I read constantly. If I don't have 3 or 4 books going at once, check my pulse, because something is wrong.

I listen to cd's in my car on my daily journey. Not usually music, but many about success and about building a life worthwhile, some about business and marketing, about fitness, and mental skills, etc... but most importantly, at any given time at least ONE if not more of the 6 cd's in my cd changer are to enrich my life. I have 5 books on my nightstand currently: The Dip (Seth Godin), For One More Day (Mitch Albom), The Magic of Thinking Big (David Schwartz)--I've read this one a few times in my life, and my Applied Sports Psychology text which, by the technical understanding of behavioral control and operant conditioning or antecedents, aversive or extinction control, anyone would use this as an effective form of sleep enhancement.

It's not hard to do either of these things. I just hit play while I drive... or I pick the book up off the night stand and read before I fall asleep. (These nights are now easier than most with the 4:30am rise time).

We, as a society, spend so much time filling our heads with useless, unimportant and even damaging "stuff" that it is so critical to make sure we feed our souls with something worth while.

So off of my soap box and onto my food for thought this week:

I am reading this book called "The Dip"...And wow, I was actually fighting my eyes last night so I could read more. I didn't want to put it down. It's a very short read and I just got it yesterday. I am about done with it.

In it, Godin talks about how every new project or job or undertaking starts out with high momentum, excitement and involvement. Then, it starts to dwindle, it gets harder, and all of a sudden you wonder if it's worth pushing through and sticking it out. "The Dip" is when you hit that point, that temporary set-back that could be overcome if you just keep pushing.

It's funny, but we were always taught the saying "winners never quit and quitters never win"... While I support that in many ways, Godin suggests that it's not entirely always right. He talks about what he calls a "cul-de-sac", where no matter how hard you try to push out of it, there is no way it will ever work. This is when he explains you should quit.

I remember a mentor of mine sharing a quote with me that I hold dear to this day, and some of you have heard me use it... "When the horse is dead, dismount." Get off when it's time, and move on to another horse. Who wants to ride a dead horse around... that's the cul-de-sac mentality. You surely aren't going to get very far. 

So "The Dip" is all about when to quit and when to stick it out. It's amazing how simple the thought is, and how many times we may have found ourselves in these situations wondering what to do, knowing that quitting didn't seem like an option. We would even feel guilty, like we were letting people, including ourselves, down if we quit.

So I liken this to the building issue I have been going through. I knew we were in a dip, but what I know realize is that it was a cul-de-sac and there really wasn't a way out. Even if we got the place, it was smaller than I had wanted, the parking wasn't great, and the logistics just didn't work. We were set on making it work there because we didn't see another option. I am a firm believer in things happening for reasons sometimes we dont fully understand up front.

As it were, I went to meet a realtor on Friday at a location off of rte 82 & 30 in Valley Township. It actually quickly made me forget about anything else and realize that this could be the PERFECT spot for what my bigger vision was.

So much so that I am meeting with the owners today and going to look at the option of finding some investors or financial backers that may be interested in helping us make this dream a reality.

My vision has always been big. I know what we offer and could offer in a facility like this would be nothing anyone around here has ever seen.

I have so much to give, and it is my hope that we can find a way to make this happen so I can continue to give it. I believe I have only scratched the surface of what I can deliver to the youth of this area.

So the search is on... for financial backing, for help, for knowing I see the light at the end of the tunnel and getting out of this dip is how my vision becomes reality.

Godin states, "No one quits the Boston Marathon at Mile 25"...

I believe we are at mile 25. I see it, I feel it, and it has kept me awake all weekend. There is a HUGE light at the end of the tunnel. There are big options and an abundance of possiblilities.

I am hoping to find a way to make it happen.

But either way, I am finding my way out of the dip!

AND... I am Enjoying the process!

--Coach Jen

In your lifetime, you will have 10 defining moments, make 7 critical choices and meet 5 pivotal people. I believe that your journey in life is about recognizing who and what they are.

Let's start with the first one... a "DEFINING MOMENT" is that thing that stands out in your life when you were changed... in that moment, you became someone new. Up until that point, your self identity was one thing and became something different after.

How many defining moments can you think of? Go ahead... really. Think about them. We are often so afraid to answer the hard questions. So I will give you a moment to do so.

"CRITICAL CHOICES" are those that you make that change your life forever. Some come a second after the defining moment.

Maya Angelou has a saying that I love: I can change by what happenes to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it. That, to me, is a critical choice. It's about CHOOSING to react or not react to something that happens TO YOU. We all have that right, and can exercise it freely. These choices can also come in unexpected ways and unfamiliar times. Trust in the fact that you will always be where you are called to be in that moment.

"PIVOTAL PEOPLE" are those that affect your life, both positively and unfortunately negatively as well. They are the ones who's roots run deeper in your soil, grounding your tree with more solid force, unshakeable in their intent.These are not the people who come and go in your life like an autumn breeze rustling just your leaves.

They are your parents, your family members, your teachers and coaches, your friends, and even people you don't know. Everyone has the chance to affect a life. EVERY ONE!!! So think of that next time you do something that could be someone else's defining moment, was it positive or negative?  Are you making choices that harm or choices that help? Are you being the wind in the leaves, or the roots to hold solid the tree?

Each of us has a purpose. Each of us has someone who can benefit by what we do, what we say, and most importantly, who we are. Hold fast that which is good, and be firmly planted in your choices.

But no matter what, know that nothing else matters unless you choose to do so.

Today is a great place to start...

Enjoy the process!

--Coach Jen

MLB playoffs are in the air... ahh, I LOVE October baseball. It's been a privelege for me to be able to root for my Yankees every year since I can remember. Some years for much longer than others, but they always seem to find a way to make the playoffs This year, the Phillies made their way in, and while I am a die-hard Yankees fan, I can remember being a very small child in Phillies gear, sitting on the back porch with my great grandmother who was quite possibly the biggest Phillies fan I have ever known. We sat and listened to the games on the radio together... ON THE RADIO... That even amazes me, and I was there! A 5 year old paying attention to a radio for hours. I must have been a phanatic about baseball even then...

It's called passion. That is what made me leave my good paying corporate job and office to get back to sports and athletes and all that made me strive to be better. It's a passion. It moves me and drives me and makes me wake up at 4:30am every day to work with others who want to find the BEST of themselves.

Some days are harder than others... some days we are the windshield and other days we are the fly. Life never informed you it would be without "splatter moments", did it? Passion is what holds it all together. If your WHY is strong enough, the HOW doesn't matter.

What is your passion? Are you living it?

Life needs to be played, not just watched or listened to...

I spent most of my early childhood listening to baseball on the radio, then started to see it on TV, then actually went to games. I LOVED it. And then, I stepped foot on the field and I have never gotten rid of those red clay dirt stains on my socks. In fact, all these years later my new socks still manage to have the same stains.

Helping others find that same fire is my passion. Enjoy it... all of it. Because at the end of the day, it's all we will ever have.

Enjoy the process,

Coach Jen