Monday Morning Coach is the weekly ezine, written by Betty Mahalik. It is available free upon request. Developed with the busy professional in mind, Monday Morning Coach's weekly messages are designed to be:

• Focused on a single topic
• Brief
• Motivational
• Practical
• Personally and professionally relevant

Below is a sample of the latest Monday Morning Coach. Past issues are available in the Monday Morning Coach archive. Permission is also granted for use of any Monday Morning Coach articles in your publication provided user includes all attribution, copyright and subscription information, and provides a copy of the publication or ezine where the article appears to bettym@dynamic-coaching.com.

Pick Up the Baton

Perhaps like me you've spent the past couple of weeks glued to your televsion set, watching the Olympics. There have been so many inspired performances, so many Olympic moments. But one stands out for me. Interestingly it's not because the athletes turned in a winning performance. In fact they were disqualified before the final competition. I am referring to the women's track and field team competing in the 4 x 100 meter relay.

They had run three-quarters of the final qualifying heat brilliantly and were on track to move into the medal finals. But on the final leg, the sprinter completing the race dropped the baton during the hand-off. What so impressed me is what happened next. Rather than collapse in defeat on the ground, the runner turned around, ran back and picked up the baton, carrying it across the finish line!

The team was disqualified. There would be no chance to even compete for a medal. But she chose to pick up the baton and finish the race anyway.

What a reminder to all of us in the race of life and business! There are countless times we drop the baton. We lose touch with someone important, a friend, client or associate. We fail to follow-up as promised with a client or prospect and then excuse the behavior with an "oh well, next time." We lose sight of a goal and then figure it's lost for good. We quit working for a cause that may not result in a "win" but might undoubtedly make a difference if we continue. The list could go on.

My point is that, like that sprinter, we have the choice to collapse in defeat and give up, or we can go back, pick up the baton and keep running. Unlike the Olympics that happen only every four years, we run a race daily against our greatest competition...ourselves, our doubts, fears, worries, distractions and a hundred other potentially defeating obstacles. We can choose to keep on going, fulfilling the mission, completing the goal or quit the moment it appears we have lost. In the race of life and business we will be given tests everyday to prove our championship mettle. The question is, will we pick up the baton or collapse in defeat and resign ourselves to "maybe someday."

Take a moment, make a list of ways you've dropped the baton in your life or business and then recommit to picking it up and moving forward, starting today. You never know what you'll gain or learn, or how you'll grow by picking up the baton and crossing the finish line. Choose to make this a championship week regardless!

Quote of the Week:

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. "

~~Theodore Roosevelt

"Transforming Your Potential into Performance!"
Betty Mahalik, PCC Life & Business Coach, Trainer bettym@dynamic-coaching.com www.dynamic-coaching.com	Dynamic Solutions 5240 Mustang St. Las Vegas, NV 89130 tel: 702 658-4425 fax: 702 658-5802 mobile: 702 443-0175
Want a signature like this?