OFFENSE-ATTACKING THE OPPONENT
PLAY #1-ORGANIZATION-Knowing the Details of Your Stuff
Every man wants to improve. Be a better father, husband, student, employee, employer or whatever. The desire to be recognized as the best at something is built into guys. Who doesn’t want to be recognized by other men as “the man”?
But being “the man” takes work. It takes effort, desire, and focused attention. No matter how talented you are, it still takes work to be the best. A great example is the late, great Chet Atkins, who is considered to be one to be one of the best guitar players that ever lived. One day he was asked about his practice schedule and his answer was he practiced every day. The interviewer was shocked, the great Chet Atkins practiced every day? Chet’s response was if he missed one day of practice he could tell it, if he missed two days, his band could tell it, and if he missed three days, the audience could tell it. It takes effort to improve.
What’s tough is when we try to juggle all of the areas where we want to be the best (the best softball player, best mechanic, best golfer, best dad.) How do you decide what comes first? What do you focus on and what gets pushed to the side?
Because we’re guys, most of the time we choose what gives us the most pleasure or glory and that’s not always what’s best in the long run. The result is we end up not accomplishing much of what we say we value or the things that we need to accomplish.
If you don’t know what you want to be good at and constantly run from one activity to another, the result is predictable: CHAOS. Nothing gets done. What we need is a clear set of priorities to serve as guardrails for our lives.
There was a guy in the bible that figured this out. His name was Solomon and he talked about it in Ecclesiastes 10:10 “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.” I love this verse because it’s such a clear picture for guys. We’ve all used a tool that (drill bit, wood chisel, saw, or ax) had become dull and it takes way too much effort to get any results.
Have you ever noticed that the process of becoming dull is subtle? One day you’re whacking away with an ax wondering why it’s so hard when the light bulb goes off and you realize the thing is dull. Eventually even the densest of guys figures out that it’s not going to get any better until he sharpens the tool.
Let’s figure out where you’re swinging a dull ax and get to work sharpening it. To get started you need to know there are 3 man laws that will govern everything you do and can either work for you or against you, but WILL affect everything you do.
MAN LAW
LAW #1: Your life is a checkbook and you write a check every day
When you go to bed at night, you will never, ever get that day back. Spend every day with purpose so you never feel remorse at the end of a day. Even if you did “nothing”, the day was not wasted if it was part of the plan.
LAW #2: You must have a WRITTEN plan
A written plan will keep you from wasting time, money, and talent. It’s really the only way to keep yourself from drifting and that’s important because we are all drifters by nature.
Advantages of writing it down:
- you’ll remember it
- you’ll be able to use it to do regularly reviews and reorient if necessary
A written plan will also give you a blueprint to lead your family with. Single guys, this will help you get a woman. Women like to know a man has a plan (planning details for date).
LAW #3: Everything in life costs something and you must count that cost.
Most of us don’t consider what it costs in time, only in money. Take changing the oil in your car, the cost is far more than the 20 minutes it takes you to actually do it. There’s the time involved getting the oil and filter, then you’ve got to get rid of the old oil. So now you realize that that 20 minute job actually cost you an hour and a half. 90 minutes that you could have spent with your kids or having a date with your wife. You’ve got to decide what cost your more willing to pay, $39.95 or 90 minutes. Remember you can always make more money but you can never make more time.
The list here is endless but here are a few to get you started:
- If your wife works should you send your shirts to the laundry?
- How should you handle household repairs.
- Who cuts your grass?
Basically, you need to evaluate your life and determine what things would actually have a lower real cost if you farmed them out.
SCRIMMAGE
2 QUESTIONS TO REGAIN CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE
Question #1: Can I do it?
Do you have the abilities, time, and interest to do an activity?
Question #2: Should I do it?
Just because I can do something doesn’t mean I should. That’s why I need a written plan that will help me evaluate opportunities before they come up. It will also give you permission to say “no”.
HUDDLE DISCUSSION STARTERS
At this exact moment, is your life more chaos or order?
What is the balance in your life checkbook? Positive or Negative?
