Month: February 2017

Let’s Call it a Comeback

February 10th, 2017

It’s been an impressive past 12 months in sports. Even if you are not much of a sports fan, you have to agree the comeback victories across the major sports has been stunning.

Let’s recap it real quick:

Down three games to one in the NBA Finals, Cleveland was heading home down, dejected, and out of gas. Or so everyone thought. After some soul searching, recommitment, and game plan changes, the Cavaliers pulled off a three-game win streak and won the championship.

The Chicago Cubs found themselves in a similar hole after four games. The Cleveland Indians, hoping to bring yet another world championship to Cuyahoga County, had a stranglehold on the trophy. It’s very, very rare for a team to come back from a 3-1 hole. Yet, with consistent effort and belief, the Cubs found a way and brought the trophy home.

Most recently, the New England Patriots completed the most improbable, incredible, and unforgettable comeback in the history of football. No team had come back to win a Super Bowl after being down 11 points or more. The Patriots were down 25 with just over 21 minutes remaining in the game. And yet, with persistent hope, laser focus, and lots of good decisions, the Patriots hosted the trophy.

Listen to Julian Edelman and Tom Brady throughout the game – they were leading their guys along. They never gave up! They reminded me of an interesting leadership quote I heard this week: Managers make excuses while leaders figure out how to get it done with the help of others. Listening to Tom and Julian, they are definitely leaders – regardless of how you feel about the team.

Listening to Tom and Julian, they are definitely leaders – regardless of how you feel about the team.

You Choose Your Adventure… and Attitude

In each of these cases above, things looked bleak. However, each team remained upbeat, supported one another and relied on their training and preparation. Sure, in each case, a little luck was needed. However, each team was prepared to take that little luck, that little opening, and make the most of it.

These teams got to practice choosing their attitude on the world’s largest stage. But, it doing so doesn’t require the bright lights and gloss of a world championship. Those teammates chose their attitude daily – when they were hurting through two-a-days, studying film for hours, and giving up a lot of opportunities to focus on their team goal.

We’ve seen lots of comebacks at Weequahic. When Hopi last won Tribals in 2012, they were down massively – way back in 4th place with a day to go. After an enormous effort and another Westerman miracle, they had pulled of an amazing comeback.

But, it’s not only teams that make massive comebacks, it’s individuals, too. We’ve had several campers who, if you asked them on their second day of camp, they were heading home and never coming back to camp. 

However, because of the amazing work of our staff, their supportive buddies at camp and parents at home, they not only conquered their fear of being away but wound up loving camp so much they crying while heading home! And, they were among the first to re-enroll for the next summer.

Show the courage to do the work. Pick the attitude that makes you most likely to succeed. Sure, you may need some luck but get ready for it to come your way. You just may have a championship comeback, too!

Have a great week. With GAC,
Cole

A GAC Sunrise

February 3rd, 2017

Earlier in the week, I had the opportunity to head up to Weequahic. Our new caretaker, Alex, and his team had been cruising through some new projects and I wanted to check in with him. Impressive work – these guys can really get things done!

An Early Start

Because of an early Wayne County Camp Association meeting the next morning, I left Weequahic before sunrise. I’m not a huge fan of driving early in the morning during the winter around camp but, thankfully, the snow plows had been very active early and the roads were great.

As I was driving the windy, up and down Hwy 17B, the sky brightened slowly but surely. And then, crossing over the Delaware River, the full glory of the morning’s first light hit all around me.

The sunrise was spectacular. It illuminated the trees on the Pennsylvania side making the snow covered pines literally glow. There were small patches of ice bubbling calmly down the Delaware. The clouds in the sky were a riot of reds, purple, and golds. The fields and the small town I was passing through were idyllic. It was a gorgeous moment.

And then I smelled the skunk.

It hit me full on, head first and was brutal. The smell was so strong, I thought the thing had climbed into the car with me and asked for a breakfast bar. It was over-powering.

To be honest, I got a bit frustrated. I mean, I had just been enjoying this incredible, once in a long while kind of sunrise. I had been fully immersed in this fantastic moment and then, WHAM!, this happens? C’mon!!! I laughed darkly at the irony.

A “GAC” Lesson

To get my mind off things as I sped along, I turned on a podcast I had been listening to the afternoon before. The first things I heard was this:

“The struggle ends when gratitude begins.”

Wait… what? I had to stop the podcast, rewind, and listen to it again because I couldn’t believe the coincidence of it. Sure enough, the person being interviewed had said:

“The struggle ends when gratitude begins.”

All of the sudden, I realized the lesson in my beautiful, skunk-tinged sunrise – I get to choose my point of focus. I don’t have to choose, I get to choose. There is a big difference in those two verbs.

The inputs – the visual beauty and pungent smell – were streaming at me. Because I was driving, I had to take them both in. But, I didn’t have to give them both the same amount of attention. When I started to focus on the gratitude I felt for the sunrise, I actually got happier. Sure, the skunk smell was still with me but I knew that it would be gone a mile or two later. The beauty of that sunrise, though, would stay with me for a long time.

When I started to focus on the gratitude I felt for the sunrise, I actually got happier. Sure, the skunk smell was still with me but I knew that it would be gone in a mile or two. The beauty of that sunrise, though, would stay with me for a long time.

Going Forward

Every day we are presented with opportunities to choose our focus. Things are never perfect – a great game could be marred by a teammate’s turn-overs. You probably will be sent to bed before you want to after a fantastic day. Some kid in your class probably did something annoying today. But, are you going to let those small experiences take away the good?

You get to choose your point of focus and how you react. And, if you choose to be grateful for the good in your life, those smelly moments go by a whole lot faster.

Have a great weekend!