We Have to Lead Ourselves

The most important part of being a leader and a coach?  You have to first learn how to lead and coach yourself.  You have to model how to bring energy and enthusiasm - everyday - whether you 'feel' like it or not.  We ask our players to leave their problems in the locker room and stay focused between the lines.  We have to be able to do the same and be completely invested and locked in on them and for them.

We have to hold ourselves accountable.  We have to be life-long learners and find ways to learn, grow and get better.  We want our athletes to work on their game outside of practice, we want them to come early and stay late, and we want them put the extra work in to be great.  We have to be willing to do the same.  We have to be ready to learn and get better at what we do.  We have to make sure that we are willing to come early and stay late and we have to encourage it and push for the extra effort that we want.

We have to take care of ourselves - our minds and bodies.  We have to grow.  We have to stay ready.  We can't just have empty expectations - we have to actively LEAD.  We have to teach, monitor, correct and reteach relentlessly, so we have to be on top of our game to be able to give to others what they need.

We have to be the biggest role models of what we are preaching to our athletes - we have to do the work.  

Be a great leader today by leading yourself first.

Think Gold, Live Gold

What we call ‘elite’ at 8 years old or even at 14 years old and going into high school is a basic requirement at 18 when it really matters.  Being considered ‘the best’ carries an expiration date, and it expires when your peers’ game, skill, and ability out-grows your own.  The only way to push back that expiration date and to stay on top is to continue to work on your game, continue to listen to your coaches, parents, and anyone who can help you improve, and always find ways to get better.  The second you stop getting better is the second somebody will pass you up.

This is what ‘the process’ is, and your character drives the process.  To become the best that you can be, you have to work as hard and as smart as you can work. 

In A Champion’s Mind, author Jim Afremow says that we if we want to become the best that we can become, we should live by ‘Gold Medal Standards.’  Winning the gold medal in any sport means that you are the best at what you do.  To do so, there is a level of focus, work ethic, desire, intensity, grit and character that you must have every day. 

The first step to becoming the best is to know what you want to be your best at, to know who the best is, and to know what being the best looks and feels like.  

Imagine what a gold medal athlete in your sport does every day to get better.  Imagine how much rest they get at night.  Imagine how many days a week they work on their sport outside of their practice.  Imagine how early they get to the gym or field, how hard they work when they get there, how much they listen to their coaches, how much they encourage their teammates and how much positive energy that they bring.  

Imagine how gold medal athletes handle setbacks, losses, and failures.  Imagine how they handle winning and how both winning and losing pushes them to work harder.  Imagine how much they try to learn new things and how excited they are to learn new things.  Imagine how they react when they can’t do something [yet].  Imagine how they try to eat right, how they try to act right and how they try to live right.  

Imagine how gold medal athletes have gold medal habits on and off the field.  Imagine how they don't let their feelings or negative emotions affect when and how they work.  Imagine how they don't let negative influences or negative habits bring them down.  Imagine how they work hard to form positive habits that drive them to be better.  Imagine how they read about other great athletes to keep themselves motivated.

Imagine how they make other people around them better.  Imagine how they inspire other people.  Imagine it all.

Then go and live like that.

Every day when you get up, try to make it a gold medal day.  Try to win the day.  Try to do your best to live like a gold medal athlete lives.  If you do this over time, you too will be a gold medal athlete, or a gold medal coach, or a gold medal teacher or a gold medal doctor.  Know what the best looks like, feels like and acts like then live that way.  If you can be consistent enough, you will rise and grow to the top of your field and be among other gold medal athletes. 

My Kids Are Better People Because You Coached Them

I heard a superintendent tell a group of coaches this last week.  It had to have been one of the best compliments that a coach can hear, especially coming from a boss.  In a world where parent complaints and transfer rates are seemingly at all time highs, and when every other week we see articles where coaches either resign or are fired because of parent issues, hearing your superintendent say something like this has to be a reassuring and rewarding gesture.

Having a parent genuinely feel this way about the time that I spent with their athlete is one of my ultimate goals as a coach.  I want them to feel like I helped their kid become a better athlete and a better person, and I would love for them to be grateful and appreciative of the time and energy that I gave to their athlete.

But how do we get to this point?  

