Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Burn the ships

One of the most important mental skills I work into the lives of athletes is eliminating the "back door." When push comes to shove, athletes who have given themselves a way out (back door), will take it. It's human nature - the path of least resistance. There are exceptional athletes who choose the path of most resistance in anticipation of growing and developing. Even still, if there's a back door option, inevitably, it will be taken at some point. How does one combat that notion? By leaving no option other than progress and success.

There is a popular urban legend about Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes that explains how he instructed his people to "burn the ships." There is little historical evidence to support that this actually took place, however, there is a great lesson that can be applied to our lives. The legend suggests that the only option left for Cortes and his people was to succeed.

In 1519, Cortes directed his 500-puls Spanish troops to burn their ships and everything on them before the siege of the Yucatan Peninsula in present-day Mexico. He was explicitly confident that they would win and take their enemies' vessels as prizes. If they were to return home, they needed to acquire new ships. He left no option for failure. He eliminated the possibility of running back to their own ships to flee difficult situations. There was no "back door." It was literally a win or die scenario.

One of the first steps in creating the ideal situation for success is to metaphorically burn the ships, or take away the option of backing out. When the pressure is heating up, many athletes begin addressing and focusing on small inconveniences, injuries and other issues. This generally happens when one cannot see themselves having the success they desire, so they create a way out to cope with the lack of success that they're now assuring for themselves. Before going for it, if our mind tells us it's because of a bad ankle, it's easier to justify not stretching for it. It's simply an out - a back door - and even the most talented and gifted athletes will take it if the option is in their mind.

Burn the ships! Rid your mind of the excuses you're stock piling for the future. Simply by creating space in your mind for them, you're essentially guaranteeing that you will use them. Eliminate them all together. Leave no option other than progress and success, as if your life depends on it.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Why is practice important?

Why is practice important? This is a very straight forward question that a coaching friend of mine asked me the other day. To be honest, though, I had difficulty coming up with a straight forward answer. Of course, I have an objective in each and every practice that is in line with a 3-4 month cycle and is a part of a bigger plan. I implement a variety of assessment techniques to be sure the objective is being met and I use a variety of age-appropriate teaching and learning activities, address the "big picture" and try my best to reach various learning styles. I put a lot of time and effort into making practice work, however, I surprised myself that I didn't have an immediate, straight forward answer to why practice is important.

Practice is important for many reasons. If wrestling is a tool to teach life skills, then practice is a wonderful opportunity to implement strategies that allow for individual growth. Being able to critically analyze situations, celebrate experimentation, handle adversity, take responsibility for actions and decisions are all motives. Speaking strictly of the physical side of the sport, it's imperative that there is at least incremental improvement (or more) in every single practice. Individuals should become better wrestlers. Developing mental skills are equally as important. Acquiring a love for the sport, practice and training are other great things to focus on. There are many answers to this question and most of them are valid. Each is unique to the needs of the individuals (coaches, parents, athletes, etc.) as well as to the culture of the club, team or system that they're in.

What is the answer to this question, though? Why is practice important? Below are two stories to consider when thinking about your answer. This is an important conversation.

I see a lot of young children choose to walk away from the sport of wrestling because they don’t like it. This is acceptable and understandable, not everyone likes the same things. Wrestling isn’t for everyone...or, is it? Most young children engage is some type of wrestling behavior or playful combat as infants. For those who have the physical capacity, it seems to be natural and fun. When presented with the option, many children decide to give wrestling a try because they already like doing it with Dad, their brother/sister, or their dog on the living room floor. Unfortunately, when they get to practice for the first time, it’s not what they expected and nothing like what they have experienced. Instead, they’re taught a series of drills and skills that aren’t interesting to them and often times aren't physiologically possible at their age (many of them cannot even put their wrestling shoes on by themselves yet). In my experience, the first practice is usually focused on stance/motion or general basic skills.

I took notice one night after attending a youth wrestling practice and a mother asked her first grade son if he had fun. Sadly, he said, “no…we never even wrestled.” It was true. He had been wrestling with his stuffed animals since he was two years old and when he finally got to attend a wrestling practice, he was forced to learn shoulder-knee-toe alignment and lateral motion. This little guy never came back. Why? Because he went to wrestling practice and never got to wrestle. The coach spent time teaching the youngsters how to wrestle instead of allowing them to actually do it.

Why is practice important?

