Category: John O'Leary - Coach to Expect Success

I Don't Know, What I Don't Know

7/4/2020

I think this reading more books is tending to agree with me as I am more fired up now than ever before and reading has been a big part of it. My current read is "Mean People Suck" by Michael Brenner and it's another good one. No big surprise as I heard about this book on John O'Leary's Podcast. This whole simple idea that we don't know everything & there are tons of people that think they do know everything. There are a couple of advantages for those of us that realize that isn't true. One is that if we recognize that we only know what we know and we don't know what we don't know, compared to those people that pretend to know it all - we can use that to a HUGE advantage. Just being honest with ourselves about this opens up the fact that we know and want to keep learning.

Those people (bosses, executives, others) that think they know it all - it's the opposite affect and it comes to be more costly too. It not only shuts off new information that can help solve problems, make more money, create new opportunities, etc.; but it is also does bigtime damage to relationships too. Look at those people that are in your life that just always seem to dismiss people because they "think" they know everything. I think we all know people like this and it is amazing how, for the most part we look to not really do too much for them or with them. There always seems to be that tension around them and that always will make things more difficult to get things done.

So again - this book (and the others I'm reading .... see my booklist on my home page), really has reminded me of things that I can do to help myself out. I hope these things help you too. Remember, you gain a very large advantage remembering that you you don't know everything. Remain humble in what you know and always look to keep that life-long learner type of attitude. Since there are so many others doing they opposite, they will actually help you more than will ever know.

Clarity In Our Future

6/23/2020

There are so many things going on where many people are worried about their future. I get it. The economy. Fears about our health with the Covid19 Pandemic around us. All of the civil unrest. Everything that seems to have a political connection to it. The simple fact of human interaction is still not happening like it normally does.

There have been plenty of things that have cleared up too. Things in life that have been shown to be important and things that have not shown that we need to get rid of too. There are plenty of people I think that have learned some important lessons throughout the year 2020 so far. For others, maybe the lessons have not been found yet. Maybe some people are still focusing on the things that are causing most of their troubles.

I found something to tie into this thought in John O'Leary's book "In Awe", where John talks about Fr. Tom Hoar being on his podcast and he brought up a very important question that we need to ask ourselves - Have you had enough? With Fr. Hoar, it's all tied into addiction. He mentions about changing happening when we have had enough of the the life that we have been living and we are deeply looking for something better. He also mentions about being addicted to the unimportant. This is something that caught my eye. Not only do I think we all have addictions to some things in our lives - things that are unimportant are eating up a lot of everyone's time at one point or another in life. I know it's happening to me.

Of the many things happening in this year of 2020, I have found an extreme understanding of many things I don't want to focus on any more. The hate that has sprung up in our lives, heck, it's always been there - but we are seeing it more and more now. Politics! If there is one thing that I have developed a strong distaste for in recent years, it's this. I still vote, but I will not let these political leaders affect my life where I blindly close my eyes, heart and mind to people who have a different opinion than I do. It's a fine line of controlling the information, the opinions of others, the messages that I let affect me and my life and still being able to function in society. The lack of character in our world is something that I do not want to join in with just to fit in.

I need to continue this journey of being better than the guy I was the day before. The important lessons that continue to be thrown at me, I need to not only continue to learn from them but I also need to make the changes in my life that I got from those lessons. In a small way... YES is my answer to that question - Have you had enough? Yes, I've had enough of holding myself back from going after my goals and dreams. Yes, I've had enough of my negative thinking towards others and myself. Yes, I've had enough of mortgaging my future for being comfortable today & not putting in the hard work so that my tomorrows will be better. This pandemic has taught me a lot about wanting clarity for my future. I for one, need to ramp up my efforts for making the changes I know I need to make. What about you?

