When your name is called, are you ready for "Showtime" Are you ready to start "Conditioning-4-Excellence" Get prepared to take your performance, business, and personal life to a level you never thought you would reach! Having enjoyed some notable academic, athletic, and entrepreneurial accomplishments in his life, retired NFL player, Lifestyle Coach, Business Consultant, and Motivational Speaker Tim Watson is sharing successful anecdotes from the classroom, field, and life in this semi-autobiographical must read! We must clearly identify our INSPIRATIONS in order to achieve our ASPIRATIONS. This statement is the premise to any true success. Without personally defined motivation, it will be impossible to reach and sustain accomplishments of any real value. This is the only means by which we are able to persevere through challenges and doubt. Intrinsically we are not wired to navigate through and beyond extreme challenge. Our natural tendency is to cease effort when the obstacle appears insurmountable. This book shares principles which address the proper nurturing needed in our Minds, Bodies, and Spirits in order to reach beyond mediocrity and LIVE EXTRAORDINARILY in relationships, careers, fitness, and finances!
Conditioning-4-Excellence
Your Success is in YOU ... LET'S GET IT!By Tim WatsonAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Tim Watson
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4634-3513-4Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................viiAN IDEA IS BORN.............................................viii1. The UPLIFT Objective.....................................12. The X+ Principle..............................33. The Principle of Nurturing...............................64. The Principle of Personal Relativity.....................95. The Iceberg Principle....................................236. The Royal Treatment......................................287. "Talking White"..........................................308. Influential Acquaintance.................................379. Friendship is Essential to the Soul......................4810. Romance: Finding Mr. or Mrs. Right......................5311. What is love?...........................................5712. A Message to Women......................................6213. A Message to Men........................................6714. The Mirage Principle....................................7215. When is it time to move on?.............................7416. The Best Relationship Confidant(e)......................8217. The Dating Game.........................................8618. Who's THE ONE?..........................................8919. The Honor of Parenthood.................................9220. Discovering our P.A.T.S.................................10321. The Success Pyramid.....................................10822. The P5 Principle.............................11523. Plan to T.R.A.P. Success................................11724. Characteristics of Influence............................12125. T.E.A.M.: A Winning Model...............................12626. P.R.O. R.E.A.L.M. Execution.............................12927. The Fallacy of Humility.................................13528. Balanced Plans..........................................14229. Functional Fitness......................................14530. The Tortoise and the Hare Principle.....................14731. Fiscal Fitness..........................................15832. The Success Playbook....................................17033. The+ One Principle...........................172Books Worth Reading:........................................179Wisdom Life Reveals:........................................180Library Of Uplift Aptitudes:................................182Wisdom Quotes:..............................................187ABOUT THE AUTHOR............................................201
Chapter One
UPLIFT EXCELLENCE R.E.A.P. what you S.O.E.™
The UPLIFT Objective
The primary objective of this book is to provide all who read it with UPLIFT personally and professionally. It shares principles designed to be systematically followed in order to live a successful life. Strategically organized to form Systems of Excellence™ (SOE), these principles will help raise your mind, body, and spirit to higher levels.
Systems are organized sets of interrelated principles, ideas, and/or processes used to achieve specific objectives. Excellence is 100% effort while executing within our areas of control. Executing with excellence is the only way to maximize the full potential of our natural talents and developed skills.
"Executing with excellence is the only way to maximize the full potential of our natural talents and developed skills."
Each of us must make a personal decision to best utilize our blessings of time, talent, and treasure. Our stewardship of these three elements is paramount to our success. They must be identified and prioritized by the individual or group in order to execute with excellence.
UPLIFT is significant beyond its literal meaning. United People Living In Foundational Truth also represents components of a successful life:
• United—Peace is a catalyst for progress. Conflict leads to regression. Winners dwell in peace. They can be found on teams united in their objectives and in the processes necessary to achieve them. Our ability to thrive hinges on our willingness to accept and execute whatever role we may have as a member of a united team.
• People—Simply put, the more inclusive we are of other people in our individual life journeys, the more likely we are to be successful. This includes an ability to cultivate relationships with people of various faiths, ethnicities, cultures, and creeds.
• Living—This simple verb encompasses all aspects of our time on earth, whether at our vocation, play or rest. Our lives are not to be lived solely within the "box" of our natural comfort zones. If we don't risk something, we won't accomplish anything.
• In Foundational—It's essential that our life objectives and principles are built on a credible foundation. That which is nurtured in us will be the building blocks for what is produced by us. Our character is not a by-product of tests. It is created in our nurturing, and manifests itself during trials.
