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FROM GOOD OLE UNCLE VICMay 2005
Hooray, hooray, it’s finally May! Where are all those flowers? Seems to still be raining a lot to me.
The answer to last month’s quiz: In Greek mythology who is Persephone? Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture and Zeus, king of the gods. Hades, god of the Underworld, kidnapped her. Demeter was so angry that she refused to let crops grow. Zeus worked out a deal with Hades that Persephone would spend two thirds of the year with her mother and one third with Hades in the Underworld. That is why, during winter when Persephone is in the Underworld, no crops, plants or flowers grow.
This month’s quiz, again for a free movie pass, what is the origin of the term, mayday as a distress signal for ships and planes? Turn your answer in to Vicki, via e-mail. Vicki.Brick@BrickBodies.com.
I meet with a friend named Pat Goodman on Friday mornings for Bible study. Pat is a pastor at Grace Fellowship Church, a non-denominational church in Timonium. I am not sure but I think it has 8,000 members. We meet at my favorite place, Starbucks and talk about life, business, human nature, the Bible and our lives. (Talk about discipline. I drink a green tea instead of a frappachino because I am still on my no sugar diet during the week). I think everyone needs a mentor and he is mine, at least in the spiritual sense. This past week he was talking about a seminar he attended. I can’t even remember who he said gave the seminar, Bill Hybels, I think, the senior pastor at an even larger church in the Chicago area.
Pat said that the speaker talked about the fact that we will improve the most in the areas that we know the most. The speaker also said we should find out what we don’t like doing and stop doing it. It will drain our energy. He said that a weakness, by definition, is something that weakens you. Therefore, you should avoid weaknesses. In other words, improve strengths, not weaknesses.
The more you think about it the more sense it makes. Concentrate on what you do well. Don’t worry about what you can’t do. Accentuate your strengths. Avoid your weaknesses.
But most people do the exact opposite. They work on weaknesses instead of strengths. They try to be a wiz on the computer, a handyman/woman around the house, an effective businessman or woman, organized, a financial planner and the picture of health. If their drive is weak they work on their driving instead of realizing they will never be a great driver and working more on their putting instead. They try to learn skills they don’t really like, like computer skills, and they see the deficiencies in themselves and others instead of the strengths.
Yet, when you look at the really successful individuals, the ones at the top of their profession, they do just that, play to their strengths. Jimmy Connors had a terrible serve, yet was one of the greatest tennis champions of all time. He didn’t worry about his serve. He just hit the heck out of his groundstrokes and service return. Shaq can’t hit a foul shot but is the most valuable player in the NBA. (Believe me, I know. My former high school teammate, Buzz Braman, the Shot Doctor, worked with him years on his foul shooting, often at our club in Orlando, to no avail), Mohammed Ali did not have a lot of power but used his speed and quickness to become arguably the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. How many doctors do you know that aren’t good with practical things but are very successful, even world famous. Einstein was terrible with daily things yet was a household name as a scientist.
My son, Jon, is getting ready to play college basketball next year. He is a 5’10"
point guard. If he wants to be an effective point guard he has to have three shots; a deadly three pointer, an up-fake, dribble, pull-up jumper for when the defender comes out on him and an effective drive, jump hook for when he has to go all the way to the basket and shoot over taller players (and they will ALL be taller players). That’s it. Three shots. If he has those three, he can be a standout player. But, in order to perfect those three shots, he has to work on them, almost at the exclusion of most other shots.
You don’t have to do everything well to be successful, even in the same field. Do you know how many pitches you need to master to be a dominant baseball pitcher? Two. Any two. If you have three, you will almost certainly pitch in the major leagues.
Is it tough to avoid certain things you don’t like or are good at? Sure it is. But if it allows you to improve dramatically in other areas it is well worth it. My buddy Tony has never sent an e-mail. Never. Not one. I don’t think he has ever even turned on a computer. He has his assistant read all his e-mails, print them out and give them to him. He reads them, writes notes on them and gives them back to her to send his responses. Inefficient? Maybe. But it has allowed him to do what he does best, namely do deals. He is a partner in a health club chain, Fitness First, based out of England that is valued at over one billion dollars. That is billion with a "b".
Do what I do best. Avoid what I don’t like or do well. Either don’t do it altogether or hire someone, if possible, to do it. Sounds good to me. Now, if Lynne would just let me avoid eating the vegetables I don’t like, I would be set.
Semper Fi,
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
"Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads."
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