No Reserves. No Retreat. No Regrets

6/21/2020

Here is another lesson that I recently got from John O'Leary's book, "In Awe" and he brought up this thought of No Reserves. No retreat. No regrets. He mentions this mindset from a story of William Borden (click on his name for his amazing story.)

No Reserves

This was a reminder to Borden to make sure he was taking everything he had, all of his gifts, all of his thoughts & insights of things, all of his kindness & compassion; and to put it all out there for being a difference maker to others. To really be a light for someone else's darkness. I take this as Sam Crowley always says, to use up all the toothpaste in our tube of what our lives are. Not to be on our deathbed with things still left undone, unsaid to others and things not tried. It's something that has been on my mind more and more in my own life. (that's why this post hit close to home for me.)

No Retreat

Borden wrote of this as to not go back home to an easier life, one with money, priviledge, etc. He found strength in that to help keep him focused on what his mission in life was. This reminds me to not retreat back to an easy life. Remember, looking to make things easy now, in our early life - it will make things much more difficult later in life. We need to reverse this. Work hard now in our lives, things will be difficult and challenging, but later in life, it will get better. Everything I now do are grounded in the fact that I'm proud of being a teacher and a coach and I know that I have made a difference with so many people and look to continue to do so. No retreat from being an educator.

No Regrets

This one ties it all in. John O'Leary wrote "don't get to the end of your journey and realize the life you lived was not yours. Don't forget that you are free to choose. Right now." We all have THE CHOICE for how we live our lives. If we don't like where we are going or where we are at, we can change things in our own life. We can think differently, we can make different choices, we can choose to get better. This also brings in the fact of (at least to me) how we can't continue to blame others or blame the circumstances that happen to us.

Unfortunately in today's times, I see this happening way too much and to tell you that I don't want to be a part of that way of thinking. I think the blame game that so many people are playing is a direct recipe to have plenty of regrets in life, to retreat from things that will help us in the long run, and to have tons of reserves in our tank when we die. Not taking responsibility for our own lives will lead to the opposite of all three of these. Bottom line, I'm looking to take control of my life in these 3 areas. For example (as so many people are getting worked up about this) I'm not going to let any elected official be the difference maker in my life. Doesn't matter who is in any elected position in any form of our government as to how I choose to live my life and that I need to make sure that I follow this formula: No reserves. No retreat. No regret. How about you?

Optimism Is Key - At least in my opinion

2/7/2020

This was a powerful post that my students worked on - a few weeks ago - I'm getting off of the procrastination train, and finally getting these going, like I told them I would! There were 2 key parts that I used for this one - both from John O'Leary.

First was a blog post that he put out there about "How Heros Speak". In this post he mentioned about a pro hockey player that invested time in with him when he was a little boy, recovering from his burns that were part of John's story early on in his life. It's all about the people that speak words into our hearts, souls, minds, etc., throughout our lifetime. These heros don't necessarily wear capes either, but the do interject such powerful belief into us that it ends up making a HUGE difference in our lives. He brought up the other fact about the truth is that we are supposed to be the same hero for others. There are other people out there, ones we don't even know perhaps, but we are the difference-makers that they need in their lives.

I have believed this ever since I was probably in college as that's when I found out how important it was to have people believing in me for my life. Dr. Wells Cook was the biggest influencer in my life, next to my parents and my wife - that truly made a huge difference with me. His encouraging words pointed me into being an educator. What a ride it has been from first meeting him back in the fall of 1985. That also happens to be the time I met my wife as well, at the same university - Central Michigan University! From then until now - these two people (again, other than my parents) have changed my life in so many incredible ways! Not sure where I'd be without them.

I love this part of his post & I now it is speaking to you as well: "Your great opportunity, my friend, is to realize the truth that you are intended to be a hero for others. My encouragement before you grab your cape or hockey stick and race out the door is to realize this: your ability to positively impact others hinges on your own thoughts and your own words.
Rudyard Kipling wrote, “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” As with any drug, our words can be either life-giving or life-depleting. Choose today to use your words to encourage others to take back their life, ignite their possibility and change their world.
And in wondering where to begin sharing heroic optimism with others, consider starting with the reflection in the mirror."

