Eric Dickerson was the nation's top prospect on National Signing Day in 1979, and the future NFL Hall of Fame running back was highly recruited by every major program across the country. Abiding by his mother's wishes, Dickerson chose to remain close to home, attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

There were many reasons SMU appealed to Dickerson. First of all, as portrayed in the hit television series of the time period, Dallas was a place where things were happening. Second, SMU played their home games in Texas Stadium, sharing the home locker room with the Dallas Cowboys. Finally, the decal of a galloping pony amid a red, white, and blue uniform gave SMU the "cool" factor Dickerson was looking for.

But things weren't perfect as a Mustang. Recruited alongside Dickerson was Craig James, another running back from the Houston area. For the next four years, Dickerson and James shared the SMU backfield, each receiving a 50/50 split of the offensive running game. Dickerson liked James, but hated splitting carries with him. It wasn't until he got to the NFL that he appreciated how much sharing the workload saved his body physically.

The leadership lesson from this example is simple: we ALL have a role to play within our organization. Listen to Week 14's Motivation Monday to learn more and identify how YOUR role impacts the team's performance.

Motivation Monday Week 13:

Short Rest

Pitchers in Major League Baseball are sometimes asked to pitch on just three days' rest instead of their usual four. This strategy is referred to as going on short rest. There are critical moments throughout the season when a manager will disrupt his pitching rotation in order to give the team the best opportunity to succeed. This strategy can be risky. After all, the manager is fully aware that their pitcher may not bring their best stuff. So why do they do it? Because experience and focus can't be substituted for.

Elite performers find ways to succeed when they aren't feeling 100%. Anyone can perform at a high level when they feel 100%, but most of us only feel 100% a handful of days each year. If you are a high performer in your organization, then you have been or are being asked to produce on short rest. Click HERE to listen to Week 13's Motivation Monday message and learn how to be your best when you're not feeling 100%.

Throw the Boomerang

This idea is simple ... We all have that one friend or coach that we can call or text that we haven't talked to or seen in days, months or years and start a conversation like time was never lost. 

The Relationship Boomerang goes like this:

If you have a relationship with people and you never drop the boomerang, as long as its in the air and it doesn't matter if it's in the air for minutes, days, years or even a decade ... as long as you don't let that relationship totally die ... the boomerang always comes back. 

Close the Distance ... Keep The Distance ...

it doesn't really matter, just keep the boomerang IN THE AIR.

When you win, it's easy to have fun. But how do you have fun when your team is not winning?

Hayden Fry, the legendary football coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes, used to tell his team to "scratch where it itches." When practices were slow, sloppy, or full of dropped balls and missed tackles, Coach Fry would abruptly stop practice and gather his squad together at midfield.

Sometimes he would call for a team sing-along.

Sometimes he would ask one of his players to tell jokes until everyone was hootin' and hollerin'.

Then, when the Hawks went back to practice, Fry's team would play mistake-free.

The lesson: you can't take yourself too seriously.

Hayden Fry was a master psychologist, and his philosophy of "scratch where it itches" helped his players thrive under pressure.

How does YOUR team have fun at practice?

Listen here to Week 11's Motivation Monday message about the importance of having fun at practice.

Let's get better together!

John and John

What percent is your phone battery on?

How often do you charge it?

Is everyday life leaving you drained? Between working all day, eating on the run, and having little time for fun and relaxation, it’s normal to feel exhausted at least some of the time.

It is important to find ways to recharge our own battery ... because dead batteries can't charge other dead batteries.

In this week's episode of Motivation Monday John and John talk about some of the best ways for YOU to create long term sustainable energy in your life?

This week's challenge:

How do you charge / recharge yourself?

What or Who gives you that little boost in energy?

Your Best Yes

Do you find yourself trying to please everybody?

If that's the case then today's message is perfect for you.

You can always turn no into yes, and usually make people happy, but it's a lot harder – sometimes too late - to change yes to no.

It is important to know your limits on certain situations.

If you can't do it, say so, and don't.

In this week's episode of Motivation Monday John and John talk about a gem tucked away in legendary Indiana Hoosier head basketball coach Bob Knight's book The Power of Negative Thinking. ... Find out why Knight says

... If you try to please everybody, you’re going to lose your ass.

This week's challenge:

Who are you trying to please?

Does their opinion really matter?

The Slipperiness of Success

This week it's simple.

Is #WINNING the only thing that matters in your program?

Do you live by the Vince Lombardi quote?

"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."

We want to challenge you to answer these three questions.

What is success?

What does it look like in your program?

How are you going to know when you reach it?

In this week's episode of Motivation Monday we examine how the meaning of winning will vary from team to team.

This episode we are with Brennan Marion the WR and Passing Game Coordinator for the University of Texas. Coach Marion discusses how important connection is with your athletes. Correction without Connection = Collapse, but Connection then Correction leads to Championship Effort.

This is a fantastic episode that talks about how to get your players mind right at practice.

Motivation Monday Week 7:

Culture is turning into the "BUZZ" word for successful teams. It seems like a lot of teams say that we have a good culture. What does that mean? Or some teams say we do a really good job at building relationships. How do you do that, and what does it look like? 

We believe that that the new superpower for coaches is the connection piece. Coaches connecting with coaches, coaches with players, and players with players.  

What are you doing to connect with coaches on your staff and athletes on your team? 

“I think all of those environments, whether it’s a business environment or sporting environment, are about developing people. So, if you develop your people, your business is going to be more successful. It’s just a matter of creating an environment where that becomes a happening every day.”

Sir Graham Henry, former New Zealand All Blacks Coach

In week 6 we look at Joe Burrow and an excerpt from Ed Orgeron's book Flip the Script. We peek at a story toward the end of the book on how the little things are the winning difference ... even if it means to keep worms in your mouth while fishing in Alaska.

Link to Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kYGlnro19iUYLRCERghb_RLqYTxB52F22KMtSuWidho/edit?usp=sharing