Confluence

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

– Henry David Thoreau 

Maybe you have noticed a transformation. 

Perhaps you are gaining a sense of this. 

Feeling its tug. An awareness of gravity.  How the mass of  your collective thoughts, words and deeds have led you to this instant. 

Impacting someone.  Making something.  Leading somewhere.

For they all matter.  And even now, both they – and you – are still being shaped.  

Taking all that you have been up to now – and making you into what you are to become. The embodiment of all that is the best in you; character, excellence, perseverance and leadership.  

Your intentions then finally and irrevocably become reality.  

A convergence of age, ability, experience. The confluence of discipline, desire and dreams. In something altogether new.  That will stand  alone. That will never happen precisely in this fashion ever again. 

Long ago, each of you entertained the smallest germ of a thought.  A glimmer of a dream. 

At that moment, you decided.  You chose a destination. 

But a  path was needed.  Direction determined.  A pace to be set.   

You let go.  Abandoned yourself for one another.  Subservient for a greater good.  Exerting the will to expend yourself in all aspects of your being. Succumbing to a level of  self-discipline that ultimately created this extraordinary circumstance. 

Creating a singular vision, originating from a common perspective.

“The soul attracts that which it secretly harbours; that which it loves; it reaches the height of its cherished aspirations; … and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.”  James Allen

What your souls  harbor is especially important right now.  For as I speak, what  you have always wanted is right there. In your path. Within reach.  

The allure of what lay just ahead may be tempting.  You might want to peek. To veer left a little.  Or to the right.  To get up on tippy toes to take a gander. To peer over the top. 

Yet,  you must not stray.

To look ahead is to leave this moment.  Lifting one’s gaze up,  around or under will skew your  trajectory.  A change in perspective will reduce focus.  Obfuscate vision. Dissipate intention.  Impede effort. Foster missteps.  

You could lose sight of your path. 

Distractions are apt to be abundant. Self induced.  Born of doubt. Fear. Expectation. Anticipation.  Yet focus is not meant to exist in the absence of distractions. It is a trait intended to exist in spite of them. 

So just as you chose this path, you must now decide to maintain focus. 

To honor your  vision regardless of the situation. Committing to preserve that most singular and proper perspective.   To abide by the very essence of discipline.  Expending  unparalleled levels of effort and persistence. Exerting uncommon character and leadership.  Aspiring to the highest standards of attitude and attention. 

To finish.  

To relentlessly pursue  excellence. 

And succeed.   

By setting a tone that rings true to your vision alone.  

Converging on your path.  

So that you all flow together at one point.

In this stand alone  moment. 

Inches 2.0

Football – like life – is a game of inches. 

Where your foot lay at the line of scrimmage Friday under the lights or Sunday evening during sprints in the fieldhouse. Where the mesh can produce a drive sustaining gain or series ending fumble.  How a sharp break on a route can stymie a defender instead of providing an interception opportunity. Why pad level and leverage will always overcome size. And precise pursuit angles eclipse an explosive offense.  

One would think that given those game changing possibilities, more personal focus and investment would be granted those details.  

The inches. 

I can say with the utmost certainty that if you cannot attend to them now, in the present, you will never be able to call upon them when you choose to define yourself in that one moment.  

So to better understand the inherent gravity of details, I challenge you to consider this:

If a detail by itself is but an ounce – then embracing one, mastering it, incorporating it into how you live and finally making it a part of your being –  becomes a pound.  Not just in terms of pure weight.  But mass.  How you increase your width, depth and breadth.  As an athlete. And as a person.  

In effect, the mere ounces you choose to carry, overcome and own will in time translate into pounds of impact, pressure and “want to”. 

 A force for good that you can exert upon a challenge or chosen endeavor. To the extent that you can essentially roll over a challenge.  Capture a goal.  

Or, crush an opponent.  

Now this assertion has absolutely nothing to do with any known math or science; only the inversely proportional and lasting impact experience has shown me to be true.  

That creating the self discipline to attend to the details will in time assure the success of one’s pursuits.  

On the field.  

And in life. 

Both of which are games of inches.