It starts with focusing on growing our athletes and helping them become the best people and athletes that they can be, and we need to make sure that their experience throughout this process is a positive one.  It comes from putting more of a focus on the human aspect of sports and performance - growing people, and when we invest in our people and help them grow, winning results will follow (if we are strong enough in our knowledge of our sport and are continuously learning and getting better ourselves as coaches and leaders).

Brett Ledbetter is one of the best guys in the world right now on terms of sports psychology and driving performance.  The foundation of his message is that when we build character in our athletes, it produces hardworking, accountable, passionate people who know what it takes to be successful and who are willing to do what it takes to get better.  Being intentional about how we go about growing athletes is important, and it is much more than just skill - we have to spend a lot of time on the human aspect of growth and development, and we have to do so in a way that the process is enjoyable and not a drag or we risk losing our kids in the process.

One way to do that is to identify and align self-interests.  Each athlete has a specific 'why' for playing sports, and that 'why' might not always align with what is best for others or for the team.  It is important for us coaches to know the 'why' behind all of our players and to know what they want to get out of this season and out of sports as a whole.  We have to be intentional about building relationships with our athletes to know what their goals are, what motivates them, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and to know what they are confident in and what their fears are.  Knowing these things can help us help them grow as individuals and as athletes, and it can help us motivate them in a way that keeps them pushing to achieve their own goals and to help the team achieve their collective goals.  

There is nothing more frustrating than coaching a kid who is acting only in ways that benefits himself, even to the detriment to the team.  Instead of beating our head into the wall disciplining or lecturing the kid into doing what we want, what if we merged his wants and actions with what is best for the overall team?  At the end of the day, most people want to be recognized for doing high level work, and for a high school kid, that could mean making the team, becoming a starter averaging a certain amount of points, earning all district and/or becoming a Division 1 athlete.  There is nothing wrong with having any of those goals and we should encourage all of our kids to become goal-oriented, but we should also teach them how their goals should always align with goals that are what is best for the team or organization.

We don't want to burn out their fire, but we also don't want to let their fire burn down the whole house.  We don't want to eliminate what motivates them just for the team, but we have to make sure that what motivates them doesn't negatively affect the team either.

Once we discover the goals and motivations of our athletes, we have to get them to understand how what is best for the team is also what is best for them individually.  And once we learn what their goals are, we have to make sure that their habits match their dreams.  If their habits don't match their dreams, we have to be willing to do two things: make them aware of their behavior and ask them why they are acting this way.  We have to give them ownership of their goals and their behavior and let them know that their success isn't random - it is based on their habits and actions.

Doing the best you can to identify your athletes' 'why' and learning about what motivates them and helping them achieve their individual goals show that you care about the person and not just how they can help you. Sure, you can't keep everybody happy, and crazy parents are just crazy parents and you have to be able to find peace when you still have unhappy stakeholders -  that part of the job is inevitable.  But that peace can grow from a foundation on which you genuinely try to do what is best for each person on your team and what is best for the team as a whole and knowing that you did all that you could for the people that you are leading and serving.

You Have A Systems Problem, Not a People Problem

When you find yourself frustrated about what your players can't or aren't doing, ask yourself, 'What are our process or system for monitoring, improving, emphasizing, or correcting this performance or behavior?'

'My players aren't motivated.'
- What is our process for getting players excited about practice or what is your process for creating goals that keep your kids focused and dedicated?

'My players won't come in a get shots up on their own.'
- What is an effective way/system for getting players in the gym outside of practice?

'My players don't know 'how' to work on their game at game speed on their own.'
- When they are with you, what are some effective things that we can teach them that they can do on their own?

'_____ is acting up in Algebra class and _____ is failing biology.'
-  What is our weekly process of monitoring classroom grades and behaviors?

It is frustrating when I can't get my players to do what I think is best for them at the level and the speed that I think is best for them.  It is frustrating watching them not going hard enough in practice every day like they should, and it is frustrating when they aren't fully committed to getting better outside of the gym and in the classroom.  So many athletes have million-dollar dreams with $2 habits and lifestyles.

I was sitting in a conference when the speaker said, 

'You don't have a people problem, you have a systems problem,' 

and that really hit home to me in terms of how to teach my players HOW to approach becoming the best players and people that they can be.  It forced me to stop looking at the players and their deficiencies and to start looking at myself and the systems that I have (or have not) created for them to be in the best position possible to grow.