• Truth—Being true to oneself will be evident in our ability to live fruitfully. We will always find excellence most attainable within our own unique beliefs, inspirations, talents, and objectives.
Chapter Two
The X
+ Principle™
Here, the letter X is similar to the "unknown" in algebra. No one is born knowing the impact s/he'll make on the world. We all have the free will to "solve" the X in the equation of our lives. It is our choice whether or not we remain a non-factor (an unknown "X") or make our mark on society.
"Activities done by men of evil intent will not ultimately produce positive results."
Unfortunately some have chosen to leave a negative mark. There are many "X minuses" littering the streets and filling our prisons. We even find them in presumably productive settings. X minuses are known by the negativity they leave in their wake. There's a great biblical reference that speaks to the true heart of men as is evidenced in their actions:
"For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart." (Luke 6: 44-45) Activities done by men of evil intent will not ultimately produce positive results. Instead of contributing to society, these people are taking from it. By contrast, the choice of excellence is to become an X+ ("X plus") by making a positive impact.
It is possible for each of us to have a life of prosperity in our own way. This objective is attained by accepting nothing less than excellence. Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi once shared, "The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor." Excellence is not to be confused with perfection. If perfection were our measuring stick, we would have very little chance for success.
I have been blessed to live an X+ life by design. The principles that were nurtured within me are shared within the chapters to follow. The commitment to excellence has been a team effort. It exemplifies the UPLIFT with which my life has been filled. There's a great line from the John Donne poem "Meditations XVII": "No man is an island unto himself." This speaks to how interconnected the lives of human beings are without regard to gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic class. I believe nothing great is accomplished in solitude. Excellent people together on excellent teams, executing excellent processes, will produce excellent results!
"The quality of a man's life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor."
-Vince Lombardi
During my travels as a speaker very few, if any, of the audience know anything about me before I am introduced. This is actually an important component of my relating to them. I've enjoyed some real-life successes, yet there is nothing especially unique about them relative to my opportunities.
In other words, I'm just a small-town kid from Fort Valley, Georgia who is blessed to have experienced many valuable and transferable life lessons. My personal history does not consist of a tale overcoming horrible circumstances. There's certainly value in the stories of individuals who rose above at-risk childhoods to become successful. These individuals may provide the best successful personal experience with relative perspective (SPERP) to a particular audience. This book, however, promotes the results of strategic nurturing and relational involvement as I believe it should be carried out. My resources are readily available to my audiences, or to you who read this book.
Along with my successes, I've also met with presumed failure many times along my journey. In those experiences blossomed the maturity and wisdom necessary to make the correct critical choices at forks in the road. Beyond my formal training, the principles I share came from experience, dictums of my faith in Jesus Christ, and first-hand observation of mentors throughout my life.
My upbringing was modest. I'm the second of four children by a mother who provided day care in our home, and an ex-military father who chose fitness and athletics at Warner Robins AFB for his civilian career. We were a typical lower-middle-class Southern household. We didn't live extravagantly, but our needs were always met.
My parents instilled putting God first as far back as I can remember. Everything instilled by my parents was done through example. They lived their creed. When it was time to work around the house, we all worked. Conversely, when it was time to play, many times we would do things the entire family enjoyed. Additionally, my parents' interaction with others in the community was exemplary. In sum, the examples they set complemented the directives they gave.
Chapter Three
UPLIFT CULTIVATION R.E.A.P. what you S.O.E.™
The Principle of Nurturing™
Within a God-fearing environment I was nurtured with the importance of an excellent attitude, excellent integrity, excellent work ethic, and excellent discipline. I was still, at times, as boisterous and amorous as any other inquisitive youth and young adult. For those familiar with the effectiveness of "the rod", it was NOT spared in our home. Thus, we were certainly NOT spoiled. There were certainly occasions when my immature decisions, and resulting actions, were contrary to what I was being taught at home. Thankfully though, the Principle of Nurturing™ found within God's word continually perseveres through my intrinsically rebellious nature: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) The key word to this verse is train. In other words, in order to instill anything within anyone a consistent process must be followed.
Growing up in an area abounding with the business of agriculture provided my and other parents in Fort Valley with a great training tool for introducing work ethic. Many of us spent summers in the peach fields, and late falls harvesting pecans. Picking peaches, and carrying around full 30-40 lb. buckets in the hot sun instilled quite the perspective for what hard work really entails. We also gained a great appreciation for the value of the dollar. A day's pay in the fields was accumulated by the bucket (of peaches), or pound (of pecans). The most humbling visual that sticks in my mind to this day is the tossing of a single quarter into my bucket following each trip to have it emptied into the transport crate. These were tough days, but well worth the experiences.
