Passion Wins & Make Something Happen

Be a sponge! In order to be successful, you have to be willing to learn from other people who have been successful. Most successful coaches will tell you that they created nothing, everything they know was taught, learned or taken from somebody else. To do this, I believe that you have to be willing to become a "sponge" and soak the information in. This goes for everything you do in life...no matter if you are an accountant, teacher, athlete, parent or coach. As coaches, we strive for our players to become students of the game, but we too must continue to be students of the game. I love to read articles from other people who have been successful, not just basketball coaches. You learn so much when you get the perspective of other professionals. Basketball coaches do not need to be your only resource for learning. Take Lance Armstrong for example, we can learn so much from him about his desire to be successful and his views on life in general.

Below is an article from a very successful Lacrosse coach, Diane Geppi-Aikens. A former coach at Loyola (MD) University, who unfortunately became a victim of cancer in her 30's, but her passion, courage and desire to teach were not effected by her cancer as she continued to coach, teach and inspire others. Coach Geppi-Aikens led her Loyola Lacrosse team to the NCAA Finals just before passing away at the age of 40. "Every morning after breakfast, I would see Diane pulling into the parking lot in her car. I'd see her and my day would get off to a great start. ... She made me want to bring more energy, more focus, more vision to my job," Loyola President Rev. Harold Ridley said. As a coach or a teacher, one of the greatest compliments you can receive is someone telling you that you were an inspiration to them. I don't know much about Coach Geppi-Aikens as I have just started learning more about her, but I do know that she was an inspiration to all that were surrounded by her. A book has been released on her, where her former players reflect by telling inspirational stories that teach about passion, making time, adversity, honesty, love and respect. The book is called Lucky Every Day, 20 Unforgettable Lessons From a Coach Who Made a Difference and is written by Chip Silverman who is a former lacrosse player and coach.

Also below, is a great quote from Astronaut, James A. Lowell, who talks about being successful. It is important that we teach our kids to learn and become sponges, but those that we learn from do not have to necessarily be professional athletes.

PASSION WINS!

"Passion is everything."
-- David Copperfield, magician

Diane Geppi-Aikens was an incredibly passionate coach. As women’s lacrosse coach at Loyola (MD), she preached passion and she won.
She didn’t let anything get in the way of her passion for coaching lacrosse.
She was diagnosed with brain cancer in her early 30s. She coached her last eight years despite the cancer.
Sometimes from a wheel chair.
Always in pain.
And she won.
She died at the age of 40.
In the book Lucky Every Day: The Wisdom of Diane Geppii-Aikens, author Chip Silverman wrote . . .
She made us close our eyes and hear the singers she was passionate about: Roberta Flack and Aretha Franklin.
“Listen to the joy in their voices,” urged Diane.
“It’s not the words or the music. They sing with such great passion, such heart and soul. You can feel how the singers love what they’re doing. It’s not just a job to them. If you want to excel at anything, you must be passionate. Otherwise, why waste your time?”
Passion wins.

ADVICE FROM AN ASTRONAUT:

Here is a great quote from Astronaut, James A. Lowell:

"There are people who make things happen.
There are people who watch things happen.
And there are people who wonder, “What happened?”
To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen."