Sweeny ISD Playbook
“What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else”
Based on
“Training Camp: A Fable about Excellence”
Jon Gordon
The best know what they truly want.
Seeing the “big picture”… Your Vision
“When you know what you want and you see it, you will be willing to pay the price
and overcome challenges to realize it.”
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Are you on a life mission?
… or are you merely on life support?
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The best want it more.
“The best of the best are willing to do
what it takes to be great.”
What will it take for you to be great at what you do?
_________________________________
_________________________________
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“To deny being your best is to deny the gift you were
meant to give others.”
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“If a man is called to be a street sweeper,
he should sweep streets even as
Michelangelo painted, or
Beethoven composed music,
or Shakespeare wrote poetry.
He should sweep streets so well
that all the hosts of heaven and earth
will pause to say, here lived
a great street sweeper
who did his job well.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Self-Check Questionnaire
1. What professional journals do you read? _____________________________________
2. Do you have a colleague with whom you discuss professional topics? If so, who? ____
______________________________________________________________________
3. Who is your professional mentor? __________________________________________
4. Do you have someone in whom you invest your time and experience? If so, how? ___
______________________________________________________________________
5. What is the last book on topics related to education or leadership that you read? (not
counting our book studies!) _______________________________________________
6. What is the last book you read for enjoyment or leisure? ________________________
______________________________________________________________________
7. Do you have personal goals which you have committed to paper? ________________
8. Do you have professional goals for yourself which you have committed to paper? ____
9. Do you have a vision statement for your school which you have committed to paper?
______________________________________________________________________
10. In what areas do you need to improve? _____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
11. How can you “get better”? _______________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
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The best are always striving
to get better.
Growth requires a willingness to be uncomfortable.
It requires you to take a risk.
“You are getting better or worse but never staying the same.”
Continually ask yourself:
“How can I get better?”
“How can I improve?”
“What can I learn from this?”
“The best see where there is room for improvement and their humility
and passion drives them to improve. The average ones, however, don’t
see it or don’t want to see it.”
Stay humble and hungry.
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Sometimes, being “Recognized” or “Exemplary” is a curse.
“Once a team has had success, they become complacent
and stop striving to get better.”
“Each year, the best recommit themselves to new goals
and being better than they were the year before.”
“To be the best, you must commit to it
every week, every day, every hour and every
moment.”
Past success does not
guarantee
future success.
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We are both coach and the coached.
“Coaches need to treat each player differently
based on what motivates the player.”
Success is no respecter of persons.
Page 48-49
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There is no such thing as an overnight success.
Too many people believe in the fantasy that superstar athletes,
actors, musicians, doctors, Olympians, and others were born that
way or simply stumbled on their success overnight. After all, the best
of the best make what they do look so easy that people either think
anyone can do it or that there are those who are chosen to do it.
This myth is perpetuated by the media. On television, we see the
concert, the movie, the computer program, the presentation, the
game, the play, the miracle surgery, the lecture, the Nobel Prize, the
latest discovery, or the Olympic event. We see the end result – the
outcome – but what most of us don’t see are the countless hours of
sweat, toil, dedication, practice, and preparation that lead to
greatness. The golf champion practiced thousands of putts before
hitting the one to win the U.S. Open. The tennis champion hit a
million backhands before winning Wimbledon. The rock star sang for
countless hours before reaching stardom. Technology designers
spent thousands of hours to create new and revolutionary products
that make our lives easier. The teacher spent a career preparing and
practicing ways to better connect with and teach her students before
winning a teacher of the year award. The symphony practiced
thousands of hours to create music that brought the audience to
tears. And the sales team spent a year preparing for the important
meeting that landed their biggest client. The ideal of the overnight
success is a myth. Just as the Olympian must train for years for one
defining race, you must wake up each day and practice, prepare, and
train to be your best. Don’t settle for mediocrity, but strive each
day for excellence. It requires hard work, preparation, and hours of
effort, but it’s worth it.
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The Game-Day Principle
“Five percent of a person’s life
is made up of our performance
on game day, while 95% is
made up of the time we are
preparing, practicing, and waiting
to perform.”
How hard are you working and practicing
with that 95% of your time?
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Starbucks Philosophy
To be great, just do one hundred things
10% better than everyone else.