The University of Wisconsin won the NCAA Championship in men's cross country last week. The Badgers are a perennial powerhouse in cross country, regularly finishing in the top 5 in the NCAA and winning 13-consecutive Big Ten titles.

Here are some comments from head coach Mick Byrne as he prepared to lead the Badgers in pursuit of the title:

"Well, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, that part of what I teach is you’ve got to get out there every day and be passionate about what you do. Ultimately, yes, we’d love to win the national title and we’re going after it. We’re as committed to doing that as any other program. But I’ve always said that you have to enjoy the pursuit.

"I think next Tuesday, you ask these guys did they have fun together this year, did they get after it, is there anything they would change, and I think you’d be surprised what they’ll say. And I think that’s what it’s about. It’s about the pursuit of that goal, enjoying the day-to-day hard work.

"When you look back, July 1, when these guys started, just coming off an outdoor season in preparation for this -- it’s very easy for us right now today and look forward seven days down the road, as we get so close to this competition -- but put yourself in their shoes, go back to July 1 when they’re four and five months out from the competition. Everything that they put into this, that’s what I’m about, that’s what this team is about. Enjoy the daily pursuit of what you’re doing. Because then, ultimately, you will enjoy the goal, whether it’s first place, second place, third place, fourth place.

"Yes, there’s tremendous history here. It’s the reason I came here. I’m aware of that. The kids are aware of that. It’s the reason they’re Badgers. But ultimately, at the end of the day, you’ve got to enjoy what you do."


Why is practice important?

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Too much too soon, part 4

Looking at very critical and identifiable elite performance results was one of the reason USA Hockey investigated the youth hockey scene. The results at the top weren’t matching the opportunities at the bottom. Elite performance reflects the direction of the youth culture, especially in grassroots organizations.

Over the past four Olympic Games in wrestling, the performance levels have steadily declined. Looking only at the medals won by male athletes (freestyle and Greco-Roman), the United States medal count is as follows: 1996 – 8; 2000 – 7; 2004 – 4; 2008 – 2. There were 20 medal opportunities in 1996, 18 in 2000, and 14 in 2004 and 2008. The won U.S. medals at 40%, 39%, 29%, 15% of the weight classes, respectively.

Considering the past four world championships prior to this year, this is the medal count: 2006 – 7; 2007 – 4; 2009 – 3; 2010 – 0. The U.S. did add two medals in the 2011 World Championships, however, there is an obvious downward trend.

The United States is definitely one of the largest populated wrestling country in the world. Nationwide, there are over 155,000 members in USA Wrestling and over 270,000 participating in high school wrestling. We have a robust talent pool young athletes, however, our results at the highest levels don’t indicate that we’re developing them very well.

USA Gymnastics has done something similar to USA Hockey in terms of athlete development and they have shown a sizeable increase in Olympic medals for the men over the past three Olympic Games. They went from 1 medal in 2000, to 8 in 2004, and 11 in 2008. When long term development is applied correctly, it should lead to elite level success because of our large number of youth athletes. Keep in mind, the majority of athletes currently representing the United States at the elite levels grew up in the sports culture of that encouraged more competitions for youth wrestlers and they’re not performing at the highest levels. Wrestling is going in the opposite direction of gymnastics and hockey.

Two years ago, USA Wrestling developed a new program called the U.S. Future Olympian Rankings. “The program is designed to recognize the performance of America’s most talented wrestlers, based upon actual results in major USA Wrestling events.” Specific national and regional events in Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Folkstyle wrestling are used to score points for athletes between the ages of eight and thirteen. This is the same demographic that USA Hockey targets with the ADM because it is the optimal window of trainability and the greatest loss of retention. Hockey decided to eliminate various competitions while wrestling has added more. With the U.S. Future Olympian Rankings, it is implied to athletes, coaches and parents that the path to becoming an Olympian is by competing in more age level national tournament. Furthermore, there is a large contingent of parents within the wrestling community that want even more events. To meet consumer demands, NUWAY now offers a 6 & under division at their National Championships. Is it possible that wrestling’s approach is part of the problem?

We’re creating more opportunities to facilitate the more is better attitude and at the same time, the performance of our elite levels is declining? Is this a coincidence or are the two related? Is it time for wrestling to consider the benefits of Long Term Athlete Development?

