SEASON 8 - LESSONS 19-36
WEEKLY LESSONS
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:
Pillar: Personal Code
Key Topics:
responsibility, facing reality, be here, presence, self-awareness, accountability, character, choices, entitlement, personal code, procrastination
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
Pillar: Growth Mindset
Key Topics:
failure, learning from mistakes, responsible decision-making, good risks, growth mindset, overcoming obstacles, truth, character, preparation
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:
Pillar: Grit
Key Topics:
pressure, expectations, standards, truth, character, self-management, grit, attitude, support, competition, distraction, be here
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
Pillar: Servant Leadership
Key Topics:
service, servant leadership, relationship skills, trust, trustworthy, character vs talent, go first, empathy, respect, mudita, teamwork, goal alignment
MORE LESSONS COMING SOON!
WEEK 23: BE RIGHT
Our society is obsessed with the idea of Look Right–editing social media posts, retouching photos, padding resumes. But life and sports are not an app on your smartphone. They are real. Sports and real life demand integrity, commitment, and hard work. They require not only that you Look Right, but that you Be Right. And the secret is, when you ARE right, then you will LOOK right, but the opposite is not necessarily true. So start with Be Right. Start with who you are.
Pillar: Goals
Key Topics:
Pillar: Goals
Key Topics:
goals, responsible decision-making, social media, character development, reputation, integrity, commitment, hard work, ethics, appearance vs reality, self reflection
WEEK 24: SHED SWEEPER
If you're interested in rugby, then you've heard of the New Zealand All Blacks. They are three-time Rugby World Cup champions, and they've won 77% of the games that they've played. The All Blacks have been successful for many reasons, but what really sets them apart is their dedication to a simple mantra: Sweep the sheds.
Pillar: Servant Leadership
Key Topics:
This means the team is committed to doing what needs to be done, no matter how small the task. No one is exempt from sweeping the sheds. To be a shed sweeper is to have the mindset that if you want to be great at the big things, then you have to be great at the small things, too.
Pillar: Servant Leadership
Key Topics:
little things, small tasks, your job, servant leadership, service, teamwork, captains, commitment, hard work, effort, entitlement, selflessness
WEEK 25: ONE MORE
You know that all you can give is your best, and you know that your best on one day won't always be the same as your best on another day. But how do you know when you've given your best?
It's more of an art than a science, but a helpful tool is the One More mindset. When you commit to fighting for One More until you have nothing left to give, then you will know you've done your best. And in the process, you'll reach the hard reps that count most. Your best will get better every time you commit to One More.
Pillar: Work Ethic
Key Topics:
work ethic, hard work, your best, commitment, sacrifice, improvement, effort, endurance, determination, self honesty, self reflection
WEEK 26: TAKE PRIDE
Some people take pride in the wrong things. Some people take pride in nothing. But confidence comes from taking pride in the right things. When you succeed, no matter how big or small the win, take pride in yourself. Pride in yourself will motivate you in a way that shame never could. But to keep pride from turning into entitlement, you have to take pride in your teammates, too. And after you take pride in your success, you've got to get back to work.
Pillar: Personal Code
Key Topics:
pride, entitlement, motivation, confidence, self-respect, self-confidence, encouragement, celebrate small wins, personal code, self-awareness
WEEK 27: RAIN OR SHINE
Whether it's rain or shine, your commitments have to remain front and center. You can't throw away your commitments to yourself, your team, or your goals just because it's rainy and things aren't going your way. You can't coast on prior success just because it's sunny and your opponent isn't presenting a challenge. No matter the weather, there will always be temptations to let your commitments slide. But your character will help you remain committed whether it's rain or shine.
Pillar: Grit
Key Topics:
Pillar: Grit
Key Topics:
grit, commitment, dependability, teamwork, hard work, motivation, bad day, win or lose, negativity, complaining, positive attitude, standards
WEEK 28: FAIL BETTER
Failure is part of the human experience. You will make mistakes in school, in sports, and in life. Those mistakes do not make you a failure; they present an opportunity for you to learn how to fail better. Failing better means striving to only make the same mistake once, being willing to fail, and using your failure to move forward. When you learn to fail better, you will learn to win more.
Pillar: Growth Mindset
Key Topics:
growth mindset, failure, fail forward, fail once, success, overcoming obstacles, learn from mistakes, coachability, receiving feedback
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
Key Topics:
secret sauce, shortcut to success, perspective, process, goals, hard work, support, plan, commitment
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
Pillar: Servant Leadership
Key Topics:
helpful, useful, good work, encouragement, call out, coaching, coachability, teamwork, cockiness, comparing, complaining, negativity, positivity, accountability, servant leadership, responsibility
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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