As most of you know, I am self proclaimed Quote Nerd. I have been collecting and compiling motivational quotes since I was in high school. With the advent of social media, I use Twitter and Facebook as vehicles to share these words of wisdom and inspiration.
Below is a small collection of quotes, stories and poems that exceed Twitter’s 140 character limit.
NOTE: I am NOT the author of any of this material.
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. Moral? It doesn’t matter who you are, when the sun comes up, you better get moving!
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
When you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When life is pressing you down a bit –
Rest if you must, but don’t dare quit.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver lining in clouds of doubt,
You can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick it out when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worse that you must not quit.
He failed in business in 1832.
He ran as a state legislator and lost in 1832.
He tried business again and failed in 1833.
His sweetheart died in 1835.
He had a nervous breakdown in 1836.
He ran for state elector and lost in 1840.
He ran for government positions and was defeated in 1843, 1848, 1855, 1856, and 1858.
But he never quit. He never stopped believing in himself.
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln, was elected the President of the United States.
During my 2nd semester of college, my professor gave our class a pop quiz. I breezed through it… until I got to the last question, “What is the first name of the man who cleans our school?” Surely this was a joke? I had seen the man several times in passing, kind of knew what he looked like, but how would know his name? Irritated, I marched up to hand in my quiz. “Does that last question actually count?” The professor smiled and said, “Absolutely. Don’t ever forget that every person is important. Everyone is significant and deserves your respect.” I never forgot that lessen. I also learned his name was Joe.
It was only one possession,
Why must my coach scream?
My poor defense caused a basket,
But what can one hoop mean?
As the pass comes my direction,
And I fumble it into the stands,
My coach’s voice rings loud and clear,
“Catch with your eyes and hands!”
C’mon coach, its one possession,
Our team will be OK,
It’s just the first two minutes,
I mean damn, we’ve got all day!
In the beginning of the 2nd quarter,
Their center is strong and stout,
He gets a put back for two, quite simply due,
From my failure to block out.
It was only one possession,
I didn’t commit a crime,
My team is ahead and I’m playing well,
And there’s still plenty of time!
As the halftime buzzer sounds,
I watch the ball bank in,
I know I will hear it from my coach,
Asking why I didn’t defend.
But it was only one possession,
Coach – don’t have a heart attack,
We’re only down one and we’re having fun,
I know we’ll come back!
The 2nd half is much the same,
So it is really no big deal,
That my lazy pass on the perimeter,
Results in an easy steal.
I quickly sink a jumper,
I’m greeted by high fives and slaps,
But the next time down, I give up a lay-up,
While suffering a mental lapse.
It’s only one possession,
C’mon coach just chill out!
It’s crazy to see you so mad,
As you consistently scream and shout:
“Victory favors the team,
Making the fewest mistakes.
Single possessions are the key,
And will cut down their fast breaks.”
I step to the line for a one and one,
The game is in my hands,
I can’t believe I missed it short,
And hear cheers from opposing fans.
After the game I sat at my locker,
Wondering what more I could have done,
Only to realize the value of one possession,
What a shame we lost by one.
Given the fact I have Tweeted over 22,000 times (seriously), I don’t need a doctor to tell me I am a Twitter-aholic.
Like anyone with an addition problem, I need help. I'm going into Social Media Rehab from August 4th to the 14th. I won't be using my phone or computer during the course this self-imposed detox. I'll be focused on my family and my personal development. This will not be easy for me... which is the exact reason I need to do it.
Don't worry; I'll continue to use a third party website to schedule quotes on Twitter; so they will continue to post every 3 hours in my absence. Just because I will be unplugged, doesn’t mean I should stop sharing and motivating, right?
Lastly, check out the 8 offensive basketball moves every player must be able to do:
http://youtu.be/zfX7ubUtpk4
These 8 moves, which can be done anywhere on the court, are great for helping players perfect their footwork. From a movement standpoint, players need to be able to front pivot, reverse pivot, and bound ('step back') off of either foot.
If you want 'quicker' feet on the court - this is how you get them!
I will post Part II to this blog when I resurface.
Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com
PS: While I do need to take a break from my incessant Social Media habits; I am in no way making light of people who have serious addiction problems and who do need professional intervention and help. Just injecting a little humor into my blog!