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Too much too soon, part 3

I’m glad to see that this topic is generating discussion. I’m not as interested in being “right” in this conversation as I am that it is actually happening. I’ve challenged the status quo my entire life and when I take a stance on something, I expect opposition for a multitude of reasons. I’ve learned that when people oppose my viewpoint, and they’re convicted one way or the other, the focus on the conversation is then shifted towards items that aren’t quantifiable. Why? Because arguing on a feeling or emotion cannot be backed up or refuted. What I am trying to do is point out that there is research done by many more experts than me, and they are revealing that there is a better way.

Wrestling people are afraid of science because it doesn’t reinforce what they already think. No one wants to be told that they’re thoughts are contrary to evidence. Too much too soon is contrary to scientific evidence. The system encourages more competition at a young age than it does at an elite level. This actually doesn’t have anything to do with parents’ choices. It’s a failure in the system.

I took a fairly ardent stance and included some bold comments, so I’m not surprised that several people took the time to post a reply in a less-than-supportive manner. Parents don’t like being talked at, even if the best wrestlers and experts are on my side. So, the communication style and process is critical if changes are going to take place. I understand that parents are simply concerned and need to be spoken to delicately, positively and supportively and the hard line approach isn’t always productive. Having said that, this is my blog and my opinion doesn’t necessarily need to foster these parents.

In determining what I believe is best for youth athletes; I’ve considered many scientific studies and resources. Of course, I have an abundance of anecdotal evidence to support the claim that our system is indeed backwards; however, the science seems to hold more weight at this point in the conversation.

Istvan Banyi has developed a world-wide accepted athletic development model that he refers to as Long Term Athlete Development. It has served as the primary tool used to identify major gaps in the current sports system. Here is a quick snapshot from another publication to what this means:

Scientific research has concluded that it takes eight to twelve years of training for a talented athlete to reach elite levels (Bloom 1985; Ericsson et al. 1993; Ericsson and Charness 1994). This is called the ten-year or 10,000 hour rule. For athletes, coaches and parents, this translates to slightly more than three hours of practice daily for ten years (Salmela 1998). Unfortunately, parents and coaches in many sports still approach training with an attitude best characterized as the “peaking by Friday” approach (Balyi and Hamilton 1999). For example, as soon as many coaches start to train athletes, they train them to win. We now know that a long-term commitment to training is required to produce elite athletes in all sports, something that needs to be communicated to and understood by parents, coaches, sports administrators, organizations, etc.

Ultimately, success comes from training and performing well over the long-term rather than winning in the short-term. There is no shortcut to success in athletic preparation. Rushing competition will always result in shortcoming in physical, technical, tactical and mental abilities.

In principle, sports can be classified as either “early specialization” or “late specialization” (Balyi and Hamilton 1999). Early specialization refers to the fact that some sports, such as gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating, diving and table tennis require early sport-specific specialization training. Late specialization sports, such as track & field, combative sports (wrestling), rowing and all team sports, require a generalized approach to early training. In these sports, the emphasis of training should be on the development of general, fundamental motor and technical/tactical skill.


Understanding Long Term Athlete Development has encouraged USA Hockey to initiate the first step in steering the ship in the right direction with the American Development Model (ADM). Since my journalistic integrity has inappropriately been questioned in regards to this program, it’s important to clarify my reference here. Injury reduction may be a by-product of the ADM; however, it’s not the starting point. The poster may have confused the ADM and the removal of checking from PeeWee hockey.

The foundation for the development of the ADM was the result of the following:

1.) Recognizing from a retention standpoint that hockey was losing players at a relatively early age. 43% of players dropped out by age 9 and 60% dropped out by age 11-12. This obviously impacts the membership size and player pool at the older age groups.

2.) Identifying that USA Hockey programs were too focused on the outcome (winning) rather than the process (optimal training and development).

3.) Gaining an increased base of knowledge in sports science that USA Hockey was underutilizing critical and sensitive periods of accelerated adaptation to training. For example, not developing athletes at the most important ages. This is referred to as windows of trainability (8-13 years old).

4.) Looking at very critical and identifiable elite performance results. The USA is easily the largest populated hockey country in the world and a close second in terms of hockey participation (Canada) and yet our results at the highest levels of the game are far lower than countries like Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, and Russia (all of which have less than 1/5 to 1/8 the number of registered players the U.S. has and overall populations that are not even in the same realm as the U.S.).

