BE PRESENT

When I was in my late 20's I was recruited by a former manager to help build a sales force from the ground up.  This involved the hiring, training and motivation of what would become my very own regional sales team.  The year was 1996 and I was about to embark on my first leadership role as a sales manager.  I can honestly say that I was just as terrified as I was excited.  Like many phases of my life that I chose to immerse myself in, I would need get exposed to everything and anything that would put me in a better position to succeed.  I quickly learned that some traits are not learned, they are just part of you.  Other traits can be brought into your already existing skill set in order to polish what you  already have.  A big part of the recipe for success as a leader is confidence.  For better or for worse, I've never been short on that one.  To further strengthen my confidence back then, I figured that some folks at the top, mainly my former National Sales Manager, really must have believed in me to give me such an important role.....So?  So don't ask questions and just make the most of it is what I told myself.  I read various sales books involving anything from the psychology of how buying decisions are made to negotiation strategy.  I also read books about leadership of course.  My favorites were, and still are, about famous battles and those who lead those battles.  From the ancient Greeks and Romans to more modern leaders such as Patton, MacArthur and Schwarzkopf.  Great coaches entered the reading list as well.  I fell upon what would become my favorite sports book relating to business
"Success is a Choice"http://www.barnesandnoble.com/listing/2687217082340?r=1&cm_mmca2=pla&cm_mmc=GooglePLA-_-Book_25To44-_-Q000000633-_-2687217082340

by Rick Pitino ( http://www.gocards.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pitino_rick00.html) 
By the time I found this book, I had already become the Manager of the Year for my new company.  Even with this achievement under my belt, I never stopped being a student of leadership.  I also never stopped looking for ways to motivate my team.  Somehow, I found ways to naturally connect with the players on my team.  I hired them, trained them and now it was my job to regularly motivate them so as to succeed on a regular basis.  I had fun with my reps.  I hired individuals that had ZERO medical device experience. College grads with one job under their belt that had formal training and a successful track record. Copier, Pager, Cell Phone reps.  They were all winners for the most part.  They all had good skills coming in, but I made them better.  Let me re-phrase that.  I brought new ideas to them on how they could become better and they applied what I made them aware of.  They made a choice to succeed.   Fearless polished individuals that found ways into buying decisions.  Now at this point I know you're thinking - how in the wide world of fucking sports does this relate to CrossFit.  Remember - EVERY FUCKING THING ON THIS EARTH CAN BE RELATED TO CROSSFIT - AND CROSSFIT CAN BE RELATED TO EVERY FUCKING THING ON THIS EARTH - see how that works?   Now back to "Success is a Choice" - In the book, Pitino unveils probably the biggest key to his success as a coach - Very simply; KNOW EACH INDIVIDUAL ON YOUR TEAM - know what they do in their spare time, what drives them, their family, their childhood, hobbies, favorite color, their life......all of it.  Get those same individuals knowing eachother just as well as you know them.  Spend time together.....AS A TEAM.  Have fun with them on and off the field.  Exploit their skills and focus on bettering their weaknesses - through all of this you'll create cohesiveness.  Get a group of like-minded individuals on the same team and it will  lead to success.  Once that happens, everyone just feeds off of eachother for energy.  We end up making eachother better.  We share, we laugh, we learn and we choose success.  We see it in sports everyday.  We see it in many aspects of corporate America as well.  Before you know it, you're part of a thriving successful machine that can tackle just about any challenge.  I did some of this naturally, unknowingly in my first year as a manager.  Then, I read Pitino's book and applied some of what I thought could help my team.  One of the very best parts of the book involved another book that Coach Pitino read to his players.  The reading, I felt, was a great way of bringing the team together.  I took it upon myself to purchase and read this book to my winning team.  Upon completing the reading, I gave each one of them a copy with a personal thank you inside the cover.  Something simple yet significant, to show them how much I appreciated all they had allowed me to achieve by letting me get to know them.  The book I am referring to is called "The Precious Present" by Spencer Johnson http://www.livinglifefully.com/flo/flopreciouspresent.htm .  It's a very short read - hit the link above and take 10 minutes - it's worth it - I share it with you and urge you to share it with your family, friends and anyone who is important to you.  Relate it to CF?  That's easy - Be present and you'll always be happy - Be present and you'll be healthy - Be present and you'll get more out of life...walk into the box and forget about everything in your life - just focus on the present - it's why you arrived in the first place....trust me - do this and you'll be happy.   Whenever I lose site of the present, I can quickly go back to this story - I know it's kind of a strong departure from my typical post.  Call it fucked up, HA!  I really don't care.  I've used this principle successfully for years.  When I stray from it, shit doesn't turn out so well.  When I apply it's simple life lesson, my life feels full again and so do those around me, it's kind of infectious.  All that said, no matter what you do, wherever you are or whoever you're with - BE PRESENT.

Injured? Here's a tip from leading Sports Psychologist Dr. Alan Goldberg 
https://www.competitivedge.com/rebounding-injuries-0

*Athlete strategies for coping with injuries #10-BE PATIENT– If your injury is temporary, allow yourself enough time to heal properly. If you're over anxious to get back to the court, field, course or pool and rush the healing process, then you may set yourself up for another, more serious injury which may cost you even more time. Rushing the healing process so that you can get back a week or two earlier is “penny wise, pound foolish.” That is, you might get back a few days earlier, but because you didn’t wait those extra days to heal properly, you may end up developing a chronic injury that could keep you out for extra weeks and even months. Remember, sometimes the fastest way of coming back is the slowest. GO SLOWER, ARRIVE SOONER!

Stay strong!
Peace - Johnny