Attitude: A Little Difference that Makes a Big Difference!
By Scott Formo
Before I dive into the heart of this week’s Chamber Corner, I would like to first point out a saying that I ran across last week that really hit home for me in a variety of ways: “There is a little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” (W. Clement Stone)
As many of you know, I am an avid Minnewaska Lakers fan, not just because my son plays so many sports, although that definitely is an important factor for me. Last week, I received an email from one of the coaches which talked about some of the lessons they try to teach the kids, outside of the dynamics of playing the game or completing the activity. More importantly, there was an excerpt from the book, QBQ: The Question Behind the Question, by John Miller. Chapter 16 of the book is entitled “Beat the Ref” and the excerpt reads:
“My father, Jimmy Miller, was head wrestling coach at Cornell University in Ithaca , New York
That I had to beat my opponent was obvious. By ‘myself’ he meant that I had to overcome the fears any athlete naturally has. About beating the ref, he’s say, ‘It doesn’t matter how close the match is, John. Even if you lose in overtime by one point, even if he makes a couple of questionable calls, you cannot blame the man in black and white.’ He’d conclude by saying, ‘If you want to win, you must be good enough to beat the ref!’
Good enough to beat the ref. That means being a salesperson who has the maturity to say, ‘I was outsold,’ instead of complaining about the product, the price, and the lack of advertising. It means serving as a team member who never says, ‘Why don’t others pull their own weight?” It means being a manager who doesn’t complain, ‘Why aren’t many people motivated?’ It means being the people who don’t complain about management saying, ‘Why don’t they tell us what’s going on?’
Who is the ‘ref’ in your life? What person or situation beyond your control is standing between you and success? Could it be a supervisor who over-manages, making it difficult for you to do your job, or inefficient systems built into your organization that wastes a lot of your time? Or maybe it’s a personal situation that saps your energy.
No matter what we’re trying to accomplish, there’s always a barrier of some kind to overcome, and it’s often something over which we have no control. Instead of focusing on the barriers, let’s work to become so good that we’ll succeed no matter how many bad calls the ref may throw at us. If you want to win, don’t complain about things beyond your control. Just be good enough to beat the ref.”
What a message to get from the head coach, who by the way, received it from one of the other coaches he works with… I won’t name names, but I would venture to guess that many people already know who they are and I hope they are reading the column this week to know that I do pay attention, even when I don’t always reply!
One of the other messages that these coaches drill into their team players is one practice that I value so much that I secretly wish was more of a school requirement versus their own set of rules – on activity days, it is a requirement that their team dress up in something special and not just the regular jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts that student tend to wear every day.
Just like on the job and special occasions (proms, weddings, pictures, funerals, family gatherings, etc.), dressing up shows that something special is happening that day. It causes people to sometimes do that “double take” and look twice to see who that was walking by and ask the question, “What’s going on today that you are dressed up so fancy…” It doesn’t have to be only on those special occasions that people should take the time to look extra nice, but at the very least, go above and beyond on special days when you can be proud of the event, activity, or occasion that you are participating in. Thanks coaches and school administration, staff, and volunteers for all that you do to prepare our youth for their futures as adults! As a parent, I certainly appreciate the work that you all do!
These past few weeks, we have had several opportunities to dress up, show a little bit of positive attitude, and definitely worked hard to become so good at celebrating local and family traditions, bringing a sense of ownership to the season, and overlooking those bad calls that the ref’s threw at us. What a great community we are a part of… A Great Place to Work, Shop, Live, and Play!
With that being said, I would like to take a moment to thank a number of people and businesses for their contributions to the 2nd Annual Magical Christmas in Glenwood. Thanks to Central Square for kicking off the after Thanksgiving activities with the Free Movie Night, Glenwood State Bank and Eagle Bank for their Free Community Suppers, the Christmas Bazaar, and their participation in the Lighted Christmas Parade, Gulsvig Productions for their video reproduction of the lighted parade (which can be seen on our website http://www.glenwoodlakesarea.org/), the City of Glenwood, Glenwood Police Department, Fire Department, Glacial Ridge Ambulance, and all of the families and businesses that participated in this years holiday parade.
Thanks to our local area businesses who have decorated their storefronts, participated in the parade and other events, sponsored open houses, promoted the “Shop Glenwood and Save 20% or More” this past week, and helped to develop and kick-off our Keep It Local campaign.
Finally, a special thank you to our Magical Christmas planning committee members for helping to bring our 2nd Annual event to fruition and especially to those dedicated volunteers in the community who have helped out at each of the events this year – including the Living Nativity later this week, which is planned for Thursday, December 22 from 5:30 – 7 pm in the Eagle Bank & Tom’s Food Pride parking lot! Thanks Tom and Eagle Bank for providing the space for this spectacular event to wind down our Magical Christmas in Glenwood celebration and bring the real reason for the season to the forefront!
Until next week… Merry Christmas from the Glenwood Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and don’t forget, The Camels are Coming – Are You?