The second part of this assignment came from his video clip. In it he asks us to follow our own minds and to catch ourselves when we start going down a negative road as far as our thoughts and comments go. Try to write them down & find some replacements for them, with more positive and encouraging thoughts & words. I mentioned this to my students and have always told my basketball players this too. Nobody else can do as much damage & hurt us, more than we can do it to ourselves. I've been working on catching myself quicker when I start going down that negative rabbit hole to problems & negativity. I need to find ways to eliminate problems, not head into more.

Let me know your thoughts on these 2 items. I think they are simply pure gold. Heck, anything from John O'Leary usually is. Check him out HERE at his website. He's got his 2nd book coming out in May 2020. Check out his first book before you read his new one. You'll love it!

John O'Leary Podcast with Dr. Kelli Harding - Life Changing Stuff!

9/20/2019

John O'Leary is quickly becoming my favorite podcast to listen to as it is always emotionally connecting and rejuvenating that I'm finding that I can't miss it. His book "On Fire" is my favorite book, and I also need to get back into reading that book again soon. I need to get connected with this guy even more with all that he has to offer. Great stuff!

When this podcast came out recently, where he interviewed Dr. Kelli Harding, I knew I had to not only share this with my students as a blog assignment, but also to share it with others - which I have. ;-) One of the first lessons that got to me was simply the fact that our technological social world is actually changing our lives - heck, it's been proving to change our biology as Dr. Harding states. It's kind of scary. As I write this, I see a few of my students (the ones doing it a lot) on their phones.. the look withdrawn, low energy, they have work that needs to be done, they have questions they could be asking me; real life taking a back seat to a 7-inch screen. :-(

Another of the many things that struck me as being HUGE LESSONS - was the fact that our relationships can make such a big difference. I have seen that thousands and thousands of times in my life, even this week and truthfully - I've seen it (and experienced it) today! Not quite sure what I would do if it wasn't for the people that I have in my life.

Finally, my third catch from this fantastic podcast - by the way, you can find it HERE - is this awesome quote she shared with the listeners in this podcast, “True health is hidden in the million tiny moments of everyday life.” This statement is so valid, it's just dripping with authenticity and truth! These happen every day and we miss so many of them, I know I do for sure, because we are all caught up in the wrong things that we are trying to keep up with. This is another of many reminders to stop and figure this point out!

Powerful stuff.. this keeping up with my students is fun, challenging, but mostly, it's a very good thing. :-)

It's Time ....

8/3/2019

Wow... what a productive morning today!! I got up with my cup of coffee and our dog sitting on my lap as I finished up another book - "The Bottom of The Pool" by Andy Andrews. What a fabulous book and I knew it would be since I listened to Andy Andrews on 3 different podcasts - 2 as a guest on Brian Buffini's Podcast and the other was on John O'Leary's podcast. The third one of course was on Andy's own podcast - "The Professional Noticer". The discussions I heard about this book sold me on getting a copy.

His book really got me thinking about my thinking! It's everything to me as my thinking affects every thing in my life. You might say duh... that's not a surprise at all. But to hear it from him, to read it in the words that he shared so many stories about this - WOW was all I could say after reading it. That is a book that you want to make sure you get your hands on for sure.

I also watched a video clip this morning sent to me by a good friend, Stan Targosz. He sent it to Dr. Jeff Lip too as the 3 of us had a fabulous meeting this past week in recording a podcast for Jeff's show - again, a must listen to... find it (after August 12, 2019) and all of his podcasts at www.jefflip.com - We had some FANTASTIC and POWERFUL discussion both before and after the show. I walked out of there very excited and fired up about things in my life. A product that usually comes from hanging out with awesome people like Stan and Jeff.