In a perfect world, players would be intrinsically motivated to work hard every day to be their best.  Really, in a perfect world, I would be intrinsically motivated to wake up early every morning, avoid social media and start my day with a great workout, a fruit-based smoothie, and a morning devotional.  But we do not live in a perfect world and very few of us are intrinsically motivated enough to build and stick to the right habits.

As James Clear wrote in his book, Atomic Habits, most of us aren't as self-disciplined as we think we are or as we would like to be.  As much as 40%-45% of our lives are dictated by our habits, so for us to become the best version of ourselves, we have to have habits - systems and processes - that are obvious, that are attractive, that are easy and that are satisfying.  If we want to have a healthy morning routine, we have to make it obvious by removing all other distractions, we have to make it attractive by doing something reasonably fun and rewarding, we have to make it easy by making it convenient and not something too difficult to actually be able to perform on a regular basis, and we have to make it satisfying so that we will continue to do it over time.

As coaches, instead of complaining that our players won't get in the gym to work on shooting at game speed, we have to create a plan, or system, to make it easy for them to do so and enjoyable or satisfying so that they keep on doing it.  We have to make it obvious by giving them a set time to come into the gym.  We have to make it attractive by giving them something fun to do or grouping them with their friends, by making it a competition or by showing them the benefits of extra shots.  We have to make it easy by having everything set up, gym open, and balls out and ready for them to perform - all they have to do is show up and get after it.  We have to make it satisfying by tracking their progress or teaching them to track their own progress so that they can see growth and by acknowledging their efforts.  We can say that the kids need to be self-motivated and that this shouldn't be your job or that you don't have the time, but you won't be getting the most out of your kids.

Instead of complaining about what our players won't do, we have to create processes that they can perform that will allow them to improve and grow.  As leaders, we must do the same for all the people we serve.

My kids don't talk enough in practice.
Create a system called 'echo-communication.'  When coach calls something out, everybody has to yell - or echo - it out.  It will be tough to manage the first week, but anytime somebody doesn't echo the call, have a quick but effective consequence for the team.  Eventually, your team will start to manage themselves and eachother and you will become the loudest team in the gym each game.

We get off to bad starts because we don't warm-up effectively.
Create a system that really gets them going during your warm-up time and have an assistant coach take ownership in it.  Challenge the assistant to create and lead the best warm-up in the state!

We can't even catch and make layups!
Create a plan for practicing catching and shooting lay-ups to start practice.  Set a goal of ______ perfect passes, catches, and makes in ______ minutes.

We don't get back in transition fast enough.
Create a plan for getting back.  Beat the other team to half-court, touch the defensive paint, load up one side, then closeout to shooters.  Create a plan for drilling this in practice and managing/statting this in-game.

My kids aren't tough enough.
Define what actions are 'tough' actions to you, and create a process for teaching that skill.  We don't dive on the floor for loose balls - drill it.  We don't take charges - drill it.  We don't box out - drill it.

We lost games because we miss too many free-throws.
Create a system for how each player shoots free-throws.  Line up your feet, take a breath, 3 dribbles, find the rim, bend your knees, breathe, and shoot.
Create a system where they have to come in early or stay late and make 50-100 free-throws, outside of practice every day.  Make it attractive by having them chart their makes and have a locker room leader board and championship belt for the weekly winners.

My kids are being behavior issues in class and/or failing classes.
Create a system in which each coach is assigned a player and their job is to check on each player on the list each week.  Call or email each teacher and ask about the students' grades and behaviors.  Give praise when appropriate and have those tough conversations when needed.

There is always a solution, and most of the time it's either the relationship or the process.  Build strong relationships with those around you so they trust you, and make sure that you have effective processes in place so that everybody is in the best position to grow and become their best.

Werribee Basketball Holistic Curriculum

Werribee basketball is a program in Australia's Melbourne West.  One of their coaches posted this to a website on Facebook regarding their club's holistic curriculum from last season.  It is really good, as it is a developmental program for their athletes from the youth, u8 level to the u18 levels.

