“I’m convinced that the power of the mind is God’s greatest gift to us. I’m also convinced that the secret to unlocking that power lies in belief. Belief, I contend, is the “deus ex machina,” or the magic elixir that can transform a mediocre athlete into a world-class competitor.”

by Tom Dorsey and Dr. Judd Biasiotto

Tom Dorsey is a co-founder of Dorsey Wright and Associates and also a world class Powerlifter. He is also an expert on “technical analysis” and appears on Television shows like Fox’s “Cavuto on Business” from time to time.

Tom’s article, while directed at his many clients who are professional money managers, has some good food for thought for coaches. As they say, you can teach x’s and o’s and you can recruit or develop great athletes but unless you can motivate……

Tom goes on to say….

“Over my years of competing in sports on a world level, I have a formula I have used for success. It goes like this: Conceive, Believe and Achieve. It’s simple but profound. I’m sure most of you have conceived of yourself as being great at one time or another. I believe that’s very important. I know when I was a little boy I always saw myself as being great, actually AWESOME. In fact, I was always visualizing myself kicking Larry Holmes’ butt or breaking Hank Aaron’s home run record. I never had a problem conjuring up images of myself doing something spectacular. The problem was that, in my heart, I really didn’t believe I could reach such heights. There is a big difference in conceiving yourself as being great and actually believing that you are going to be great. “

It’s when you truly believe you can be great (and that you are going to be great), that you are within reach of being great. Your goals are within reach. At this point, you have the vision of how to arrive at that goal. Belief is the “deux ex machina” which transforms mediocre to excellence. Believing in yourself opens the doors for success. The consequence of that is you don’t know what heights you can hit.

The Story of the Chicken and the Eagle

I like to tell the story about the chicken and the eagle. It’s an old Indian fable about a young brave that took an egg from an eagle’s nest and put it into a chicken’s nest. When the egg hatched, the eagle thought he was a chicken. As the eagle grew up among the chickens, he learned their way of life. He pecked the ground for food, scratched the dust, and made vocal sounds like the chickens he lived with. One day he looked into the sky and saw an eagle soaring above him. He flexed his wings and said to his mother, “I wish I could fly like that.” “Don’t be silly,” his mother said. “You’re a chicken — only eagles can soar so high in the sky. Feeling foolish and convinced that his desire to fly was futile, the eagle went back to scratching and pecking in the dirt. He had, for all practical purposes, become a chicken because he believed he was a chicken. Never again did he question his role on earth.

It is all a matter of perception. When the eagle couldn’t fly, it wasn’t because he didn’t have the natural ability, but rather because his belief was, “I am a chicken, and chickens can’t fly.” In order to fly, he needed to alter his perception of himself. He had to recognize his God-given abilities, and/or change his mindset concerning these abilities. He had to believe in himself. Although our perceptions of reality determine what we believe, what we believe determines what we are and will become.

As human beings, we tend to act appropriately to what we believe to be true, regardless of what is actually true or false. In other words, we are the product of conditioning in much the same manner that a computer is the product of its programming.

Tom makes a final point that reminds us of the great coaches we know. It speaks to the part of the coaching profession that acts like a magnet, holding many great ones in life-long commitments to careers and coaching and causing athletes and former coaches to return to the sidelines or the bench. It goes like this….

Some have visions of becoming an Eagle and go for it. They realize that they can’t do it with their current knowledge so they do whatever it takes to obtain that knowledge. Knowledge is power and as they gain more knowledge, they gain more confidence and belief that they will become an Eagle. This confidence and belief is contagious and people want to follow the confident.

Chickens and Eagles and “Option Football” Clinics

Last weekend, over 50 coaches from as far away as Indiana traveled to Harrisburg, PA to “obtain that knowledge” on Option Football, as Tom says.

For a day and half,  coaches from college teams like Navy, Rhode Island, Bucknell and a number of local and very successful High School coaches spoke on various Option topics. Two featured speakers were Jerry Kill, Head Football Coach of Southern Illinois and two-time AFCA Regional Coach of the Year and Marcus Borden, Head Football Coach at East Brunswick (N.J)Regional HS. Marcus was the 2005 AFCA “Power of Influence” Award winner.

Many attendees bought books and tapes to continue their quest for knowledge. They talked about attending upcoming clinics and looked forward to the 4th Annual Ultimate Option Clinic.

They heeded a call to action from one of the clinic speakers, who said something like..

“too many of today’s young coaches think it has to happen fast. They don’t understand that it takes a commitment to hard work for a long time to be a great coach”.

Tom Dorsey, and our clinic speaker provides some food for thought for all coaches, but particularly young and aspiring coaches…

The great coaches have “unlocked the power of the mind” – “Deus Ex Machina”. They have done this through hard work to acquire knowledge and experience and in the process developed confidence and a belief in themselves. In turn, they have become great leaders and successful coaches.

While compiling this article, the editor was reminded of the words of Jim Taylor of Susquehanna University , who opened each practice session  – “It’s a great day to get better”.

Carpe Diem!

Portions of this article were reprinted with permission from Tom Dorsey, of Dorsey, Wright and Associates .