Finally, I got to work out this morning - which I'm back on my schedule of every other day getting to the gym. That also allows me to listen to some great podcasts, do some awesome thinking, and always walking out of there feeling better about life and myself. This morning was no different. Scott Smith (The Daily Boost podcast), https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/motivationtomovecom/daily-boost mentioned about that it's time to become the person you have always wanted to be. To start doing the things that you need to do in order to start making that happen. The little things matter for sure. Changing habits matter. Our thinking matters. Action steps matter! Again, this is something that I know has to happen, but for many reasons (my excuses) they have not happened. Amazing to get re-connected with this again. I needed to hear it!

"Dr. Ron's Words of Wisdom" (https://drronblake.com/welcome-to-dr-rons-words-of-wisdom/) was another podcast that I got to listen to, with help of Sam Crowley. Dr. Ron mentioned that "only the prepared are in a position to change directions". Again, total truth that needed to find it's way into my mind & heart. Taking the action steps, changing my habits, doing little things that become big things!

What a great way to start my day and hope you use this to help yourself out a little.

Purpose, Passion & Education

6/20/2019

I was listening to a couple of great podcasts today - I find so much value from Sam Crowley and John O'Leary. These are just two of the podcasts that I listen to out of maybe 12 -15 that I find so much key & valuable information.

Sam always hammers home the points about Purpose & Passion. He's got it right in understanding that we don't have a ton of time here on earth, and we shouldn't spend it chasing after the wrong things. Sure we need to have money, but it should not mean that we have to settle for things throughout life. I think all of us at one point or time in our lives think about things that could be if we every chose to go after things that fire us up. Most of those dreas and goals start disappearing as we get older. We get comfortable & content with things the way they are. We get tired as we get older. Life starts happening to us and things get in the way. It sure is easy to kind of let go of those dreams or at least put them on the back burner. Amazing things start happening when we move them to the front burner and start believing that we can actually start doing some things that may make them happen.

Now, John O'Leary also speaks about finding our Passion & Purpose in our lives and all of his guests will back that up. Heck, even his best selling book, "On Fire" is all about people with passion & purpose in their lives. But today's guest was Hill Harper a famous actor who brought up how important education is in our lives. Not just a degree or diploma, but true education that makes us a better human being. Finding the connection to what we are meant to do alon with investing in ourselves so that our lives deal with making a difference with others.

Like I said, these two podcasts really connected with me and I think they will connect with you too. They inspire me to think harder about what I want to do in my life and they remind me not only the importance of making choices that match with my purpose & passions in my life along with looking to make a difference with others.

Checeverydayissaturday.com/podcasts/k out Sam Crowley's site & his podcasts here (http://everydayissaturday.com/)

Check out John O'Leary's site & his Podcasts here (http://johnolearyinspires.com )

Commit & Figure It Out

8/26/2018

Amazing the thoughts and ideas that come to you when you choosing to put good stuff into your head. That's a key in life I've been finding lately. I get to choose what goes into my mind, thereby choosing the items I know that will have an influence on me. John O'Leary's podcasts help me in so many ways. I first connected to his book "On Fire" and now I'm hooked on his podcasts. His latest one got me fired up about a few things - find it HERE and listen to it - It got me going and I hope it at least gets you thinking too. There are so many things I need to commit to - It's about time I do those things. How about you?

One thing that I have really seen a difference in my life is the simple fact that I'm reading more. It is amazing to hear that so many people mention that throughout their lives on the importance of reading. I am finding how much of a key it is. Try it. You might like it. It's helping me to stay focused (which I need a lot of help with) and with that I'm able to commit and focus more on the things that I need to do. Thanks for listening and checking out my podcast too - find this episode HERE. Please take a few moments to subscribe & share this with someone, also leave a 5 Star rating on 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

We Can Be Inspired With & Without Tragedies

7/20/2018

This is a personal one for me and I hope it is for you too. These two podcasts spoke right to my heart and like many stories before (through other podcasts, books, videos, movies, articles, blog posts, etc.) I keep getting reminded about working harder, becoming better, doing more, helping others more, etc. I don't want to just look to improve because of a sad & tragic story! I NEED to look to do more & get better each and every day without having these stories to remind me.

