themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"
Well, it’s the holiday season and time for a break before we start our new topic on Mastering Time. I’d really like to know your thoughts on this blog and where you think it can be improved. Send me an email at tpperformer@aol.com to let me know how helpful it’s been to you. Thanks and have a happy and safe holiday season. Go to www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com.
and keep those dreams alive.
PS – next blog is 1/10/2008. See you then.
Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Volume III Part 5
themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"
A boat doesn’t go forward if each one is rowing their own way.
—Swahili proverb—
Your Dream Team
So who is on your team? Members can be teammates, parents, coaches, teachers, etc. Once you have your team, you need to build trust to keep it on solid ground but who can you trust?
Remember we said that different isn’t wrong—it’s just being different (TMDA Volume I Part 6). You will find that members on your team aren’t going to agree with everything you say and you need to understand this fact. Don’t confuse this with the need to have a common goal that you want to achieve as a team.
Trust is built on communication and when this goes well there are rarely problems. But when there’s a communication breakdown, team trust is compromised. This breakdown can come from differing priorities and preferences of individual members. As an example, you might want to shoot for the stars and see your team becoming state champions. Others may be happy just with winning the conference championship. You need to all be on the same page.
You also need to be open and honest with your teammates if you want to build trust so lying isn’t even close to being an option. Nothing will put a dagger directly into the heart of trust building more so than lying.
Learn each team member’s behavioral characteristics through the DiSC model we’ve talked so much about. It’s the greatest way to understand how your teammates think and react to situations.
Think of how many times your team has had a communication breakdown and what were the results. The key is to avoid these mishaps altogether and stay focused. The Million Dollar Athlete doesn’t make the same mistake twice.
Good To Great
Wanting to be great isn’t easy and it takes a great deal of work which is what I’m showing you in this blog. You can go from being good to being great, but you need to practice these lessons every day. Start by being a great teammate and others will follow along (TMDA Volume II Part6).
Set the example and show others how it’s done. They’ll start getting the message and once they do there will be no holding them back.
You see your purpose for your team is to become the catalyst that will make it happen.
Next Blog
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"
A boat doesn’t go forward if each one is rowing their own way.
—Swahili proverb—
Your Dream Team
So who is on your team? Members can be teammates, parents, coaches, teachers, etc. Once you have your team, you need to build trust to keep it on solid ground but who can you trust?
Remember we said that different isn’t wrong—it’s just being different (TMDA Volume I Part 6). You will find that members on your team aren’t going to agree with everything you say and you need to understand this fact. Don’t confuse this with the need to have a common goal that you want to achieve as a team.
Trust is built on communication and when this goes well there are rarely problems. But when there’s a communication breakdown, team trust is compromised. This breakdown can come from differing priorities and preferences of individual members. As an example, you might want to shoot for the stars and see your team becoming state champions. Others may be happy just with winning the conference championship. You need to all be on the same page.
You also need to be open and honest with your teammates if you want to build trust so lying isn’t even close to being an option. Nothing will put a dagger directly into the heart of trust building more so than lying.
Learn each team member’s behavioral characteristics through the DiSC model we’ve talked so much about. It’s the greatest way to understand how your teammates think and react to situations.
Think of how many times your team has had a communication breakdown and what were the results. The key is to avoid these mishaps altogether and stay focused. The Million Dollar Athlete doesn’t make the same mistake twice.
Good To Great
Wanting to be great isn’t easy and it takes a great deal of work which is what I’m showing you in this blog. You can go from being good to being great, but you need to practice these lessons every day. Start by being a great teammate and others will follow along (TMDA Volume II Part6).
Set the example and show others how it’s done. They’ll start getting the message and once they do there will be no holding them back.
You see your purpose for your team is to become the catalyst that will make it happen.
Next Blog
Mastering your time.
PS - If you want to succeed, you need to take the DiSC assessment.
Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Volume III Part 4
themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"
The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.
—Babe Ruth—
Identity Crisis
One of the best ways to create team unity is to have an identity—something that reflects upon the team. When the summer Olympics were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1992, the U.S.A. basketball team consisted of the very best of the best. Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and “Magic” Johnson were just a few of the talented players on that gold medal winning team.
The 1992 team became known as the “Dream Team” because of its great talent. The University of Michigan had its “Fab Five” also in 1992, the New York Yankees are called the “Bronx Bombers,” the Pittsburgh Steelers had the “steel curtain” defense in the seventies.
Get an identity for your team that will bond you closer together whether it’s offense, defense, or both. Once you gain this identity, you will have something that all of you can work toward—and that is being the best.
The Secret For Improvement
So how do you improve as a team? You would probably say by getting better in the way you play, and that would be correct. However, there is an even better alternative regarding how you improve as a team.
The first thing you want to do is take the DiSC assessment if you haven’t already. I know you’ve heard me say it over and over again, but it is a valuable tool if you are serious about becoming The Million Dollar Athlete. You need to understand your teammates and their behavior before you can hope to become successful. It helps to get all of you on the same page.
Next, you need to take constructive criticism about how you perform on the playing field. This comes from your coaches. If they don’t provide enough feedback for you, ask for it. Ask them how you can perform better at your position and what you need to do and then practice to improve. If all your teammates did this, the results would be simply amazing.
So make sure you take the DiSC assessment and then get that all important feedback from your coaches. Your team needs to look to get better by taking control. They just can’t hope to become better—they all need to take action and listen to where they need to improve. IMPROVE, IMPROVE, IMPROVE!
