A MANTRA FOR THE NOW
Managing Director Bart Given shares the words providing him inspiration on a daily basis.
I absolutely treasure quotes.
On a daily basis I find myself extracting inspiration (and humour) from the written word. Speeches from famous leaders, comedy routines, biographies and song lyrics. I can go weeks repeating the same song lyric over and over again, and at work I nearly always use quotes to inspire me during the creative process.
For years I’ve repeated Branch Rickey’s “Luck is the residue of well-conceived design”. It helped me trust the process when we were growing TTG and expanding with TORQUE, and reinforced a belief we control our own fate. It’s served me well, but I have a new phrase for 2020 and beyond – and I heard it in on Netflix.
Given its significant pop-culture status in the spring of 2020, it might seem very predictable to recite from the ESPN documentary “The Last Dance”– I will nonetheless risk being labeled unoriginal and repeat a quote from the final episode. But it’s not from MJ, Phil or even the Worm, it was spoken by a relatively small contributor to the docuseries.
“Most people live in fear because we project the past into the future.”
This floored me when I heard it. It so succinctly connects the plight many athletes and entrepreneurs face on a near-daily basis. We think about the mistakes we’ve made, shots we’ve missed or miscalculations of the past. We are paralyzed by past errors or dangerously distracted by looking too far ahead into a future with variables we can’t even comprehend. Success is driven by actions we take now, in this moment. Everything else is out of our control.
Vancil later followed up with (somewhat abridged) “Most people struggle to be present. Michael’s a mystic. He was never anywhere else.”
Of course Jordan practiced hard, was insanely competitive and surrounded himself with a team he trusted to help him achieve his lofty goals – this is what allowed him to focus on the moment. So don’t take this as an excuse to ignore the past or tear-up personal and professional growth plans. But when the game is on, when the team needs you, trust your preparation, be confident in your plan and be singularly focused on the moment. That is want I’m going to do.
For the first time since the early ‘90’s, I can say I want to “Be Like Mike”.
(Although rest assured, I won’t be altering my leadership or fashion sense to emulate the GOAT.)
If you don’t like that one, try some of the other quotes I’m tapping into for motivation and direction.
“Start with hope.”
We need hope. We need to dream big. Otherwise why bother?
“Perfect is the enemy of good.”
There was a time when I disliked this quote, I felt it was an excuse for sub-standard output. I now know otherwise, and feel like striving for perfection can stifle growth and cause a company to be left behind. Be courageous and confident.
“It's times like these you learn to live again
It's times like these you give and give again
It's times like these you learn to love again
It's times like these time and time again”
-Foo Fighters
What can I add to this?