Why the ADM?
For starters, many athletes spend too much time traveling, competingh and recovering from competition and not enough time preparing for it. Second, there is too heavy a focus on the result rather than the performance. This attitude leads to long-term failure, as coaches forgo the development of skills to focus on specific game tactics. And third, too many athletes are specializing too early on. An early focus on just one or two sports often leads to injuries, burnout and capping athletic potential. This way of thinking has led to 60% of players dropping out before PeeWees and 20% dropping out after only one season leading to an overall decline in retention since 2000.


The ADM is successful because kids are having fun and parents can see that first-hand. It has lowered cost and commitment barriers (i.e. less expensive to play and not asking parents at young ages to commit to 15 hours a week and full weekends to get their kids better). It is also difficult for parents, coaches and others to argue with the statistics and sports science that USA Hockey has at their finger tips to support their position. One cannot argue with a parent as to which is the right way to raise their child, but one can refute any parent that tries to argue optimal periods of trainability, loss rates at ages 9-12, etc.

This brings me to my sport. In 1990, there were 233,856 high school wrestlers. In 2008, there were 259,688 high school wrestlers (numbers compiled by the NWCA). On the surface, that’s great, as participation grew by 11%. But looking closer, the high school student population in 1990 was 12.5 million and in 2008 it was 16.3 million (30% growth). The percentage of wrestlers in high school went from 1.87% to 1.59%. Though that might not look significant, that’s a 15% decrease in participation of the student body – that’s a big deal. Why? Because participation in high school athletics if extremely important. Consider the National Federation of High School’s Case for High School Activities to see how vital participation in high school athletics is.

We all agree that wrestling presents the opportunity to develop life skills, yet we are witnessing a decrease in how many people are wrestling. Why? Because the system is broken.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Too much too soon, part 2

My oldest son has hypotonia (low muscle tone). It affects everything he does physically. Recognizing hypotonia is relatively straightforward, but diagnosing the underlying cause can be difficult and often unsuccessful, as we've experienced. The long-term effects of hypotonia on a child's development and later life depend primarily on the severity of the muscle weakness and the nature of the cause. When we took our son to his one-year doctor, he was far behind other children. He never did crawl and struggles daily to "keep up" with kids his age in everything that requires gross motor skills. When we went to his one-year check-up, it was the responsibility of the doctor to bring hypotonia to our attention and explain the potential long term effect. After all, she is the expert in regards to my son's health, right? It goes without saying that I want what is best for my son. However, that doesn't preclude that I know what is best. I did everything in my capacity to get him to walk by 10 months like other parents. I had the best of intentions, but it took an expert to tell me that something was not right.

As a competitor in the sport of wrestling, I won the high school state tournament, earned a college scholarship, was sponsored by a club and even made money and traveled the world. As a coach, I have been involved with every level from youth to senior athletes. I have been in the corner for little kids and Olympians. I have run practices at the Olympic Training Center on a Thursday and worked with kindergarten athletes at a local school on a Friday. I have gotten off the airplane from the World Championships, got in my car and arrived just in time to blow the whistle to start a high school practice. I've been employed by high schools, colleges and senior-level clubs and have operated camps for all ages. Additionally, I serve on a variety of prominent wrestling boards including USA Wrestling, Wisconsin Wrestling Federation, National Wrestling Coaches Association, Women's College Wrestling Association and others. Don't I have a responsibility to the wrestling community to share my insight on this topic? Does it make sense that I might have an idea on what the lasting impact youth sports has on our athletes?

No one accuses the Department of Public Instruction of telling parents how to parent. They determine the curriculum and State Standards based on the needs of children, not the desires of parents. Parents are still free to choose how to raise their children, however, standards don't change for them. No one thought to accuse my family doctor of judging me as a parent when she made a referral to the neurologist. Why do parents instantly take a defensive stance when someone suggests there's a better way than the current sports culture? Too many parents take this personally and refuse to see the big picture. Whether or not one has kids has no bearing on their ability or inability to devise programs that are best-suited for kids.

In my previous blog, I presented very clear evidence that our approach in youth sports is backwards. It's not an opinion; the system is broken. By pointing this out by no means assumes that I'm questioning parenting choices. If anything, I'm demonstrating that I identify with them. If we're trying to keep up with the Joneses, it's imperative that we find out where the Joneses are going.