Both podcasts (and many others) are from John O'Leary. Check out the first one HERE - A great interview with one of the first men in space - a guy who came from having not much at all to being on top of the world. A great story of overcoming, dreaming, hard work, believing in yourself - so many great lessons. There is some great mix of a few actual historical recordings here on some of the things going on back in the 1960's with the space race. Jim Lovell does a great job with story-telling all the events from back in the day.

The second one is HERE - A HUGE story - a true story - of a high school volleyball team from Iowa, overcoming loss, and the magic of believing in others. An amazing story that was turned into a movie - "The Miracle Season" - one that I will be looking to watch, and watch soon. Amazing lessons that I picked up from listening to the podcast, and I know there would be many more from the actual movie too. John spends some wonderful time talking with Coach Kathy Bresnahan about her special team, her player and their lessons they all learned together.

Do me and yourself a huge favor - listen to both of these podcasts and then also after listening to this show of mine, start looking to see how you can look to work hard, get better, help others, be an encourager more, a more positive self-talker too. We can do it you know - I can and so can you.

You can listen to my podcast HERE on my podcast webpage.

Thanks for listening. Please take a few moments to subscribe & share this with someone, also leave a 5 Star rating on 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

School Is Back IN Session & Not Just For Kids

9/4/2017

This summer was good one for picking up some new lessons that I found in a few places.
First of all, I got connected with some awesome people that have taught me some very valuable lessons. One of the best things about this is that I’m still in touch with them and I’m still learning new lessons, which I need to do bigtime! The confidence factor that they have helped me with was something that I think meant the most. Their encouragement in my goals and dreams was something that I needed for sure. I got my podcasts going and I am looking forward to working on other projects coming up soon too.

Part of that was the fact that I found all of them have battles that they are fighting. Things going on in their lives and trying to do good things and go after their dreams and goals. Those things they were going through were some of the very reasons why they wanted to do what they were doing! I’ve seen it around other places too and I know darn well the validity of this – all of us are battling some sort of issue that gets in the way of things we want to do in life. The same can be said that it’s more than one issue too. The amazing part is – the help that we are giving each other by sharing our stories, learning from each other, encouraging each other, along with helping to instill hope in each other – all of that is a very powerful formula for success.

Another lesson this summer came from someone from my past. A friend of mine that I grew up with and knew from middle school on. We were not great friends, but good ones. She was actually my senior prom date in 1984 and her name was Erin. She passed away back in February of this year from a battle with cancer. Sad to say, I didn’t find out about it until last month. I am amazed and upset with myself for not knowing, especially in this age of social media where I can do a much better job on connecting with people that I cared about throughout my life. Sad to say, I did not do that with Erin.

You see, I’ve been on a type of quest to tell people from my past how much they have meant to me along with thanking them for the investment they made into me – even if it was brief, it’s something that I can now see was very important for me and my life’s journey. I’ve told some people that exact thing, but others I have not. Erin was one that I had meant to tell her, but time ran out on her and me to do that. What a painful but valuable lesson as I now know I need to reach out to other in my life and let them know. The key is, like many other things in life, is not to put it off.

Another one of the valuable lessons I learned this summer was that of one I already knew about, but sort of forgot about the value of it. The lesson? How valuable reading books can be. I got a couple of them done this summer and it has inspired me to try and read a book a month in the upcoming year. I have a new #1 most favorite book on my list – and that is “On Fire” by John O’Leary. It is one that I recommend you read. It is an amazing & life changing story that has greatly affected the way I am viewing things in my life. Always open to discussion and feedback.. let me know.