I have learned over the years is that when I am myself, being present, transparent and authentic, I have a subtle transformational effect on whomever I coach and lead. I am MOST powerful ( not power over others but power TO or power WITH), most influential, most effective and most happy ( that is numero uno) when I am being completely myself. And the nice thing about that is: I am not superior to anyone, nor inferior . I just am who I am and that's easy to be.

LEADERSHIP ROLE BEWARE

 Another excerpt from my best seller, COACHING WITH HEART. 

What I notice about so many who "play the role" of leader-coach is that they take themselves and life very seriously. When this occurs, the spontaneity, joy, lightheartedness, and humor become invisible ( assuming these traits ever existed). In the absence of such characteristics, true,effective, inspirational leadership/coaching is not possible. Humorless,joyless leadership/coaching is an oxymoran. Basically, the "role" begins to define who you are and as a result, you lose touch with the real you...a human being having a leadership experience, not a leader having a human experience. You may have noticed how many doctors, because of total identification with their role, can only relate to others as patients, or case loads, or "the heart case in room 117". Such impersonalization leads to doctor/patient interactions that are unauthentic and at times, outright dehumanizing. If you lose yourself in the "role of leader-coach", you run the risk of not having authentic relationships with those under your guidance. Remember that extraordinary leadership/coaching is ALL about relationships...the creation of safe, trustworthy,respectful,human relationships. No relationship...no leadership. Authentic, emotionally engaging relationships are impossible to create when you get too absorbed and lost in the role. Be a human being who is working in a leadership/coaching capacity and really understand that when you buy into "the role" model, you prevent yourself from being an inspirational and empowering and influential leader/coach. The cure for your potential demise as a good leader is AWARENESS. Be aware of how you talk and interact and treat those you guide. Is your role and the subsequent way you relate to others causing distance, is it making you feel superior, does it prevent emotional engagement, is it a block to being transparent when transparency actually facilitates realness and authenticity, the common denominators for effective guidance? 

My wife is an amazing person who works as a doctor...she doesn't wear a white coat ( Fly her "Role Flag", as it were). I tell my students, if it doesn't interfere with your education, call me Jerry...that's who I am. I gain their respect, trust and their following because of who I really am, not my socially sanctioned title. I must let-go of self definitions and focus on being what I really am...a servant helping others to ultimately say:"We did it ourselves".

Now, I refuse to take myself too seriously. I have somethings to offer you and beyond that, remember that we are all 98% the same...human beings and the differences are ONLY in our BELIEFS. Let me think about what I just said as it rolled off my tongue and into my computer. Who am I??? JPL

POWER LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS

 These questions and comments are from my best seller COACHING WITH HEART.  There are many ways to utilize these q's apart from my suggestions.

I refer to the word "power" not as having power over someone or something but the power to...to lead,guide,influence,inspire and empower. In this sense, questions and the subsequent answers are POWERful ( full of power)ways to guide others forward. The brilliant Greek philosopher, Socrates, taught in this fashion, bringing many of his followers using well thought out questions, to awareness on their journeys of life. After all, a journey is a QUEST for wisdom and enlightenment and from the word "quest", we get "quest-ion", the means by which we discover the where,how,what and why along the path. In my work, I am always using questions to help lead and coach others. I encourage them( give them courage) to search for the answers that ultimately reside within each of them. The following are just the tip of the iceberg and I invite you to begin creating your own penetrating questions based on the needs and directions of others under your guidance. Have them write their responses and use that for lively discussion ,learning and awareness.

1) What are the tangibles you bring to the group/team?
2) What are the intangibles?
3) What 5 things do you LOVE about your sport/life?
4) What are your personal goals for this next few months,what are the obstacles, how will you hurdle them? Be very specific...measurable items. 

5) If you freed self to perform to your capacity, what do you imagine is

possible?

6) What are 3 ways that I can best serve the group/team?
7) What book, music, person, poems INSPIRE you? How can you use it

to help your performance?
8) What 5 specific behaviors/things can I do each day that will make me happy?

9) What athlete/person do you admire and why? What 3 behaviors define this individual and how can you begin to imitate these traits in your life?

10) What do you like most about yourself as an athlete/person? Like least? What can you begin to do today to change a few of them?

11) OK, you may want to steer clear of Q # 11. Although I have personally found this one to be the most important and penetrating Q one can ask in life, it can get pretty darn wild. And, it could require years to fully answer. Ready? Who am I ( really)?, Where am I going? Who do I wish to take with me?

You will notice how most,if not all, of these questions are internal & have a spiritual component. Remember that as a coach and leader, your followers performance has much to do with body,mind AND spirit. We are all spiritual beings having a life experience...as opposed to living beings having a spiritual experience...although at times this may be the case.

FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW

  am now back to my next book, The Competitive Buddha, and excerpting the section on being

present. We all agree about how important it is to be present, in the moment, in order to be 

at our best but few do anything to max the chances of such presence. Try this.

For today’s athlete to mourn the past is to perseverate on a mistake, a missed shot, a faulty defensive move. To worry about the future is to perseverate on the possible outcome, results and statistics. Living in the present moment is to intentionally dwell in what is happening now...what are you doing, how are you being and what is happening all around you?

To be the best Buddha athlete, you must learn to live in the present. In his classic book, THE WAY OF ZEN, Alan Watts refers to what Western mystics call the Eternal Now, the state of this one moment. This means to park your attention on to what’s going on without focusing on past regrets or future fears. According to Watts, “I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.”

What I have recently learned, and this may help you, too, is if I am thinking of the future, I come back to the present, by reminding myself that I am thinking, right now in the present, about the past and future and simply acknowledge that fact; then I continue to follow what’s going on now. It might sound like this: “Oh, I’m thinking of the future in this present moment. What else am I doing now?What can I think about now that will keep me in this precious moment?”

This is what a Tiger Woods or a Steph Curry or a Megan Rapinoe can do so well. And like these icons, we all can come back to the “now.” Kobe was a true Buddha in his ability to be present most of the time on the court.

A competitive Buddha approach is one that knows in all physical activity you must be focused in the here and now to experience mastery. What we all need to know is that being in the now is pure joy and satisfaction. Alan Watts points out that you don’t dance to get to the other side of the floor; you don’t sing to get to the end of the song. Neither should you work out, train, run, swim, bike, or do your job just to get it done. Focus on the joy of the process – minute by minute, day by day. Again, Kobe was brilliant at this, as he was with so many of these values. He didn’t play to get to the end of the game or season.

To help you focus like this, direct your attention to all the wonderful things going on inside you as you play. Feel the blood flow through the arterial pathways. Remind yourself of all the little things you must do now. Focus your eyes only on what you are doing: the ball, stick, field, weights, the book you are writing. Choose a good visual target. Fill your ears with words of encouragement and positive expressions. If possible, listen to music that facilitates concentration in the moment. Or think about the runner who took all the numbers and hands from the face of his watch and wrote one word: now! Wow! He had the correct time, every second of every day. Try to season your life as if you were to live forever, yet act as if this is your last day on earth. Carpe diem: seize the day. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., feel “the fierce urgency of now.”

THE COACHE'S CREED

 Here is a short segment from my best seller, COACHING WITH HEART. You may wish to copy this on a nice piece of art board and hang it somewhere where it can be read often.

I WRITE AS I TALK...INCESSENTLY ONCE I BEGIN. But for this blog, I will cut to the chase and state what I believe to be the central belief of our sacred work of coaching/leading. It is something I have written after reading a statement by Rudolph Steiner on his approach to teaching and then, putting my spin on his philosophy:

REGARD THOSE YOU COACH & LEAD IN SACRED AWE, 

COACH & LEAD THEM IN LOVE, CREATE & CULTIVATE A PLACE OF HEART,

WHERE ALL BELIEVE THEY CAN BE SOMETHING OTHER THAN ORDINARY.

This sums up so much of what I have been trying to say so maybe all the other blogs are seriously superfluous. Well, that is not exactly correct...the other blogs have their own merit as you will notice.

You decide. But for today I am done. Short,Sweet and Sustainable.

JL

FIVE LEADERSHIP SENSES

 Here is the first of many posts for this new year 2021. With these 5 senses, you will be able to be the architect of a SENSE-ational year.. Join me,[;ease, in making this the best one ever.

You want to be sure that your leadership and coaching styles make sense. Here are my Big 5, the five senses of your culture that make sense in order to be a sensible leader and coach...and sensitive as well:

1) A Sense of Humor. If you take yourself too seriously, you are in deep, murky trouble. Your calling is serious business but not you. You are a silly, sometimes crazy yet great human and by definition you screw up, you fail, your athletes and followers fail...we are all human and this is what we do. I like to think about the leaders in the comedy series and movie, M.A.S.H. Whom do you like and dislike? And why? Guess what? those who had humor and didn't take themselves seriously were highly effective. You decide but the role of humor in leadership and coaching is imperative for the "safe environment" I talk so much about.

2)A Sense of Generosity. Think of coaching and leadership as a "giving process" not a "getting process". Look for ways to give,serve and help. When a follower fails or does something wrong, give forgiveness and tolerance and watch them get back quickly on track. Be generous with love,respect and trust. Care!!!

3)A Sense of Possibility( not disability). Ask your followers to dream things that never were and ask.Why not? (Thank you G.B.Shaw). Promote courage to take risks and not worry about outcomes. The process of risk taking empowers them to keep going in the face of setback knowing that we all learn and improve in that way. No Risk,No Gain is my mantra.

4)A Sense of Gratitude. Help others to embrace what they have been given...healthy bodies,minds, hearts, opportunities, work, life. Have them understand that all successful people seem to have a deep sense of appreciation and their work and performance becomes a huge reflection of that gratitude.

5) A Sense of Humility. Remember that we are ALL interconnected to something greater than self. I am quick to reming my seminarians and athletes whom I lead and coach that all of who I am and what I do is not my doing. Without others in my life...including those I lead and coach...I could not do what I do and would not be who I am.( "I AM"...see the movie/documentary by the same name...it's tied into this)

I am honored and privileged to be asked by others to work with them. They teach me all that I need to know so I can, in turn, teach them. It is a give and take and I humbly recognize and embrace that thought.

As I read over this Big 5, I realize that without these, I can not do my work. My work is being these and from that place, my influence spreads...so will yours. When I disconnect from any ONE of these, I notice that I struggle in all of my life. I encourage you to practice these 5 in addition to all else that makes you shine. KEEP SHINING, JPL