We trust the "experts" when it comes to our health, but not when it comes to athletics? Do parents really know what is best simply because they want what is best? Who are the experts? I believe I have a responsibility to the parents to share what I see firsthand almost everyday. Supporting the current system by stating that we're doing what the kids want doesn't seem logical. Simply because a child wants to do more doesn't automatically make it acceptable. My kids want candy for dinner, so do I give it to them because they want it? Of course not. I know we're talking about two significantly different situations in child rearing, however, the premise for me deciding that candy is not a good option is because I'm interested in my children's long term health and development. Are we using the same paradigm when we choose to take advantage of athletic opportunities?

I'm passionately interested in what children have to say when I ask them the question, "why do you wrestle?" The answers I hear have become very predictable and they help me maintain a healthy perspective. I ask parents a version of the same questions, "why do you want your son/daughter to wrestle?" Sometimes I even ask them how they feel their son/daughter would answer the questions. I'm never surprised that many parents are on a different wavelength than their child.

I look into the eyes of many wrestlers and dig deeply to get to their core when asking why they do what they do. I want to know the individual's "purpose" in sport and life. I'm only moderately interested in his/her goals, yet many parents insist that they're doing "all of this" to help him reach his goals. I wonder if those who think we're not on the wrong path are actually listening to the hearts of the athletes - at all levels. Are we asking the right questions? Are the right people making the right choices?

I have an obligation to the sport of wrestling. And sometimes more is less. Parents deserve better. We shouldn't have non-experts making decisions about the direction and culture of sports.

"Plans are great. But missions are better. Missions survive when plans fail, and plans almost always fail." - Seth Godin

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Too much too soon

Is there a path that assures future success in sports? Many parents and coaches seem to believe that there is. They don’t have the expertise to determine on their own what the path is, so they have allowed the current sports culture to define it for them. Youth sports are telling parents that more is better. It resonates with them because they don’t want their kid to fall behind. It starts very early for parents. They measure their parenting by how quickly their sons and daughters crawl, talk and walk in comparison to others. If their child is behind, they do what they can make sure they catch the pack…then pass it. Youth sports attacks that soft spot in the hearts of parents and it corrupts them and the children suffer. Parents grab onto the notion presented by our current sports culture without carefully considering the future. Our organizations need to help parents to be more responsible with the path they choose.

USA Hockey has taken an extremely bold stance to change the culture of youth sports. They have unequivocally said that more is NOT better. Of course, they were instantly lambasted by an array of uneducated parents and coaches who had been drinking the Kool-Aid given to them by youth hockey. “More is definitely better,” they all thought. After all, they were just taking advantage of the opportunities USA Hockey was providing for them to develop future NHL stars. When the NHL finally jumped on board and supported USA Hockey, people started to listen. A few prominent professional hockey players were quoted saying that the typical youth hockey season is longer than the NHL season. Kids are playing more games than the professionals.

Parents have the dream of seeing their child play in the NHL, so they believe in the system that tells them they’ll arrive there soon enough. They don’t want their child to fall behind early in his career, so they embark on a sports journey, often times robbing him of his childhood and damaging important relationships, with the genuine hope that it will land him a roster spot on a NHL team. The problem is it’s not. It’s doing the exact opposite, unfortunately, and USA Hockey finally recognized it. They noticed that there has been a steady decline in American-born players in the NHL. They couldn’t put their finger on why until after extensive research, they concluded that the USA Hockey system was broken and kids were getting too much too soon. They eliminated the youngest age group national championships and parents lost their minds, but USA Hockey stood their ground, with the support of the NHL, and is trying to steer the ship in the right direction. Now, we need to get other sports to follow this trend.

Hockey is not alone. Nearly every sport has a youth system that has created a path to burnout. Too much too soon is certainly an issue in wrestling. Youth athletes are competing more than our highest level wrestlers. It’s not uncommon for a 5th grade wrestler to compete in over 100 matches in one season while our best senior-level wrestlers compete in 30 or less. We have it all backwards.

A step in the right direction is to understand the importance of development, not competition, at a young age. Youth athletes need to learn how to play the game before they actually engage in competition. I have adopted a philosophy for my club that requires youth wrestlers to have more practices than competitive matches in one season. This helps place the emphasis on learning the sport and all it has to offer and not on competition. The amount of competitions, which is far greater than the quality of practice time, is the catalyst to burnout.

