DESTINATION DEFINED

Whether he meant to or not, Hall of Fame baseball player and iconic quotemaker Yogi Berra offers a powerful warning for each of us today. That’s because the pursuit of excellence in any area of life – in developing a team, in building a business, and for us here, in raising and developing champion young people – requires that we know where we’re going. It demands that we see the big picture, embrace the journey, and trust the process. And without creating a vision for where the important goals in life are leading us – or the path we’re required to take to achieve them, we’re warned – it’s likely we’ll end up someplace else. Unfortunately, by failing to create a clear vision, too many of us fail to define our destination. We’re headed someplace; we just aren’t sure where.

When it comes to raising and developing a champion, your vision is like your roadmap. It’s your clearly defined destination. It’s easy to see the here and now – your child as he or she is currently built. But when you combine the here and now with a vision of who your child can become, it moves you into action. And not just any action, but purposeful, productive action that advances you toward your goal – the destination you have in mind.

In reality, our kids aren't champions yet – they've got plenty of work to do. And if all we can see is the here and now, it might be easy to accept that they are who they are, and that’s that. But a powerful vision puts us to work. It helps clarify our kids' areas of strength and weakness. More importantly, it opens our minds to new opportunities and creates urgency to use them, right here in whatever our children are experiencing today, for teaching and developing them towards tomorrow.

We talk regularly in the newsletter about the talents possessed by the champion athlete, and how cultivating them can lead your child toward the destination you're pursuing: their full potential and real success, in sports and in life.

I’m gonna ask you to stop for a minute today and intentionally live in a vision. It’s a vision of who your child can become with those talents fully developed. Regardless of their age or ability level, take a minute and picture this athlete:

-See your child in full uniform, playing with a great love and passion for the game. See them exhibiting the genuine by-products that come with such a love. They're joyful, inspired, energized, focused, and driven.

-See your child giving their very best out there on the court or field. Picture them – drenched in sweat, their tank completely empty. They're exhausted, but proud…and so are you. They're giving everything they've got today.

-See your child demonstrating the resilience to overcome every adversity. So many others are crippled by challenges, but your kid doesn’t have some weak-minded victim mentality. A bad call, a bad play, some bad luck – doesn’t matter. They're strong enough to overcome anything.

-See your child relentlessly seeking improvement. See them hunting for and uncovering new opportunities to learn and grow. They're working tirelessly to get better, even on the stuff they're not very good at, and they're excited to face the challenges that come with it. They are hungry to improve!

-See your child getting coached. See them developing real, authentic trust in their coach, and see them earning that same kind of trust in return. See them listening intently and executing flawlessly. See them respond to tough coaching with courage and determination – looking their coach in the eye, giving them a head nod or a “yes, sir,” and moving on toward success.

-See your child, the great teammate. See them encouraging, uplifting, and supporting those on their team – not begrudgingly out of some obligation, but joyfully from a genuine spirit. It's the result of a clear understanding that when they make others better, they get better, too.

-See your child taking risks. Picture them in a clutch moment, with a lot on the line. Others may be paralyzed by some fear of failure, but not your kid. They're seizing the moment. No matter the outcome, you’re proud. Your kid’s got the courage to go for it!

-See your child, playing with the positive attitude born from a powerful vision of their own. You’ve helped them define their destination, too. They see who they can become, and now they've been moved into action as well, in relentless pursuit of the goal.

Now that is a big-time vision. No matter their age or ability level, that is your child, the champion . Is all that, you think, too much to ask? Is it too much to think they can love the game, give their best, overcome adversity, seek improvement, get coached, be a teammate, and take risks, and do all of it with a positive attitude? If you think that’s too much to ask, then you need a bigger, better vision. Absolutely they can become a champion in each of those areas! It’s not easy, convenient work, but if raising a champion is your goal, they must!

Once you create a vision for who your child can become, you can use it to get to work. Obviously, a vision alone isn’t enough to make your kid a champion. It’s only valuable if it moves you into action today. So start the process of clarifying their areas of strength and weakness. There may be a wide gap in some areas between who they are and the vision for who they can be. Hopefully that realization – that a gap exists – opens your mind to new opportunities and creates urgency to use them, right here in whatever they're experiencing today, for teaching and developing them towards tomorrow.

I hope you’re encouraged today by a powerful vision – a clearly defined destination. I also hope you’ll create a vision of excellence for the other important areas of your life, at home or at work, and use it to move you into purposeful, productive action there, too. Do work today that advances you toward your goals – the important destinations in life. Clarify for yourself where it is you want to go, so you can ensure that you don’t end up someplace else.