It’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere. (Well, unofficially as the Summer Solstice and the astronomical calendar lists summer beginning on June 20th.) But for the most part, the first week in June marks many schools disbanding for the summer, summer calendar work days (if you’re lucky), and the summer travel season. It also means summer camp, if you happen to have children of a certain age.
I had the opportunity to attend a day at a basketball summer camp earlier this week, and while there, I picked up a message I felt worth sharing.
Coach Matt McCall, an NCAA Division 1 coach with a pedigree that includes stints at the University of Florida, Florida Atlantic University, the University of Chattanooga, and the University of Massachusetts, shared stories of recruiting college players, what he looks for in the process, and what makes certain players successful or not. He told the campers he does not recruit players with negative attitudes, those who complain, those who fail to make grades their priority, or those who don’t consistently play hard. For Coach McCall, being able to be one of his players, and playing in his system, comes down to two things:
ATTITUDE and EFFORT
All other things are essentially out of our control. The only things we can control daily are our attitudes and our efforts.
Coach McCall was speaking to kids in a summer camp, but his message applies to adults in the workforce as well. We can’t control much more than our attitudes and our efforts.
If we bring the right attitude to our teams, projects, and conversations, we will be successful.
If we bring the effort needed to create quality relationships, work products, and communications, we will be successful.
As we prepare to enter the summer season, I offer us a sunny proposition, let’s try to cut the noise and focus on two needle movers: Attitude and Effort.
Give it a shot…
