Expect a celebration..

Ooops I actually wrote this a few days ago and didn't post it. Hope you enjoy.

It’s the end of the college basketball season, so I took the weekend off and watched a couple Final Four games with my son. I think the last time I watched the Final Four was when Coach Wooden was leading UCLA with multiple championships - that seems like it was about 30 years ago – so this was a definite deviation from the norm.

It turned out to be a wise choice – mostly because of what I watched on Saturday night when Kansas tore #1 ranked North Carolina apart.

Yet, it wasn't the athlete’s performance that I will remember the most. It was what Bill Self, the Kansas coach, said to his players before they took the court.

He told them they were playing a very good team - but they were also a very good team.

He told them it would be a long game, so they needed to go out there and have fun, stay relaxed and keep their focus.

Yes, in the heat of battle, he told them to remove the resistance by being relaxed.

Oh, if the average person could understand the value of this. Far too many people think the key to overcoming difficulties and surmounting obstacles is to frown, complain and flex.

Not so.

It's to keep moving forward - but in a spirit of calm and relaxation expecting all will go well.

Coach Self ended his pre-game talk with a quote from Vince Lombardi - on expectations. He told the team that they would get what they expected.

Then he paused before delivering a line I will never forget:

"I expect a BIG CELEBRATION in this locker room in about two and a half hours."
Coach Self did not talk about winning. He did not talk about beating the other team. ALL he talked about was "expecting a big celebration."

He began with the end in mind.

And the end was NOT winning - it was the joy and excitement to be felt AFTER winning.

Coach Self gave the team a vision that aroused their emotions and focused them on what they really wanted - the FEELING of victory - the FEELING of having given their best.

Kansas led 38-10 at one point in the first half. A 28-point lead on the nation's number one team!

In the second half their lead was chopped considerably as the Tar Heels fought valiantly. But after North Carolina fought so hard to catch up, they had nothing left and Kansas flew past them again - winning by 18 points.

As you go through your day, ask yourself this question, "What do you expect to be celebrating about at the end of today."

Begin with the end in mind and watch the end come to you in record time.

Til next time....