Finishing when You Are Busy

In tennis there is a moment of shot recognition when your opponent can only make a defensive shot that is only just going to make it over the net. Once you recognize that they are not able to hit an offensive shot, you must "close on the net" in order to get to the ball before it drops below the level of the net...

Some people are waiters...they wait until the ball bounces and then blast it out.

Some people are flailers...they swing hard at the ball and blast it right into the net...their feet were not in position.

Finishers recognize the shot early, get in position, and close on the net in order to put it away.

I think that the ability to maintain your system, as well as a systematic approach to your work, when things really start flying is a finisher's quality.

My business and the "busy-ness" has really picked up in the last few weeks. More people are signing up for the basic Brain bucket website, and I am lined up to do consulting-type work with a great company. This is all great stuff that I have been working hard to make happen.

But that means that it is harder for me to finish the things that need finishing.

I see others that I consider good finishers handling this type of workload / flow much smoother than I do.

I keep telling myself to maintain my system and to take time to reset my work list...and to set aside enough time to complete my tasks.

Here are some other finishers from the weekend:

Oliver Truog (my brother) reached a huge, long-time goal when he qualified for the Boston Marathon this weekend. He ran the Kansas City Marathon in 3:09. GREAT JOB!

James Tomko (a great friend) completed a half Iron Man triathlon...That is a great achievement!

Finishing and Not FInishing...

The Kansas City Chiefs were playing at the same time I was playing a tennis match yesterday. One of us did a great job finishing, and the other did not.

The Chiefs were on the road, coming off of several sub-par performances, and against a top-notch team from last year. They never quit. They were behind in the first half and they stuck to their game plan, kept making good plays to put their opponent under pressure, and they never quit.

I, on the other hand, felt like the San Diego Chargers. The weak part of my game was constantly under pressure. The better part of my game was ineffective, and I lost focus. I didn't quit...but I did go in the tank. I rallied late and finished with a few good points and a few tough games that we won...but I was terribly disappointed with my performance.

I know I am better than I played...and yet I didn't put any "finish" to my game. I was hanging my head late in the match, and I wasn't engaged like I should have been.

Today's Finisher's quality: Finishers Never Quit.

Even when all seems lost, a finisher digs in, gets back to the basics, and Never, never quits.

Take that and go finish this week.

The Psychology of Losing

The other night my wife (a relatively new tennis player) had the opportunity to practice with one of the best tennis instructors in the WORLD. HIs name is Ajay Pant and he is an amazing tennis geek.

She shared this story with me. He was talking to them about losing on the tennis court, and he related that when he loses he is absolutely torn up. He is angry, depressed and not fun to be around. This is not really surprising coming from a person who is clearly very competitive, successful, and driven.

His point was that it it OK to be really upset about losing. It is ok to be driven and then upset when you don't win. Go home, be upset and get it out of your system.

THEN - get back on the court, learn from your loss and let the losing motivate you more.

Try it with work!