Coach to Expect Success - Coach Daly's Blog

Great Conversation To Have

6/10/2021

I listened to a powerful podcast from a recent TED Talk about an important conversation that we all need to have - it's a conversation with our future self! This sure got me thinking about sitting down with myself and having a long talk with my future self.

Listen to that TED Talk HERE.

There are so many things that not only can i help my future self out with but also so many things for me to learn about from this important conversation. I don't think many of us think about this. Meg Jay is a Clinical Psychologist who throws out some important questions for all of us to think about, even though this is really thrown out to those in their 20's.

My biggest thing with talking with my future self.... I don't want to disappoint him. As I write this... got a few tears flowing as I think about things that I am or I am not doing now, where my future self will look back to now & ask... what were you doing?? How come you didn't do that thing, that you knew in your heart back then?? It's one thing that I'm getting some instant feedback right now as I write this... my future self is helping me with this post .... it's all coming down to my lack of action in certain areas. Turns out I already knew this. He just confirmed it.

I'm listening to some 70's music... "Poetry Man" by Phoebe Snow is on... 1974 was the year. Now... from 1975 is K.C. And The Sunshine Band - "Get Down Tonight". As these tunes play and I look at the years, a couple of things come to mind. First, I was 8 and 9 when these 2 songs came out & I think back to our country and what was going on then. The troubles we had back then have been replaced with others. But the bottom line was that just about everyone didn't have this important conversation with their future selves. It seems that the entire human race needs to do that. Maybe even it's a generational thing we need to have talks with. Both before us and after us. We need to learn these lessons and start to put the action behind it to make better choices & changes we all need.

Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence

4/20/2021

One of the many great character traits as part of the Positivity Project that we use here in our school district, is that of Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence. As I should have been doing more of - doing the same blog assignments as my students - I need to get this one out. There are three things that I wanted them to write about & I will attempt to do the same.

When it comes to music - to me it's one of the beautiful things in the world and throughout life. I think it's the one great equalizer to all peoples in the world, no matter what language we speak - it seems just about everyone can connect with music. My example that I shared with my students today was from the band "Chicago" & the range of emotions that come with listening to their songs. One of their songs was on my '80's station that I listen to in my classroom throughout my day when class is not going on. I always think back to the year the song came out, where I was at in my life's journey along with the people in my life during that time. Some of them, sad to say, are not alive anymore which is emotional in itself. Also there are the range of emotions that I think to the times my wife and I have seen Chicago in concert (something we love to do & hopefully will get back to doing soon this summer)... the memories, enjoyment, etc., at these concerts with her are just so full of gratitude and emotion. The energy at a live concert is something that cannot be duplicated on a recording. We forget about the worries and concerns of life and lose ourselves in the live performance, even if it's just for a little bit of time. Nothing like it.
Nature - places that we like going to was the second part. My first thought was to Traverse City, Michigan. The "Chateau Chantel" is the place my wife and I stayed at in November of 2020 and we had a great time. One of the days was an amazing 75 degree day and the night that went with it was so crystal clear too. When we sat outside on the deck, I was lost in all of the stars that I saw! Never in my life have I seen that many stars so clearly and with such awe!! It made me think about how small we all are in comparison to our universe and beyond. Powerful reflections and gratitude on that night for my wife and I.
People - amazing examples of Beauty and Excellence are all around us throughout life. First person who came to mind - was Dr. Wells Cook from Central Michigan University. I met him my first class at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning starting out my Sophomore year there. Within 15 minutes of meeting him and hearing his story (former high school business teacher, turned college professor), I knew I wanted to become a high school business teacher. Up until that time I was thinking of 3 different careers the year before, but by this time I knew I would not go into any of them. So I was on the plan of getting a business degree when he came into my life. Next to my parents and my wife, Wells changed my life tremendously. He was all about excellence in everything he did & the difference that he made in my life along with thousands of others too. He is the main reason I become an educator and I can't thank him enough. I thanked him many times up until he passed away around 2005.

I think this topic is one for all of us to grasp onto and connect with. These are just 3 ideas or examples. There are many more that we all can connect to and we should connect to them as they will help us to focus on other things than just ourselves. Good stuff that should be part of life.

Love Mixed With Encouragement + Belief

4/2/2021

Sharing a podcast from John O'Leary never gets old. I'm really enjoying the fact that there are more of my students that are getting connected to him and they are finding the tremendous value that he brings wherever he goes. In episode 297, John has one his mentors and good friends, Rusty Keeley on as his guest. Rusty brings up so many great lessons to share but the key is what he has done for John O'Leary personally over the years.