See you at the next state championship.
Next Blog
Who do you trust?
Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com
DiSC Assessment
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"
The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.
—Babe Ruth—
Identity Crisis
One of the best ways to create team unity is to have an identity—something that reflects upon the team. When the summer Olympics were held in Barcelona, Spain in 1992, the U.S.A. basketball team consisted of the very best of the best. Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and “Magic” Johnson were just a few of the talented players on that gold medal winning team.
The 1992 team became known as the “Dream Team” because of its great talent. The University of Michigan had its “Fab Five” also in 1992, the New York Yankees are called the “Bronx Bombers,” the Pittsburgh Steelers had the “steel curtain” defense in the seventies.
Get an identity for your team that will bond you closer together whether it’s offense, defense, or both. Once you gain this identity, you will have something that all of you can work toward—and that is being the best.
The Secret For Improvement
So how do you improve as a team? You would probably say by getting better in the way you play, and that would be correct. However, there is an even better alternative regarding how you improve as a team.
The first thing you want to do is take the DiSC assessment if you haven’t already. I know you’ve heard me say it over and over again, but it is a valuable tool if you are serious about becoming The Million Dollar Athlete. You need to understand your teammates and their behavior before you can hope to become successful. It helps to get all of you on the same page.
Next, you need to take constructive criticism about how you perform on the playing field. This comes from your coaches. If they don’t provide enough feedback for you, ask for it. Ask them how you can perform better at your position and what you need to do and then practice to improve. If all your teammates did this, the results would be simply amazing.
So make sure you take the DiSC assessment and then get that all important feedback from your coaches. Your team needs to look to get better by taking control. They just can’t hope to become better—they all need to take action and listen to where they need to improve. IMPROVE, IMPROVE, IMPROVE!
See you at the next state championship.
Next Blog
Who do you trust?
Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com
DiSC Assessment
Monday, December 3, 2007
Volume III Part 3
themilliondollarathlete
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"
The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team.
—Coach Phil Jackson Chicago Bulls—
The Trust Factor
People often ask me how do you build trust? This isn’t an easy thing to answer. First, you need to be able to communicate well with others and this is where the DiSC assessment tool comes in (TMDA Volume I Part 4).
The ability to get along with others is an important skill set and leads to strong interpersonal relationships. Remember, the DiSC assessment uncovers the individual strengths and weaknesses in your behavior. If you don’t create a strong relationship with your peers, you can’t hope to gain their trust.
Understand that your personality is an extension of your attitude. You tend to communicate your personality both verbally and nonverbally. This is why being positive is so important in winning. Values play an important role in the success of your team. If team members are on the same page and possess the same values (e.g. wanting to win the state championship), a sense of unity begins to develop—you begin to build a strong bond.
Once this unity develops, a sense of trust begins to take hold. A great deal of time and effort is needed to gain someone’s trust, but only a few seconds to lose it. Think about it—if a good friend lied to your face, would you be able to trust him or her again? Perhaps, but it would be difficult and you probably wouldn’t have the same trust level as before.
You may now feel betrayed and tend to be “on guard” when you are with this person. You see how quickly things can turn.
Values
Team values or a vision as to what the team wants to do together are important if you want to be a winner. If you are on a team now, what are your goals? Are the goals you have similar to the ones your teammates have? I hope so. Let your goals reach for the stars and don’t sell you or your teammates short. There is a state championship team every year—why can’t it be your school?
If you start in your freshman year on a team sport, your teammates will remain the same throughout your high school and/or college years. Communicate and become friends off the playing field as well as on. Trust them and they will trust you. This is how you get to be The Million Dollar Athlete.
Next Blog
Creating a team identity to win.
Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com
"Bring Out The Greatness Within You"
The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team.
—Coach Phil Jackson Chicago Bulls—
The Trust Factor
People often ask me how do you build trust? This isn’t an easy thing to answer. First, you need to be able to communicate well with others and this is where the DiSC assessment tool comes in (TMDA Volume I Part 4).
The ability to get along with others is an important skill set and leads to strong interpersonal relationships. Remember, the DiSC assessment uncovers the individual strengths and weaknesses in your behavior. If you don’t create a strong relationship with your peers, you can’t hope to gain their trust.
Understand that your personality is an extension of your attitude. You tend to communicate your personality both verbally and nonverbally. This is why being positive is so important in winning. Values play an important role in the success of your team. If team members are on the same page and possess the same values (e.g. wanting to win the state championship), a sense of unity begins to develop—you begin to build a strong bond.
Once this unity develops, a sense of trust begins to take hold. A great deal of time and effort is needed to gain someone’s trust, but only a few seconds to lose it. Think about it—if a good friend lied to your face, would you be able to trust him or her again? Perhaps, but it would be difficult and you probably wouldn’t have the same trust level as before.
You may now feel betrayed and tend to be “on guard” when you are with this person. You see how quickly things can turn.
Values
Team values or a vision as to what the team wants to do together are important if you want to be a winner. If you are on a team now, what are your goals? Are the goals you have similar to the ones your teammates have? I hope so. Let your goals reach for the stars and don’t sell you or your teammates short. There is a state championship team every year—why can’t it be your school?
If you start in your freshman year on a team sport, your teammates will remain the same throughout your high school and/or college years. Communicate and become friends off the playing field as well as on. Trust them and they will trust you. This is how you get to be The Million Dollar Athlete.
Next Blog
Creating a team identity to win.
Tony Falco
“TheCoach”
www.milliondollarathlete.blogspot.com
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