The Timeshare Beat: Jerry Sikes; With Regard to Achievement- Two

One of the first life lessons that my Pop sought to teach me was that in attempting anything, if I gave it my all, I could walk away from the attempt, knowing deep within that I could not have done it any better on that occasion. Pop always emphasized that I should never be totally satisfied with the outcome because I would always have another opportunity and with each attempt I could do it better.

I think that what he was getting too was that an achievement of something that was easy for me was not an achievement at all. Let me see if I can put this thought in another way. Pop led me to understand that in a race against others that I knew I could beat, winning wasn't something to celebrate.

In 1975, a young runner from Oregon by the name of Steve Prefontaine held the American records in every track event over a mile: 2000m, 3000m, 2-mile, 3-mile, 10000m, and 6-mile. Know simply as "Pre", he amazed crowds as they watched him run because he was known for going out hard and not relinquishing the lead, a tactic that his fans and fellow competitors admired. In all, he won 119 of 151 outdoor track races, including his high school performances. Even his rare losses were run with flair and determination. One of the most memorable of them was the 5000m final at the 1972 Olympics, where 21-year-old Prefontaine boldly took the lead with four laps to go and pushed the pace, only to lose a medal in the final strides of the race. The following are Pre's thoughts about racing that I thought appropriate to the subject:

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative. A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into an exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."

Pop believed that whatever success he achieved during his brief life was because he thought he could. He did not let the lack of a formal education stop him. He did not let the circumstances of his birth stop him. He did not let what others thought about him, stop him. Consequently, he pounded in my head that what I achieved and what I didn't achieve was a direct result of how I thought. One of his favorite things to say was: "You are never lost if you have the ability to think." To make that point he once blindfolded me, put me in the passenger seat of our old farm truck, drove around for about an hour, and walked me into the woods for about thirty minutes. He then sat me on a log and told me to stay there until I had counted to 300, then to take off the blindfold and find my way home. At that time I did not know that Pop was hiding in a hunting blind about fifty feet from the log he sat me on and that he watched me the whole time as I found my way out of that particular life lesson. You see he had been teaching me how to get home all my life. I knew which side of a tree the moss grew on, that the Clark River was about a mile North of our farm, State Road 17 ran East and West from Paducah to Palma and that Millers pond was Southwest of our Pecan Grove. Once I took off the blindfold, I found my old canteen full of water and three pieces of Pop's Beef Jerky at my feet. I sat on that log for a few minutes getting oriented then began to make my way in a general Northeast direction knowing full well that I would find some landmark well before I would be able to chew up that first piece of Jerky. About thirty-five minutes later I heard the sound of a car or truck off to my left. Turning in that direction, I soon exited the woods, found the road and Pop's truck parked in a pull-off about one-hundred yards away.

FINAL THOUGHT
Pop taught me that all achievements, on the ball field, in the gym, the classroom, on the job or in any relationship was the result of thinking, essentially just like thinking my way out of the woods and home. I had a clearly defined destination and my thoughts were directed toward achieving that objective. Those thoughts led me to a clear vision of arriving home with a canteen half-full of spring water and a couple pieces of Jerky. As it were, Pop did not keep any of the Jerky and decided to wait on the side of the road for me to come that way. PS: he did have a pint fruit jar of shine that he had been sipping on.

In the book As A Man Thinketh, author James Allen wrote the following: "All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought, are governed by the same law and are of the same method; the only difference lies in the object of attainment."

My friend Ian Percy closed out the most recent ARDA- Southwest Regional Management Conference by encouraging each of us to Think Without a Box and then providing each of those in attendance a copy of his most recent book; The Profitable Power of Purpose. This book contains Ian's 7 strategies for turning your Vision into a force for greater passion, performance and profitability.

My thought is that parts of his STRATEGY #2 Let your irritations inspire you; perfectly fit this exercise about Achievement.

"Purpose is, when you get right down to it, a spiritual force. Love is a spiritual force too. So is faith, forgiveness, service, generosity and all those "things" that make life not only bearable, but truly worth living. As I see it, meaningful work is a manifestation or materialization of numerous spiritual forces coming together and the leading edge of those forces is purpose. It is the point of the arrow and without it you won't pierce the target. Instead you'll fall useless and pointless to the ground."

Just over six and one-half years ago, With Regard to The Three-Headed Monster (E-GOR / ORE / TECH) became the very first of these columns. The Final Thought of that effort ended with the following: "Little question exists that individually each part of this old three headed monster can and does make major contributions to the achievement of some management objectives. However, change will produce new Ego's, New Organizations and New Technologies. Management must gain and maintain jurisdiction and control over these entities and lead them to those places where their individual and collective benefits can merge with the other forces for the mastery of what we need to accomplish and the achievement of our Visions." If we think about it and have a purpose, we will find our way home every time. Thought + Purpose, what great resources they are, and well used, what achievements will they lead to? Thanks Pop…

JS 8/06