Read this quote from John about his good friend Rusty - "He was encouragement when I needed a lift. Sage advice when I needed wisdom. A connector when I needed a new opportunity, a pat on the back when I needed approval and frequently a kick in the pants when I needed to take action, be brave and grow. In other words, over the past 15 years, Rusty has been my friend."

This is something that we not only need to have in life, but we also need to offer these things to others too. In today's world of 2021, it seems there are so many things happening around us, to us, to others, etc., that we really need great relationships in our lives more than ever before. I think the qualities that are found in this podcast are things that we all can to be. Authentic relationships are so valuable mainly since they seem to be not around too much any more. Especially due to the pandemic that the whole world has been under, relationships - good and genuine ones - have gone up in value more than ever before. Knowing what I know about the fact that is what life is all about - relationships - I want to make more of an effort every day in my life to invest in the ones that I have in my life. How about you? Once you check this podcast out from John O'Leary - reach out here with some comments or reach out to my through my social media connections. John O'Leary brings us great stuff that the world needs more of.

One Person

2/26/2021

Fabulous reminder from Jon Gordon that I wanted to share with you today - "One person in pursuit of excellence raises the standards of everyone around them. Be that one person today. Strive to be your best and inspire others to be their best." I saw this on Twitter & it really hit me that if we all look to raise our game, try our best, work to get better, get through tough times we have to get through - there will be so many people that are better off for our efforts.

We all can inspire others & be inspired by others too. Keep looking to do this - your actions will help others to do the same. That's why it's so important to look to keep improving every day! When you do that and it's connected to your goals & dreams- there is a powerful force that gets going in motion. That motion carries into your future and not only creates momentum for things to get done; but you also start connected with more and more people too. People are watching & when they see you going after things in your life, you are not letting things stop you or get in the way & you care for them and what they are doing - all while this is going on?? That's great stuff! That's stuff that people can learn from you and apply those lessons to their lives.

Check out my podcast HERE about this mindset.

Thanks for listening. Please take a few moments to subscribe & share this with someone, also leave a 5 Star rating on Apple Podcasts and ITunes or other services where you find this show. Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachtoexpectsuccess/ on Twitter: @coachtosuccess and on Instagram at: @coachjohndaly - My YouTube Channel is at: Coach John Daly.

Blog #1 - Curiosity

1/7/2021

John O'Leary has some great things to say about Curiosity & one of the best thoughts about this is in the form of a question. "Who says?" This question was in connection to his son telling him "who says someone can't build a bridge from California to Hawaii?" It got John thinking about all of the things we have in our world today & at one time they didn't exist!! It was because someone (or a group of people) came up with an idea and they didn't let others stop them by telling them something couldn't be done. That mindset "who says?" is something we all need to ask once in awhile & we especially need to ask that to ourselves when we get in our own way of trying something new. Being curious - looking to seek information on how to do things we want to do - should be an everyday experience. We can't get caught up in playing it safe and be afraid of getting uncomfortable.

A Little Encouragement Goes A Long Way

11/27/2020

Love these quick hitters from John Maxwell - this one from his book "25 Ways to Win with People" and it comes at a time where we all need this reminder. Little notes (or texts even) of encouragement to others are needed so much today. And those notes last a long time too for people. Try it. Reach out to someone or more than one person & let them know not only that you are thinking about them, but you are also in their corner too. Encouragement goes a long way for sure.

In today's times things like this are needed more than ever. With the pandemic, politics, weather events, the economy, etc., it's crucial that we find it for ourselves. I'm finding I have a lot more of this to give, when I find more of it from reading great books, fabulous articles, listening to incredible podcasts along with watching inspirational videos. There are so many great avenues of picking up encouragement from so many resources. I will continue to share them in my podcasts, Facebook Live Videos, on Twitter, Instagram and on my YouTube Channel too. If you find anything that you find encouraging, make sure you send it my way and share it with others too.

Problems vs. Predicaments

10/4/2020

Getting started in a great direction for October with figuring out the difference between problems and predicaments. John Maxwell of course helps us to figure this out with some big connecting ideas to focus on this important distinction. This caught my attention last month and I wanted to share it with you as I think all of us can use some help in this area. This comes from his book "The Difference Maker."

This stuff I think we all need to take with us wherever we go. He gives us some things to take with us in that "a problem is something you can do something about. If you can't do something about it, then it's not a problem. It's a predicament. That means something that must be coped with, endured."

Here are some of his thoughts that he connects with the word PROBLEM:

P = predictors: helping ot mold our future.

R = reminders: showing us that we cannot succeed alone.

O = opportunities: pulling us out of ruts, prompting creative thinking

B = blessings: opening doors we would otherwise not go through

L = lessons: providing instruction with each new challenge

E = everywhere: telling us that no one is excluded from difficulties

M = messages: warning us about potential disaster

S = solvable: reminding us that every problem has a solution

These points we can take with us wherever we go and realizing there are plenty of times to learn new lessons that can help us in our journey. Powerful stuff for sure. Any thoughts or ideas come with this one?