Below is a link to their program.  I really like the age group points of emphasis (40-47) and player development matrix (48-56).

http://werribeebasketball.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Werribee-Way-Curriculum.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1Npg-9BKCfF98eYQ5sVZLkN5vt9P8edaVVeqenjl2WzipK1AH0xATuMJg

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aAuR33naFV4M79u3aZEAskzrkaGiIiXu/view?usp=sharing

Internal vs External | Intrinsic vs Extrinsic

"Two big reasons I work with students to set internal goals is that I want to cultivate in them an “internal locus of control.” I want them to believe that success is within their reach, and that personal, internal goals are more satisfying than external ones. When they do, they also experience more peace of mind. So, as you mentor your students, let me suggest the following:

1 - Have your students write down their goals for this year.
2 - Help them evaluate whether their goals are more external or internal.
3 - Coach them to re-write any external goals, converting them into internal ones.

Not only will these goals be more rewarding, but they might just help those students decrease their anxiety. I’d call that a double-win.

Jean Twenge’s theory suggests that increases in anxiety and depression we see today are connected to the shift from “intrinsic” to “extrinsic” goals in students.

Intrinsic goals are ones that deal with one’s own development as a person, such as becoming competent in a career you’ve chosen or developing a meaningful philosophy of life. Extrinsic goals, in contrast, are connected to material rewards and other people’s judgments."

Read more: https://growingleaders.com/…/are-your-students-setting-the…/

Here’s What It’s Like to Be an Olympic Mental Skills Coach

The following article is from Self.com.  I am fascinated with the world of mental-performance and how our minds can and are a separator for success.  I am in no way trying to profit from this article, but find it to be a valuable resource in my own growth and understanding of how to get the most of the athletes that I work with.

Olympic athletes push their bodies to the limit. From the outside, it seems that they develop this ability through dedicated training regimens and long days practicing and perfecting their sport-specific skills. Which, of course, they do. But being an elite athlete is not just a physical feat. To perform at the top of their game, professional athletes spend time training their brains, too.

“There's not an athlete or team, either Olympic or professional, that’s not utilizing the services and expertise of a mental skills coach,” Colleen Hacker, Ph.D., a five-time Olympic Games coach who currently serves as the mental skills coach for the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team, tells SELF. (Her impressive resume also includes working with the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team during its 1996 Olympic victory and 1999 World Cup victory.)

“The physical differences between athletes or teams at the elite level are almost negligible,” she says. “What separates out the good from the great and the great from the greatest is often that psychological component.”

SELF spoke with Hacker to learn more about what goes into being a mental skills coach and how she helps athletes become champions.

Q: Can you explain what exactly a mental skills coach does?

A: I work with clients—who have ranged from executives to professional athletes and teams—using evidence-based skills and strategies to help them perform better in whatever they do. Some of the big things I work with them on are calming down or gearing up before a big event, performing on demand, facilitating productive and purposeful self-talk, and building mental toughness.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you?

A: I have the best office—it’s companies, fields, pools, and sheets of ice all over the world. On any given day, I might be giving a talk on a related topic, conducting a team-building exercise, or working one-on-one with athletes. I’m also constantly reading primary scholarly research on sports psychology, performance enhancement, and organizational psychology so I can apply this in the real world with my clients. In addition to my full-time practice as a mental skills coach, I’m a tenured full professor at Pacific Lutheran University, so I teach, conduct research, and engage in community service as a faculty member.

Q: How do you turn the research you’re looking at into something athletes can use?

A: I spend hours reading and translating studies and then reconstructing information to make it accessible to athletes and applicable to what they’re doing. I give them practical techniques that work in real situations. For example, I might read a scholarly research article on mindfulness practice. Assuming the study had positive results, I’ll translate those findings into a succinct phrase my athletes will remember. Then I’ll give them a graphic illustrating different scenarios to help them understand what concepts we’re talking about in the context of their sport. Then they’re ready to listen to some techniques I have for practicing mindfulness.

Q: What advice might you give an athlete who is dealing with anxiety before an event?

A: Anxiety is an inside job, so it’s important to understand that you are generating it. You can be taught to manage it, but we don’t want to get rid of butterflies. We want to teach them to fly in formation. Being anxious and nervous just means you care. You need to reframe anxiety as normal, then gain control by focusing on the present. One way to do that is by focusing on your breathing. I teach clients a “four square” breathing exercise. Place your hand on your belly to facilitate deep belly breathing. Inhale for four counts, then exhale for four counts as you imagine drawing the first line of your square. Pause for two counts. Repeat three more times to complete the square.

Q: What’s an area that you focus on with your athletes that most people wouldn’t expect?

