# 38

"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."

A biologist once experimented with what he called "processional caterpillars". He lined up caterpillars on the rim of a pot that held a plant so the lead caterpillar was head-to-tail with the last caterpillar, with no break in the parade. The tiny creatures walked around the rim of the pot for a full week before they died of exhaustion and starvation. Not once did any of the caterpillars break out of the line and venture over into the plant to eat. Food was only inches away, but the following-the-leader instinct was stronger than the drive to eat and survive!

When we find ourselves in a rut, we would do well to ask ourselves these three questions:

1. Is this rut of my own making? We tend to choose a rut because it's comfortable and requires no risk. To get out of the rut, make new choices. It takes guts to get out of the ruts!
2. Who am I following? We adopt certain patterns in our lives because someone has taught them to us directly or by example. Make sure you are following good leaders; don't simply follow the crowd. Winning is an attitude...and the attitude of the leader usually determines the speed of the pack.
3. Where am I going? Ruts develop when we lose a sense of vision for our lives...when we are "just traveling" through life and not attempting to arrive at a destination. Goals take you somewhere! Never look at where you're going. Always look where you want to go.

Our destiny is shaped by our thoughts and our actions.
We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

Ever wonder why they bother inviting 65 teams to the Men's NCAA Division I Championship tournament? Ask Kent State, Pitt, Missouri, or Indiana. To quote former boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard: "To be a champion you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will." We call them upsets--yet on any given night, any given team can rise to the occasion and do what is deemed impossible. That's why we play the game!

"Plays don't win championship, players do!" Bobby Knight ( Texas Tech)

Contact Tom at: tomhughes@motivationNmore.com

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