When considering the guidelines that are in place at the high school and collegiate levels, you will see the backwards trend. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) places limits on the high school wrestling season. According to their rules, the 2011-12 wrestling season may begin on November 13 (beginning of Week 20) and end on March 3 (end of Week 35). This makes the season 111 actual days long. The WIAA mandates a day off every six consecutive days, or a minimum 16 days without practice or competition this year. Taking into account the 14 allowed competition dates and 5 postseason tournaments; teams are left with 75 days to practice. Obviously, in high school teams typically don’t practice on weekends or holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving, nor do they practice on certain hunting days and other random ones. The typical high school team practices around 65 times during a season. The top wrestlers are getting no less than 50 competitive matches under these guidelines.

Move into the NCAA Division 1 wrestling arena and guidelines permit a team to begin practice on October 10 (preseason) and conclude at the NCAA Championships on March 17th, or 162 days. They required team to take off one day, competition or practice, every calendar week (23 days). Take away the 16 competition dates and the post season tournament series and that leaves approximately 118 days. Teams cannot practice during finals week (7 days) or holidays (3 days). Then with random days off on weekends and training breaks, we’re looking at around 100 practices in a season. The top wrestlers have 30-40 competitive matches.

There are no regulations for younger athletes, but you can already see a trend with the two age levels mentioned above. Across the board, the average youth wrestling club begins in January and ends in March. Many youth athletes are practicing and competing far beyond the parameters set within their own community. If the average program is 13 weeks and practices are held two times per week most wrestlers’ competitive opportunities far out-weighs their practice time. In the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation tournament series alone, top athletes are competing in at least 20 competitive matches in the month of March. This doesn’t include the abundance of local youth tournaments that are offered on Saturday and Sunday every weekend during the season. It’s extremely difficult for young athletes to find enough opportunities to practice to keep up with the number of competitive matches they have.

The system is broken. The number of practices compared to competitive matches at the highest level (senior-level) heavily favors practices whereas the lowest level (youth) heavily favors competitive matches. In between, the trend is clear as the high school athlete sees 65 practices to 50 matches and collegiate athletes see 100 practices to 35 matches. It’s time to wake-up to reality because the athletes (and parents) who follow the ways of the youth sports culture are not around long enough to enjoy opportunities at the highest levels because they’re taking the opportunities offered at the lowest levels.

Friday, November 4, 2011

The Art of Choosing

The ability to make choices is one of the most powerful qualities of a human being. We like the idea of choice because it empowers us. The choices we make, big and small, are critical to who we become. We’re in a position to make choices; however, it’s the choices that inevitably make us.

Making choices well and being able to make the correct choices is a skill that must be learned. Parents teach their children – directly and indirectly – how to make choices. Teachers, coaches, community members, spiritual leaders, television and many other factors contribute to the development of making choices.

In the United States, we love our choices. We have 500 channels on our television and over 10-pages in our menu booklet at Perkins. If you’re looking for a car, you can have the same one in five different colors. We have so many choices, in fact, that we have difficulty making them. If we don’t know how to make choices, our decision making process is foggy, at best. We have a greater responsibility in our country to teach individuals how to make choices because we value independence more than any other country in the world.

Of course, we make trivial choices, like the choosing between Coke and Pepsi, every day. We also make small choices that have the potential to turn into monumental decisions that can change the course of our lives and impact the world as we know it. And, obviously, there are big time decisions that are set before us and our choice carries a tremendous amount of weight and pressure.

Sheena Iyengar has been involved in a fantastic research project that explains more clearly how we make choices. She has written a book entitled The Art of Choosing and is featured on YouTube and TED Talks sharing her groundbreaking insights. I suggest you take time to hear what she has to say. What I found most interesting from a scientific viewpoint is that our brains cannot handle more than seven choices at the same time. Often times, even that’s too much for me.

Iyengar encourages individuals to determine what they want or need before they present themselves with a choice. I can relate to this: every time I went to the movie store undecided, it took me a very long time to actually choose a title. First, I had to narrow down a genre, then a style, then an actor or actress, then consider my mood and so-on. When I knew what I wanted, it was easy to walk into the store and choose the title. This makes sense when we pick out a movie, but how about when we choose a lifestyle or belief system or philosophy. Are we considering what we want or need before we present ourselves with choices? No. We actually don’t. Instead, we allow those choices to push us around and sway our decisions without considering ourselves first.

