Dr. Will Speaks Blog

KNOW THE RULES OF THE GAME

I’m a huge basketball fan, and anyone who knows me, knows that I love the Lakers. I even played basketball in my younger days. Before I played basketball, I was an observer of the game; it looked very fun and had a great appeal to it. The moves, the shots, in some cases the fans in the stands, and the cheers, I wanted what I saw.  

I wanted to jump on that court and play, I saw what the other players were doing and said to myself, “I can do that.” I was sure I could dribble the ball, I could jump, and I could shoot. I knew I could run up and down the court, the only thing left was to
“PUT ME IN THE GAME COACH.”

All of us have gifts and talents and we just want to be put in the game. Whether we are talking about marriage, success, sports or business, we look at our ability and think that is all that is needed to be successful.

Just as I thought back in those early years of my basketball aspiration days, “JUST PUT ME IN COACH” so many are missing a key component in any endeavor. What is that key component?

KNOWING THE RULES OF THE GAME

That’s right, no matter how talented I was on the court, without a clear understanding of the rules, I would be non-effective and get penalized. In basketball the way you advance the ball is either by dribbling the ball or passing it to a team mate. Now I was very fast in my younger days, so in my rational opinion, why dribble, when I could just hold the ball, run past everyone and score. Great idea, only problem was that I would be violating the rules of the game.  

When you don’t know the rules of the game, the game becomes very difficult and in many cases you will lose your passion. I see this happen all the time in my field of life coaching. Clients come to me frustrated, burnt out and ready to give up. They have experienced failure after failure, and it’s not because they are not gifted, it’s because they don’t know the rules of the game.

I see this played out in relationships all the time, mostly by women. Let me give you a quick test. As a woman, how do you let a guy know you like him or even love him? Is it by cooking for him? Because you were told, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I am willing to go out on a limb and  say, yes being able to cook is an added bonus, but it is not the way to a man’s heart.

So many women are being penalized because they don’t know the relationship rules. The same can be said about your degree, I talk to students all the time that are in college, and I ask them, what degree are you getting, usually in many cases, they are pursuing degrees in areas they care or have no passion about. Success law number one says, pursue what you love.

In short, analyze what you are doing, what you are going after and ask yourself, what are the rules to this game. Remember, the rules for basketball are totally different than the rules for football.

Know the rules of whatever you are pursuing…………………

Think Better, Live Better!!!