Telling Your Story

"John Gardner said the basic plot of nearly all stories is this: “A character wants something, goes after it despite opposition (perhaps including his own doubts), and so arrives at a win, lose, or draw.”" - "Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered" by Austin Kleon

This quote defines the volleyball season:

• This is what you want. 
• Your opponents want the same thing.
• Time will tell. 

Don't let four critical obstacles stand in your way of your story:

- Ego

- Emotion

- Social influence

- Inertia

Ego. Ego maintains our self-worth. It keeps us stubbornly refusing to change, even when change is needed. When we embrace coaching, it allows us to say, "I can be better, do better by finding a better way."

Emotion. Listen to signal and not to noise. Emotion can tell us, "this is too hard. I can't do it." Or emotion can propel us forward, "My job is to understand my role, excel in it, and ignore the noise."

Social influence. This is "quiet time" leading up to tryouts. There's no season preview or celebration of returning players on MVB 25. 

• "Repetitions make reputations."
• "The magic is in the work." 
• "Champions do extra." 

Author Dan Pink says, "do five more." Read five more pages. Study five more minutes. Do five more squats, five more minutes of plyometric jump training. Bill Walsh wrote, "Champions act like champions before they are champions."

Inertia. Some are saying, "It's a numbers game. Eight players returning, maybe twelve spots. There's a squeeze." That's the wrong attitude. This is better. "Still 25 days to get better. I'll jump rope for five minutes, three times a day and do individual and paired drills with a teammate. I'll do my best, putting in the work not just the time. And if I make JV, then I'll outwork everyone and kick the door down to the next level." 

Lagniappe. Be unstoppable. 

Lagniappe 2. Chaos to competence.