A: Confidence building. Most people are surprised at how ephemeral confidence is for elite athletes. It's not just something you have. People may think you just have it when you are the best in the world, but the best of the best really struggle with their confidence because performance varies from day to day and week to week and event to event.

Q: What is one tactic that anyone can practice in their own life (in athletics or not) to enhance their performance?

A: Be where your feet are. I always tell my athletes to be in the now. Experts in my field estimate that 60 percent of our thoughts are in the future and 30 percent are in the past. That means only 10 percent of our time is in the here and now. If you're constantly thinking about something other than where you are and what you're doing, your performance will suffer, whether that's at work, at home, or in the gym. Having that self-awareness is the first step.

Plan with a Purpose. Plan with the End in Mind

To me, this just means that we have to have a purpose and a why behind all of the drills that we do in practice.  We have to practice discernment in our planning process - don't just do something to do it or because that is what you have always done.  Kids today are smarter than that.  They want to know how this is going to help them and why they should be doing something.

We can complain about our kids not buying in and the 'culture' today, or we can adapt and be better coaches, comminucatiors and leaders by having a purpose and a why for what we do and by effectively communicating how this particular drill can and will translate to individual and team success.

Plan with a purpose.  Plan with the end in mind.  And it's okay to smile while doing so (lol).

5 Great Books For Sports Psychologists

Successful sports psychologists need a wide variety of advice and techniques, and that’s why we’re excited to recommend these 5 Great Books For Sports Psychologist. Each of these books provides unique information about the mindsets that make athletes and coaches great.

You can find this original article here. 

1. Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success

Success doesn’t appear magically; it takes a solid foundation to achieve and maintain. That’s what the daily readings in college basketball coach John Wooden’s book aims to develop. Wooden provides game-tested exercises and advice to develop self-confidence and faith. Each “step” in the book builds upon previous steps to form the pyramid of success. It’s a goldmine of actionable advice, laid out in simple terms; that’s why it’s number one on our list of five great books for sports psychologists.

2. The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

What transforms a great athlete into a champion? Physical strength and raw talent are important, but what truly sets sports legends apart from the pack is an entirely different kind of game: their mental game. That’s the focus of the second book (a very close second) in the five great sports psychology books. The Champion’s Mind provides athletes with scientifically sound advice on how to get “in the zone.” Written by leading sports psychologist Jim Afremow, this fun-to-read book offers the same techniques and advice Afremow has used to propel Heisman Trophy winners and Olympic athletes to peak performance.

3. Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise

Peak isn’t a completely sports-oriented book, but that’s part of what makes it so valuable. Number three in our list of 5 Great Books For Sports Psychologists provides unique exercises that promote faster learning and sustained success in all areas of life. It’s the culmination of more than 30 years of Anders Ericsson’s research, and at its heart lies an inspiring message: nearly everyone can become great. Achieving even the most difficult tasks is a matter of setting attainable goals, and identifying both positive and negative performance patterns.

4. The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Peak Performance

George Mumford is a legend in sports psychology. His most famous client is Michael Jordan, who gave Mumford credit for transforming him into a better player, but more importantly, a leader. So it’s only natural that his book, The Mindful Athlete, makes an appearance in the 5 Great Books For Sports Psychologists list. Like the title implies, Mumford’s main focus is the practice of “mindfulness.” He’s fantastic at explaining difficult concepts through stories and even pop culture references. It’s also a compelling book because it details Mumford’s inspiring triumph over adversity.

5. How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle

Nobody understands the mental discipline needed to “go the distance” quite like a runner. That’s why Matt Fitzgerald’s one-of-a-kind book, How Bad Do You Want It?, nabs the number five spot. This unique book puts you right in the middle of the action of marathons, triathlons, cycling races and more. Another original feature is the book’s focus on athletes’ “moments of transformation,” when they realized that it wasn’t their muscles controlling them, but their minds. Its usefulness goes beyond the world of sports; through easy-to-apply exercises, it shows you how to develop a winning attitude about daily life.

Related Resource: What Careers are in Sports Psychology?

It was difficult to narrow down this list, but we stand by our choices. Hopefully, you and your clients get as much out of these 5 Great Books For Sports Psychologists as we have.

Great Programs

Great programs start with great leadership. They have a strong vision, effective and efficient systems and processes, and clear communication.