Purposefully injecting challenging experiences into our lives has produced some great success stories from the approximately 8,000 residents of tiny FortValley, GA. Included are many successful teachers, ministers, doctors, lawyers, judges, professional athletes, engineers, and various other notable professionals. Particularly unique is the fact that we have had eight (8) players in the National Football League. That's arguably more, per capita, than any other place in America. The resulting products of this nurturing are then not by chance, but by design. Just as extraordinary diamonds are formed under pressure and over time, so are extraordinary people. It's an essential element of perseverance needed to fulfill one's ultimate individual purpose.
Of course additional opportunities existed for the Watson kids. Our childhood home was built on four acres of land, of which two were cleared of trees. I recall many warm-weather Saturday mornings when my brother and I were tasked with cutting the grass on the two open acres while my father chopped wood. In the falls we would have to rake leaves and pine straw from the same two acres. There seemed to always be something to do. We joke about this today, but back then we really thought my father was allergic to rest.
From this nurtured work ethic sprouted an entrepreneurial spirit. There were a number of families in my neighborhood without boys in the household. I was able to quickly gain clients among them, cutting their lawns for anywhere from $10—$20 each. My most consistent was Dr. Norma Givens, a professor from Fort Valley State College (now Fort Valley State University). She kept me booked most weekends during the Springs and Summers until I left for college.
College provided the final seasoning during my transition from teenager to young adult. I continued my entrepreneurial efforts with a hair cutting business birthed through a freshman year Marketing Class project. I was able to make extra money cutting hair for my entire four (4) years, and my client list grew to include both males and females. By this time I had gotten a better grasp of the practical uses of the educational development that had taken place over the many years of formalized schooling. I was able to put together my own comprehensive successful business plans, write eloquent inspirational speeches, and develop experiential sales training programs. These have all been products of applying the correctly nurtured life skills with an effectively developed intellect. The barber skills served me well enough that I'm still my own most trusted barber today, as well as that of my family.
As I've watched people come and go along this journey, it's become even more evident how valuable the instilled characteristics have been for me. An ingrained positive attitude has gotten me through many challenging moments, even when I initially didn't feel so positive. The moral fiber with which my parents raised me kept me on the right track in the midst of many tempting options to venture down the wrong one. There have been a number of seemingly unbearable workloads that a groomed work ethic has allowed me to handle routinely. And my discipline to carry out my objectives to fruition has been self-evident.
As a child I remember thinking that there was no way all the hard work we were exposed to would be useful later in life. I figured it to be some form of punishment at the time. Today, I can absolutely see the privilege. High level competences for success are cultivated, not found. I thank God my parents knew better than I on ways to trigger them.
Chapter Four
UPLIFT RELATIVITY R.E.A.P. what you S.O.E.™
The Principle of Personal Relativity™
My parents exposed me to many different interests and people at home, school, church, and in extra-curricular activities. These experiences allowed me to build meaningful relationships, evaluate my skills, and discover my passions. Then, I had to appropriately cultivate and direct each toward suitable objectives. God blessed me physically with a relatively high level of athletic talent, intellectually with gifts in the areas of analytical and literary ingenuity, and emotionally he gave me a high level of resolve. I had to direct these gifts within my passions, and toward suitable objectives.
I began my athletic development playing youth sports at the age of five. In school I was a high-achieving student. Initially though, my relational connections got in my way. Most of my buddies with whom I shared extracurricular interests didn't have report cards that looked like mine. And none of us were all that big on conforming conduct. So the infamous note "talks too much" regularly appeared on my school progress reports. I was content being inappropriately placed in what was known as the Regular or Average curriculum because I wanted to hang out with my friends.
However, in 3rd Grade, one of my teachers, Mrs. Hawkins, sat me down and told me I was better than average and tested me into advanced classes. I didn't just leave my buddies behind. Mrs. Hawkins saw in me something special and pushed me to excel. I have maintained lasting friendships with some of those old school buddies to this day. I also developed new relationships with other kids with similar academics. Many of these friendships endure as well. My newer friends challenged and inspired me through a relative connection of high achievement. This was my first taste of the fruits of my Principle of Personal Relativity™. Simply put, we are most likely to be influenced by those individuals who have successful personal experience with a relative perspective to our own (a SPERP). We have a choice to align ourselves with individuals who have achieved success.
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Excerpted from Conditioning-4-Excellenceby Tim Watson Copyright © 2011 by Tim Watson. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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