Head over to my podcast page to hear more thoughts about this and other shows. Click HERE for my podcast page.

Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachtoexpectsuccess/ on Twitter: @coachtosuccess and on Instagram at: @coachjohndaly - My YouTube Channel is at: Coach John Daly.

Worry Is Not A Good Investment

8/18/2020

A lot going on today on top of all the things going on in our world, it can get overwhelming a little bit at times. I did a Facebook Live video earlier where I mentioned some things that are on my mind a bit. Worrying is something that I do, but I try not to let it get out of hand. It started piling up a bit this morning when I thought about a few things differently and I wanted to share with you some of the insights and thoughts that I got from all of this stuff going on. The podcast that I was listening to that I talk about here is from Jon Gordon where he talks with Lecrae. You can listen to it HERE. I think we all get overwhelmed at times, especially in the crazy times we are all in right now. But there is hope out there. There are good things to get connected with and I hope this helps you do some of that.

Worrying is something that I see a lot more of and for me being a teacher, there is more worry for the start of this school year than ever before. It's more than just the teachers. I think there is tremendous pressure on parents and students of course. I think there are many professions that have this more than ever during these times. Now is the time more than ever, for all of us to realize this and to help each other out more than ever before. When there are serious problems and issues happening in the world, there is always a call for everyone to come up with more solutions than ever before. Check out the podcast link above for some great ideas that we all can use.

Statement vs. Question

7/26/2020

Got all fired up from a conversation with the one and only Dr. Jeff Lip. We were talking about a book that we both recent read, "The Final Summit" by Andy Andrews. It was an eye, mind & heart opening book and Jeff brought up some great points that we talked about on his show. Check out his show HERE to hear our conversation and to find his other podcasts to listen to it. One thing I wanted to bring up was this idea of our lives being a mindset of a "! vs. ?". Our lives can be either a question mark (full of doubt, fear, lack of passion, etc.) or it can be an exclamation point (confidence, encouragement, passion, great relationships, etc.).

There are so many things that we can do to get through the "stormy seas" that we all have going on in our lives and how we don't have to be scared along with realizing that we ourselves, can be the "calm" of our own storms. This came from this quote out of the book that Jeff shared with me in our discussion:

"My life which was a question mark is now a statement. Stormy seas do not scare me for I am the calm in the storm. My past is behind me and my future is bright because I now know the secret of the present. I will do something and I will do it now."

Part of this solution to have a life more of a "!" is by having great people in your life that you can talk with, bounce ideas off of, to have in your corner for encouragement and to learn from them too. Another thought is who's "storm" do you want to be driving your ship through? Your own "stormy seas" or someone else's where you are not the one in control. Same thought - do you want someone else driving your ship? I know I don't want that.

Check out my podcast HERE where I share some thoughts & ideas. This is something that will help me to get my day & week started in a great direction. Hope it does the same for you.

Appreciation & Gratitude Found Everywhere

7/15/2020

Had to share this with everyone along with trying something new of working with my Facebook Live, my YouTube channel and using it here in a podcast. So far, so good. So many things happened in the last 24 hours or so that has taught me some important lessons dealing with Appreciation & Gratitude.

Yesterday for example, I was in a great group chat with some friends Denyse, Jeff & Tricia yesterday. We just had some discussions on what we are doing lately, celebrating some things, discussion on some successes of overcoming roadblocks of doing things we want to do. It was a very uplifting and encouraging group chat. Denyse has been leading the way helping us all to see the importance of having these every so often. I found it so uplifting to have these people in my corner as I have appreciated their encouragement, ideas and motivation to do the things that I know I need and want to do. It just so happens that we are all doing that for each other.

This morning too, Coach Dave reached out to me just for a quick chat as he drove into school where he has a long list of things that have to get done, and we had a very uplifting & encouraging discussion that really helped both of us. We had a great discussion of things that he is going through and the lessons that he is learning as he gets his basketball program going with him being the varsity head coach.

Reading a lot more has been a huge part of feeling good about myself and being inspired about many things going on in my life too. I can say now here in this post that I got my book order delivered. In the video on Facebook and YouTube, along with my podcast recording for this topic, I did not have the book "The Garden" by Jon Gordon yet.. but I do now. Then finally, I went out to our local Fresh Market... picked up some deli items and fresh vegetables too and I saw a few examples of things that reminded me about Appreciation, Gratitude, Compassion, Kindness and like my good friend Coach T.I. mentioned on Facebook, we all need to compromise a little bit more too. So many lessons in the span of just living my life & I had to share it here with you in this podcast. Click HERE to listen to my podcast about these events.