The players have bought into the vision and their roles in the process. They appreciate and value their roles and they are appreciated by their coaches and teammates.
The parents have also bought into the vision. They appreciate the time, energy, and leadership being provided by the coaches. They accept the roles of their athletes and they help their athletes accept and appreciate their roles as well.
This continues to all of the stakeholders of the program - school administrators, sponsors, other family members, etc.

To have a successful program, everybody has to be on the same page, bought in, and ready to play their part. One squeaky wheel can affect the whole wagon. It truly is a team effort!

Find the Best - And Play Them

💪🏿 Find the best player in the gym and play them.

🏃 Find the fastest person at the workout and work  next to them.

🏀 Find the best shooter in the gym and shoot with them.

⚾️ Find the best hitter and pitch to them.

⚾️ Find the best pitcher, and hit off them.

⚽️ Find the best scorer and try to stop them.

🏀 Find the best goalkeeper and try to score on them.

🥅 Find the hardest worker and try to outwork them.

🎽 Find the person who can run the furthest, the longest and try to keep up!

When you play against people who are better than you, you get better.  They push you harder and they expose your weaknesses.  They force you to maximize your strengths and grow your weaknesses.  They teach you how to have a growth mindset and learn from your failures.  

We all win and lose in life - and sports can prepare you for that.  Your first loss shouldn't be as a college freshmen when you are away from your parents for the first time and the stakes are real.  Use sports as a tool for entertainment AND for personal growth.  When done right, you can have great experiences and memories, a lot of fun, build great relationships and become a better version of yourself with tools that you can forever call on for continuous growth.

There is no better way to grow than pushing yourself to the max, losing and learning from that so that you can come back stronger.  Don't run from the competition, run to the competition.  Don't run from the smoke, run to it.

And this works in sports, in the classroom and in life!  Find the best in your field, work next to them, learn from them, and become inspired by them.

Be THAT Teammate - Be Special

When you are really competing and adversity hits, you will see the true character of your teammates and the true culture of your team.  When things aren't going right, some of your teammates will start to complain and will start to whine. They will start making excuses.  Some teammates start blaming the referee or start blaming their teammates and coaches.  They start to cry, fight and shut down.  

YOU can't do that.  You have to keep going, keep pushing and keep fighting.  YOU have to figure it out.

The teammates with the right character and the teams with the right culture keep their heads up and don't make excuses.  They don't complain about the referees or about their coaches or about their teammates.  The teammates with the right character and the teams with the right culture encourage their teammates.  They bring positive energy through their actions and their words.  They keep everybody moving forward.  They problem-solve.  They work together.  They fight back.  They find a way to make one play that can change momentum.  Then they find a way to make another play.  When that doesn't work, they don't get too frustrated - they just keep being positive and they working and they keep fighting until the end.  

They can accept a loss, but they can't accept not fighting and giving everything that they have.

Adversity WILL come.  What are you going to do when it does?  

Take a breath.  Accept that you are in a tough situation.  Find one thing to be positive about.  Try to make one simple, right play.  Listen to your coaches.  Find two positive things to say to teammates to shift the momentum back to your side.  Don't worry about the score - just worry about the next play.  

Be Special

What The Best Players Do

The best players don't just score goals, or touchdowns, or baskets - they make the right plays and they make others better.  Being the best scorer on your youth league team looks and sounds cool, but scoring alone doesn't always translate to the next level.  

What does translate is making the right play every time.  Playing defense.  Making the right pass.  Encouraging your teammates and bringing positive energy.  Listening to your coach and learning and getting better every practice and every day.  Learning from each situation.  Playing with grit.  Those are the things that translate as you move up in levels so much more and so much easier than scoring.  You aren't going to make THE play everytime.  Just make the right play enough.

Are You Bearing Good Fruit?

Don't spend your time just being busy - spend it being FRUITFUL.  Make sure that you spend your time on stuff that actually benefits you and your life and not just staying busy.

Be a person of purpose so that you can leave a legacy and so that you do not have to look back with regret for not doing different things with your time.

We all have the same amount of time, and it is all the time that we need.  We spend our time just like we spend money - on what we want, on what we value, and on what we think is important - and when we spend our money and our time - we can't get it back.  So make sure that you are spending your time on something that will bear good fruit in your lives.

Take responsibility for how you are spending your time.  What you do is your choice, and when you control the fundamental aspects of your life, you can have the time, headspace and creativity to chase greatness.