Acknowledging Friends
It shouldn’t be possible to do so much with so little effort, but timing and circumstances are often critical in life, and this is one of those rare times when you can control and use timing and circumstances to your advantage.
You will probably never again be in a position to delight and honor your special friends and family the way you can as an athlete or performer. The phenomenon of acknowledgment is so strange it’s almost funny. Let me give just one example.
Most of you see your mother every day. She can talk to you any time she wants. Most of the time she tells you to do things and scolds you when you fail to do them. You are anything but a big shot to her. She knows you inside and out. You may be the athlete getting your name and picture in the paper, but she knows you as the athlete who leaves your bedroom all messed up. In other words, there should be no way to impress your mother just because you happen to have a uniform on. But you can!
When your mother arrives at a game and you are running around warming up, take two seconds to say hi to her. People will notice. She will (whether you see it or not) puff up with pride. And she will feel better about you, about herself and about life.
It shouldn’t be possible to do so much with so little effort, but timing and circumstances are often critical in life and this is one of those rare times when you can control and use timing and circumstances to your advantage.
Does your fraternity come into a game together? Can you flash the guys some special sign? Do your friends come in together? How about your history professor? (Or don’t you want a two-second switch from a C to a B?)
No use spending any extra time trying to reemphasize this. The results of acknowledging the special people in your life, under the special circumstances of being the performer in the spotlight, are simply incredible. And you are a complete fool not to take advantage of this phenomenon.
It makes no sense that people, particularly your family and friends, should be so flattered by your attention just because you happen to be “on stage” at a particular time. But they are.
The rest is up to you.
—Excerpted from the book, “Think Like A Champion.”
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