Here’s Iyengar secret: sit down and determine the five things you cannot live without. Having clarity about what is most important and what you prioritize will help you make the correct choices.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Prodigy in Me

The thought that there’s a prodigy in each of us is very encouraging and empowering. And it’s true. Everyone is created with uniqueness and distinction to be great. We’re all prodigies. There’s a prodigy in me. There’s a prodigy in you. There is only one you that will ever live, so you have a responsibility to mankind to be that person you were created to be. We all have a purpose. This makes each of us extremely valuable.

I recently listened to a series entitled “The Prodigy in Me” from Elevation Church. It was a powerful series and very instrumental in the life of one of my athletes during an important moment. I’ve returned a number of times to portions of those sermons to be encouraged and reminded of this simple, yet bold, truth. There’s a prodigy in me, but it’s not about me.

I paraphrased a few memorable comments from the series below:

Prod-i-gy (noun) – a person, or especially a child or young person, having extraordinary talent or ability.

Isn’t it interesting that the dictionary singles out young people in this definition? We don’t have to convince our 7-year olds that they are creative. They just create. And then life and dumb people, and negligent parents and bad friends beat the prodigy out of you, but we’re all born with the image of God inside of us. Even if you don’t have a personal relationship with Christ, the Bible says that you are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). And so sin fractures that image, sin distorts that image, but Christ came to reclaim that image and when he comes into your life he fills your life. So, the first definition of prodigy is extraordinary talent or ability.

A second definition is “a marvelous example” (usually followed by of). So, in our usage, a prodigy of God’s grace, or a prodigy of God’s mercy.

Number three: Something wonderful; a wonder. Number four: Something abnormal or monstrous. This definition is proof that, one way or another, we all fit the category (sarcasm). Number five (this is an archaic definition, but it’s worth mentioning): Something extraordinary regarded as of prophetic significance.

Say this out loud: “I’m a prodigy because God’s in me.” Come on, say it out loud.

I’m a prodigy because God’s in me. Now, that’s the key right there, because we don’t preach from the dictionary here; we preach from the Bible. A few more verses of scripture you should study if you want to learn about the gifts God has put inside of you, the potential, the calling that he’s put on your life, you can study the following:

Ephesians 4:7-8, where the Apostle Paul tells us, “but to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” Now, if it’s been given that means it’s a gift. And if it’s a gift, that means I can’t take credit for it. One thing that really trips me out is when someone is really good at something and they think that it’s all about them. What you need to realize about this series is this isn’t some self-help bull crap where I fill you full of a bunch of self-esteem. I’m trying to get you to understand Christ-esteem and to know that it’s God’s hand on you, God’s favor on you, God’s spirit in you, that creates hope for you. Christ has given us grace, then in verse 8, he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” And your gift was not given for you to sit on it, but so that you would re-gift it so that the world could see what Jesus looks like in you, through you, fighting for you. And it goes all the way on through verse 13.

1 Peter 4:10-11 says, “Each of us should use whatever gift he has received to serve others.” To serve others. The prodigy in me is not about me. It’s about others. The prodigy in you isn’t about you. It’s not about you, it doesn’t matter if these people like you or agree with you, it’s all about Jesus, it’s only about Jesus, and it’s always about Jesus. It’s given to serve others, “faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

You can also look at two of the classic passages in the Bible, Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12, the entire chapter is all about the gifts God has placed inside of you for His glory.

Of course there’s a balance and there’s a flipside to everything. I’m talking about the prodigy in you, but we have to know a few foundational things and the reality of it is: Although there is a prodigy in everyone, no one is a prodigy at everything. You’re not that good. Maybe that’s the reminder that you needed today. Some of you feel unworthy of God’s love and He’s going to use this to lift you up to show you who you are in Jesus. Others of you are good and you know it. And you’ve lost sight of how much if it wasn’t for others and if it wasn’t for God’s forgiveness, you wouldn’t be here today.

Oswald Chambers says, “Every unguarded strength is a double weakness.” That’s why the same gift that God put inside of me, to make me passionate about preaching the Gospel, if it is abused (abnormally used, that’s what abused is: used for the wrong purpose), then I could be a pusher on the street using the same gift God has given to lead thousands to Jesus to try to sell drugs to children. So, in that way we would say every drug user is a misguided entrepreneur or preacher for God. And the most foundational thing you can understand is the prodigy in me is not about me; it’s not for me.