Start Here: About the 5 Ps

Passion – Preparation – Practice – Performance – Perseverance

In November 2000 I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease which is a form of lymphatic cancer.  I was going through Chemotherapy and would eventually also go through a regimen of radiation.  In January of 2001 as I was going through the “process” I received a phone call from Pete Carroll.  Pete had just been named the head football coach at the University of Southern California.  

I had just been taken off the hiring board at another Division I job because of my cancer so I was not leading with that fact during the phone call.  But what did come up during our conversation was very important in the formation of my philosophy.  Pete had spoken about bringing the Trojans back to their historic place in college football.  During the 60s and 70s, they were one of the best programs in the country winning several National Championships and Heisman Trophies.  

I finally asked him how he envisioned how I could help him do this.  He stopped and said, I believe that practice is everything, so I need you to prepare the athletes to be ready for practice and practice will prepare them for games.  

When I look back at my notes of the conversation I wrote, “Prepare at the highest level so we can Practice at the highest level so we can Play at the highest level.”  I used this as the foundation of my “What.”  I now knew “what” I needed to do.  I didn’t get them ready for games, so to speak, but I needed to focus on preparing them to survive the practices.  These practices would become legendary as Heisman Trophy quarterbacks would throw to All-American wide receivers being covered by future NFL Hall of Fame defensive backs.  

As time went on, I added two more Ps to the Championship Performance recipe: Passion and Perseverance.  

Passion joined the band because I found that being a great athlete was not enough to ensure success.  Those who lived a life of passion were the leaders on the team and ended up much further in life.

Perseverance was added after I found a letter that my mother had written me, and had never sent.  My wife and I were going through family photos after my mother had passed away when we came upon that letter.  In the letter, she listed a dozen things that had happened in my life where I had the opportunity to quit or push forward.  The letter also played a big part in the main emphasis of the book … MOVE!

PASSION: 

Articles that deal with the inner drive that we all need to want to MOVE from where we currently are to where we dream to be.  Too many times we work to help someone else succeed and in the end, all we get is a paycheck.  Sure it feeds us physically but living a life of passion will not only feed your body but more importantly, will feed your soul.

PREPARATION:

In order to be successful, we need to constantly need to be making ourselves better.  Whether through formal education, reading, researching, or not being afraid to ask the “stupid” question.  This category will focus on helping to continue the readers' education by referencing articles, books, documentaries, speakers, quotes, and other inspirational and formative ideas that I have found that helped me and the people around me.

PRACTICE: 

I was in the coaching profession for thirty-five years.  I was fortunate to have been successful at the physical and mental preparation of athletes.  I will always have sports in my world and I believe I can give a focus for not only athletes but also coaching staff and organizations and programs.  Many of these techniques will cross over into dealing with business and personal life situations, but in the Practice category, the articles will be sport-centric.

PERFORMANCE:

Having a passion and being prepared are the foundation to success, but having the mindset to perform the task that is required in your chosen field is where everything comes together.  Articles in this category will focus on how you go about your work.  From networking to communications to finding a better way to do what you do.

PERSEVERANCE:

We don’t always win.  We don’t always get the promotion. We don’t always get the person we want to be with.  But that’s part of life.  How we react to a setback is a true reflection of who we are.  Understanding how to get back up when we’ve been knocked down is the key to success.  Turning a loss into a learning experience is what the elite performer does so they can continue to MOVE down their path.  Articles in this category will speak to the mechanics that we go through both mentally and physically to stay on track and not get STUCK.