SEASON 8 - LESSONS 19-36

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WEEKLY LESSONS

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WEEK 19: WAKE UP

A lot of people sleep through life. They may look wide awake, but they're completely disconnected from the world around them as they just go through the motions of living. But everyone has to wake up eventually. If you wake up by choice, it's going to be uncomfortable. But if you wait for life to wake you up, it's going to be painful. Don't wait for life to wake you up. Choose to wake up to responsibility and reality. Choose to wake up to right now.

Pillar: Personal Code
Key Topics:
responsibility, facing reality, be here, presence, self-awareness, accountability, character, choices, entitlement, personal code, procrastination
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WEEK 20: ALL FAILURE

Getting things wrong is how you learn to get things right. That's why failure will make up many of the steps on your path to success. Not all failure is created equally, though, and some failures are scarier than others. All failure can teach you how to become the leader, athlete, student, and person that you want to become, but only if you’re willing to learn from it.

Pillar: Growth Mindset
Key Topics:
failure, learning from mistakes, responsible decision-making, good risks, growth mindset, overcoming obstacles, truth, character, preparation
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WEEK 21: UNDER PRESSURE

Playing a sport comes with a certain level of pressure attached, as does life in general. The purpose of that pressure is to reveal the truth of who you are as an athlete, a leader, and a person. Some people are crushed by the truth, but some are catapulted to success by it. The difference lies in what they do with the truth that the pressure of their position reveals.

Pillar: Grit
Key Topics:
pressure, expectations, standards, truth, character, self-management, grit, attitude, support, competition, distraction, be here
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WEEK 22: TEAM FIRST

Striving to be first team means you want to be the best ON the team, while striving to be Team First means you want to be your best FOR the team. The best leaders are Team First, not first team. That's because being a great leader has nothing to do with your talent on the field and everything to do with your talent as a leader. People follow leaders they trust. To be a trustworthy leader, you've got to be team first.

Pillar: Servant Leadership
Key Topics:
service, servant leadership, relationship skills, trust, trustworthy, character vs talent, go first, empathy, respect, mudita, teamwork, goal alignment
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WEEK 23: GET HIRED

It takes few skills and little experience to get hired for the freshman team, but it takes a lot more to get hired as a team captain. The same is true for paid jobs–getting hired as a convenience store clerk requires less experience and fewer specialized skills than getting hired as a head coach. No matter the position you're trying to get hired for, there are certain skills that will always help you succeed, including: work ethic, consistency, discipline, and humility.

Pillar: Goals
Key Topics:
goals, success, consistency, discipline, humility, work ethic, hard work, long-term, commitment, team work, again and again, self-management, transferable skills
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WEEK 24: LITTLE QUITS

Missing your goals happens slowly, and then all at once. It starts with a little quit here or there, like mentally zoning out in the classroom or skipping a few reps in the weight room. You think these things don't matter because they're so small, but with each little quit, you get closer to missing your goal. Every choice you make is either a little quit or a little commitment.

Pillar: Work Ethic
Key Topics:
work ethic, responsible decision-making, commitment, sacrifice, overcoming obstacles, one more, focus, your best, effort
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WEEK 25: INNER GAME

The outer game is where you test your skills against your opponents' skills on the field. The inner game is where you face off with your own mind. When you win the inner game, you gain the ability to control your mind so it can't run away with you. Your inner game will affect, and even determine, your outer game. The ways that you talk to yourself, see yourself, and compete all influence your ability to win the inner game.

Pillar: Growth Mindset
Key Topics:
growth mindset, self-awareness, competition, self-image, perspective, self talk, you vs you, positivity, pressure, right size, focus, learning from mistakes, visualization
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WEEK 26: FLUSH IT

While helping the baseball team at Cal State Fullerton learn to move on from mistakes, Dr. Ken Ravissa placed a toilet in the dugout. The idea was that after players made a mistake on the pitch, they would come back to the dugout and flush it away. It might sound silly, but this worked! The team performed significantly better after having the physical reminder to let go of their mistakes. Even if you don't have a toilet in the dugout, there are other ways to flush it after you make a mistake.

Pillar: Goals
Key Topics:
goals, self-management, learning from mistakes, let go, perspective, focus, positivity, inner game, own it
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WEEK 27: CHAMPIONSHIP RELATIONSHIPS

The higher you rise in any field, the more that talent will level out, and the only thing that can separate you as an individual will be your character. What separates talented teams from the rest is their relationships. The teams with championship relationships win championships. No one wins alone. If you want to form championship relationships with your teammates, then there are a few things you'll want to start doing today.

Pillar: Servant Leadership
Key Topics:
servant leadership, relationship skills, communication, valuing others, respect, service, teamwork, self care, building trust, friend or fan
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WEEK 28: KNOW YOURSELF

Do you know the real you? Who you are is not just what you like or what you hope will be true about you. It's deeper than that. To know yourself, means you know things like your purpose and desired outcome, motivations and discouragements, and strengths and weaknesses. Clarity and confidence come when you know yourself on this deeper level.