Success is not about the big things.
Success is all about the little things.
The best do ordinary things better
than everyone else.
The best aren’t that much better than the others…
They are simply a little better at a lot of things.
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The best zoom-focus.
Success isn’t just about working hard,
but about working hard on the right things.
The best of the best accomplish extraordinary feats by
doing ordinary things with extraordinary consistency,
commitment and focus.
Success is all about fundamentals.
What are the fundamentals of your job?
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____________________________________
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Championships aren’t won on
Super Bowl Sunday…
They are won in training camp.
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What are the three most
important things I need
to do today that will
help me create
the success I desire?
1.
2.
3.
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Mental Zoom Focus
Focus on your priorities and be mentally tough.
 Set priorities.
 Say “No” to things that don’t support your priorities.
 Tune out distractions and distractors.
The best are mentally stronger.
To be the best, you have to train and develop your mind. Just as you
build physical muscle by lifting weights, you can build mental muscle
by doing exercises like positive self-talk, visualization, breathing,
meditation and prayer each day.
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Stay positive through adversity.
Be resilient when facing pressure,
challenges, and change.
This is mental strength.
There will be days when you don’t
feel like giving what it takes…
but you do so anyway
because you are committed
and mentally strong.
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Weed and Feed
Don’t let the weeds of negativity take over your mind!
Each day, you need to weed out the negativity out of
your mind and feed it positivity. You need to weed out
the self-doubt and negative talk and feed it positive
thoughts, memories, visuals and prayer.
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20 Ways to Get Mentally Tough
1. When you face a setback, think of it as a defining moment that will lead to a future
accomplishment.
2. The best don’t just face adversity, they embrace it. Adversity can be the detour that
will lead you to something greater.
3. The key to life is to stay positive in the face of negativity, not in the absence of it.
4. When you face naysayers, bring to mind the people who have supported you,
believed in you, and those who build you up with their positivity.
5. Tune out critics… instead, focus on being the best you can be.
6. Take time daily for expressing gratitude and for prayer. This creates a fertile mind
ready for success.
7. Let trust and faith cast out your fear.
8. When you fail, find the lesson in it… then recall past successes to get you back in the
game.
9. When you head into battle, visualize success.
10. Focus your energy on the present moment instead of worrying about the past or
the future. The now is where your power is the greatest.
11. Instead of complaining, identify solutions.
12. Replace self-doubt with positive thoughts and positive self-talk.
13. When you feel distracted, focus on your breathing, observe your surroundings, clear
your mind, and get into “the Zone.” You have the power to create “the Zone.”
14. When you face what seem to be overwhelming obstacles, know that all things are
possible with God.
15. When you feel alone, think of all the people who have helped you along the way
and who love and support you now.
16. When you feel lost, pray for guidance.
17. When you are tired and drained, keep taking one more step. Never, never give up.
Success could be right around the next corner.
18. You can do all things through Him who gives you strength.
19. When you feel like your situation is beyond your control, pray and surrender. Focus
on what you can control, and let go of what you can’t.
20. Remember to smile, have fun, and enjoy the ride. Life is short. You only live once.
You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Seize the moment.
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Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard
work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
Vince Lombardi
The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.
Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on
a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a
medieval study hall.
Vince Lombardi
Academe, n.: An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taught.
Academy, n.: A modern school where football is taught.
Ambrose Bierce
Football doesn’t build character. It eliminates the weak ones.
Darrell Royal
People who work together will win
whether it be against complex football defenses,
or the problems of modern society.
Vince Lombardi
In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know
where the goalposts are.
Arnold H. Glasow
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Going to college offered me the chance
to play football for four more years.
Ronald Reagan
If a man watches three football games in a row,
He should be declared legally dead.
Erma Bombeck
Football is a game played with arms, legs and shoulders…
but mostly from the neck up.
Knute Rockne
Some people think football is a matter of life and death.
I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.
Bill Shankly
If you want to surf, move to Hawaii.
If you like to shop, move to New York.
If you like acting and Hollywood, move to California.
But if you like college football, move to Texas.
Ricky Williams
Pro football gave me a good sense of perspective to enter politics:
I’d already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded and hung in effigy.
Jack Kemp
The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your
problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the
opportunity.
Lewis Grizzard
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