Living Life by Design

Well-known former Dallas Cowboys football coach Jimmy Johnson had an opportunity to share an important pregame lesson with his players. “I told them that if I laid a two-by-four plank across the room, everybody there would walk across it and not fall, because our focus would be that we were going to walk that two-by-four,” Johnson said of this motivational talk. “But if I put that same two-by-four plank 10 stories high between two buildings only a few would make it, because the focus would be on falling. Focus is everything. The team that is more focused today is the team that will win the game.”

Johnson told his team not to be distracted by crowds, the media, or the possibility of loosing, but to focus on each play of the game itself just as if it were a good practice session. The Cowboys obviously listened carefully to their coach’s talk. They had a decisive talk that day. This kind of coaching helped Johnson and the Dallas Cowboys win two Super Bowls.

Excerpt from Rule #1, Don’t Be #2 by Daniel Milstein.