NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES CONVENTION
ATLANTA, GA. OCTOBER 1998

This group is reminiscent of my days starting coaching. You’d go out and you’d learn and you’d network. Because with innovation and creativity comes success.

TEAM = Togetherness, Education, Attitude, and Mental Toughness.

If you give your best and try to take as much information and data back and you can adopt this information in your stores or in your businesses and you become someone who has the winner’s edge. And the winner’s edge is what you want.

If you have dreams and goals and desire, you can do something in this world.

Never forget where you are. Never forget where you want to go. Never forget where you were.

Extend a hand to people. And if you love people and are good to people, people will be good to you.

They pay me mega-dollars for talking about a game. I’d do it for free.

I may not know about your business. But I know about people. And I know what makes people successes. Larry Bird did not look up and God and say make me a great player and God looked down and said, "okay." No. Larry persevered. I would go to the court and he’d be there, alone, practicing. And I’d ask him why and he’d say, "I want to be mentally and physically prepared. I never want to give my competition an edge."

There are 4 D’s of life: Dedication, Desire, Determination and Discipline (of body and mind).

There are 3 E’s of life: Enthusiastic, Energetic, and Excited.

Sometimes we worry so much about tomorrow and reflect so much on the past that we forget to live the most important day of our life: today.

I don’t care what the scoreboard says. But I do care about the effort. I do care about the teamwork.

I had my players line up in single file, shake my hand, and say ’I will do my best and I will give everything I have.’ If we go out there and play as a team and give our full effort, I don’t care what the scoreboard says. And by the way you shake my hand and the way you look me in the eye, I’ll be able to tell you if you’re going to be on the court tonight.

I’ve learned every day to think, to laugh, to cry.

Jim Valvano said to me "All I want it to feel good, to see the sun shine, to have a day without pain." Enjoy every moment while you can because there’s no promise for tomorrow.

Anxiety is pressure. Sometimes we in the corporate world don’t understand what real pressure is. Take a walk through the Children’s hospital. Then you’ll know what real pressure is.

One simple formula. Passion, a love for what you’re doing. If you love what you’re doing, you combine it with enthusiasm, excitement for what you do. Plus preparation, Prepare for whatever you do. Combine all this, it usually means success.