Pillar: Personal Code
Key Topics:
personal code, self awareness, purpose, motivation, discouragement, encouragement, desire outcome, why and what, stengths and weaknesses, self reflection

MORE LESSONS COMING SOON!

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WEEK 29: PLAIN SIGHT

There is no secret or shortcut to success. Everything you need to reach your goals is hiding in plain sight. In other words, what you need to do to be successful is already right in front of your eyes. You just have to see it and then do the hard work to get there. The three things in plain sight are: the people around you, your process, and your perspective.
Pillar: Goals

Key Topics:
secret sauce, shortcut to success, perspective, process, goals, hard work, support, plan, commitment
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WEEK 30: NOT HELPFUL

We all do things that are not helpful to our team. We usually don't mean to do it, and we may not even realize that we are doing it. That's why we need to be able to call out and be called out by our teammates. But as helpful as call-outs are, they aren't necessarily easy. That's where the phrase "Not helpful" becomes helpful. If you see a teammate complaining, comparing, cutting corners, or being cocky, just say "Hey, that's not helpful," and then tell them what would be helpful.

Pillar: Servant Leadership

Key Topics:
helpful, useful, good work, encouragement, call out, coaching, coachability, teamwork, cockiness, comparing, complaining, negativity, positivity, accountability, servant leadership, responsibility
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WEEK 31: TOTAL EFFORT

It's pretty easy to give total effort on a good day, when you're excited about what you're doing, and when your whole team is giving their best together. But life isn't always like that. There will be bad days. There will be days when you don't want to work. There will be days when you're the only one who does want to work. These situations will happen throughout your life–not just in sports. Don't let your effort be determined by your feelings or the environment. Give total effort regardless.

Pillar: Work Ethic

Key Topics:
work ethic, hard work, bad days, effort, overcoming obstacles, want-to, motivation, determination, be uncommon, commitment, self-management
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WEEK 32: BIG THREE

If you don't connect your leadership in sports to leadership in life, then what have you really learned? How to play a game really well. Sure it's fun, and your friends right now are impressed by your skills, but what's that going to leave you with in the future? The point of being a leader for your team is not just to get better at throwing a ball; the point is to learn how to lead well long after your playing days are over. The Big Three actions to take your leadership beyond sports, are to love, encourage, and serve your teammates.

Pillar: Servant Leadership

Key Topics:
servant leadership, service, love, teamwork, encouragement, how to lead, leading by example, team unity, social awareness
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WEEK 33: WATER BOTTLE

A water bottle is so common that you probably don't think about it much. But like many common, everyday things, there's a lot to be learned from a water bottle, if you're willing to think about it. It can teach you about intention and accident, positivity and negativity, and the cost of your commitments. How can something so ordinary say all of that? In this lesson, you're going to find out.

Pillar: Goals

Key Topics:
life lessons, critical thinking, positivity, negativity, intention, commitment, goals, inspiration, self-awareness, be uncommon
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WEEK 34: THREE SEPARATORS

What separates the best from the rest? It's not talent. It's not resources. It is commitment to three things that are solidly within your control. These three separators are choices that you make each day. Do you choose to finish through the line? Do you choose to work to the standard even when it's tough? Do you choose to accept hard coaching? These choices are what will separate you from the competition.

Pillar: Personal Code

Key Topics:
choice, hard work, tough love, coachability, learn from mistakes, accepting correction, high standards, finish strong, personal code, your best
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WEEK 35: FIVE NOs

To have a great team, you have to be willing to say No when it matters most. The five most important things you can say No to are: excuses, complaining, entitlement, lies, and the hokey pokey. When your team commits to the Five No's, you are also committing to saying Yes to: responsibility, positivity, hard work, the truth, and being all-in for your team. Through these commitments to avoiding what is not helpful and pursuing what is helpful, your team can become great.

Pillar: Grit

Tags: excuses, complaining, lies, entitlement, hokey pokey, all in, positivity, hard work, responsibility, reliability, commitment, telling the truth, not helpful, teamwork, grit, high standards
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WEEK 36: LIGHT WEIGHT

No matter how much weight he was lifting or pushing, professional bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman (now retired) always said the same thing: "Light Weight." A Light Weight mindset helps you expand your mindset for what is possible. When you believe you can achieve more, then you will work at a higher level to achieve it. It is not the belief that gets you there; it is the actions you take based on that belief. But if you don't believe your goal is achievable, you'll never see the actions that will help you reach it. When you face a big, heavy goal, tell yourself: "Light Weight."

Pillar: Growth Mindset

Key Topics:
growth mindset, setting goals, mindset, effort, believe in yourself, can or can’t, next step, overcoming obstacles, self awareness

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Meet COACH MACKEY

Stephen Mackey, CEO & Founder

Stephen Mackey is a player development coach, keynote speaker, Wall Street Journal best-selling author, and founder of 2Words Character Development, one of the top Leadership and character curriculums in the country. Building on the Six Pillars of a Championship Character – Toughness, Integrity, Belief, Excellence, Effort, and Service – Mackey equips teams and organizations to elevate their performance by building a culture of character.
Patrick Jones - Course author