Intention + Action = Results
Now, that you are clear on your goals and know what results you’re looking for, the next step is—you guessed it—taking action. Hmmm . . .
Sometimes the thought of taking action can be overwhelming, so let’s break it down into small steps. Today, and every day until you reach the end of this book, take one small action step—every single day—toward achieving your intentions. As Paralympic medalist Linda Mastandrea says, “What separates a winner from the rest of the pack is not raw talent or physical ability; it is the drive and dedication to work hard every single day and the heart to go after your dream, no matter how unattainable others think it is.”3 Start today. It’s powerful to realize now that one small step a day in the right direction will take you directly along the path to your success.
It’s important for all of us to remember this: We all started somewhere.
When you combine this practice with taking responsibility for setting those intentions and making those steps, the progress and results you achieve will be a credit to your determination and focus.
Intention + Action = Results
Reggie “the Riverton Rifle” Leach was a Stanley Cup champion with the Philadelphia Flyers and is the father of Jamie Leach, another proud holder of a Stanley Cup honor. He knows a thing or two about what it takes to play hockey and what it took to help his son develop his hockey talents. Reggie, quoting humorist Arnold H. Glasow, says, “Success isn’t the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.”4 He takes responsibility for his own success and is prepared to take action and focus his intention to get the right results. He fans the flames of his own success.
Fanning the Flames of Success
“A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark.”
DANTE ALIGHIERI, author of the Divine Comedy
DO YOU ALWAYS feel happy when you play hockey? Does it hurt sometimes? Is it possible that once you get off the ice you feel exhausted? Do you sometimes have to miss out on socializing with your friends or spending time with your family to go to hockey practice? In spite of all this, do you still find yourself wanting to enjoy playing hockey?
If your answer to the last question is yes, then you are already starting to fan the flames of your own success. How? You already know that no matter how hard the game, no matter how early the practice, no matter what you have to miss to get to training, somewhere deep inside there is always a part of you that wants to get back out on the ice. Sometimes you may feel tired and overwhelmed and worn out, but there is still something about the game that you enjoy and that will always draw you back for more.
You can fan the flames of your own success because the initial spark of success is already there. That is the spark of fun and love of the game. The following quotation from Gordie Howe inspires players who need to remember why they work so hard every day to become a better hockey player: “You’ve got to love what you’re doing. If you love it, you can overcome any handicap or the soreness or all the aches and pains, and continue to play for a long, long time.”5
Gordie Howe—“Mr. Hockey”—was the hockey phenom of his time. His long career, his scoring ability, his accuracy, and his physical strength set him apart from his peers. Born in 1928, Gordie still commands respect today, and hockey coaches often share his advice with their players.
To love your game is to find the fun in the game. That amplifies your level of confidence and helps you to be stronger. It’s a good thing that you know now that you already have the spark in you. Now you get to fan the flames of your success.
If you want to fan the flames of your own success, choose today to take responsibility for being the driving force behind your own good mood. If you want more laughter and more spark in your life, decide to find ways to be fun to be around. Monique and Jocelyne Lamoureux, twin sisters and star players on the U.S. Olympic hockey team, often talk about the importance of keeping things fun while working out and playing hockey. “Show up and be fun,”6 says Jocelyne. And when you do, you find the fun in your game. It’s always there if you look hard enough. Use it to blaze bright and find ways to fan the flames of your success. Great players and great leaders blaze bright with powerful confidence.
Blazing Bright with Confidence
“A lot of people, when a guy scores a lot of goals, think, ‘He’s a great player,’ because a goal is very important, but a great player is a player who can do everything on the field. He can do assists, encourage his colleagues, give them confidence to go forward. It is someone who, when a team does not do well, becomes one of the leaders.”
PELÉ, the greatest footballer of all time
WHICH HOCKEY PLAYERS do you know who blaze bright and don’t make a fuss? A number of players spring to mind. How is it that they don’t have to say much, because the way they play does all the talking for them?
Of all the players out there who display calm and true leadership, one of the greats is Pittsburgh Penguins and Team Canada legend Sidney Crosby. When hockey fans watch Sidney and listen to him speak, they see and hear a hockey player who speaks with true confidence.
What do I mean by true confidence? People who are comfortable in what they do and how they do it, and in what they say and how they say it. A player who is comfortable playing his game and likes the results he gets when he plays. I’m describing a way of living and being successful that comes from acting with honor, dignity, and self-respect—and from taking responsibility for getting results that count.
There are people with true confidence all around us. It’s the single-parent hockey mom who works hard every day to make sure the bills get paid and there’s food on the table yet still finds time to drive her kid to the ice, day after day after day. It’s the unassuming kid in the class who doesn’t need to be the loudest person to feel that she deserves to be part of the group. It’s the Sidney Crosbys of this world who play hockey with good intentions and determination, have respect for themselves and others, and take the right actions so that their play speaks for itself.
How can you develop your own true confidence? Good question. I’ll share my personal inspiration with you. Over the years, I’ve heard or read words and seen pictures that inspire me and help me feel good. No matter where they come from, if they inspire me, I write them down. Then I read them, one a day, to provide a spark of inspiration and to fan the flames of success.
Perhaps you also enjoy it when someone shares a bit of advice that has worked for them and helps you feel strong. Here are a few words of inspiration that were spoken centuries ago by a wise man, the Buddha, and have been repeated often. He said, “If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you think you will find it?” Buddha is explaining the importance of taking personal responsibility for our inner happiness, for our own results. This is an important and empowering philosophy. We can each learn to use it to help us get results. What’s the truth that Buddha speaks of? Ultimately, it’s all down to each one of us, to take responsibility to learn, to grow, to develop, and to deal with challenges so that we can become more content and happy with ourselves.
IF YOU CANNOT FIND THE TRUTH RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, WHERE ELSE DO YOU THINK YOU WILL FIND IT?
BUDDHA
It is true that we can try to find the answer to our challenges in our surroundings, in our families, in our hockey. . . and we may actually find solutions and happiness there for a short time. But unless we connect to that spark of joy that is always within us—no matter how small it is—we will not find the longterm happiness we truly desire. Helen Keller said it very well: “Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do.”7 One of the keys to