Unleashing Your Potential: Molly Fletcher at TEDxEmory

what fun it's awesome to be here what an honor I tell you what Wow listen you know I have felt so fortunate over the last 20 years to have the opportunity to work with some of the best athletes and coaches in the world it's been fascinating and I've always been so interested in how they do what they do and how they do it at such a high level consistently day after day after day and what I believe is that us wherever we may be in our lives wherever we may be in this wonderful world have so much that we can learn from these athletes and coaches that execute so consistently at a high level so I think there's sort of five things that I want to sort of walk through that I think are paramount in sort of shifting your behavior in the absence of crisis so in other words we hear the word potential so much right people talk about potential well why do these athletes so often reach that potential how do they maximize it and how do we take those processes that they capture each and every day and insert that into our own lives to improve what we do and how we do it so I think at the most basic level we have to believe in what we do and why we do it right so one of the guys that I've worked with for years is an unbelievable guy John Smoltz John Smoltz is a guy that I believe certainly believes in his ability to execute as a pitcher John was a pitcher in the big leagues pitched for the Braves for years a right-handed pitcher and had great success well for 10 of the 14 years that the Atlanta Braves went to the division series John was a really big part of that process and he was a starting pitcher so he would come out at the beginning of games right every four or five days and he would pitch and he would start and he would throw 80 or 90 pitches right and then four or five days later he would do it again John one songs he had incredible success was a part of the Braves success then in about 2001 he struggled and had Tommy John surgery and had some some issues physically but then in 2000 late in 2001 the organization came to us and to him and said hey listen you know what he's an unbelievable star he has he's had great success but we don't have a guy inside of our organization right now that we want to close for us so we don't have a guy that can come in right and the 8th or 9th inning and finish the games for us and we feel like John can step up and do that role well nobody believed that he could because John had had a lot of injuries he'd had to dealt with some issues but John at the core belief that he could writers and folks in the media or st. boy I don't know if this guy can actually handle this transition physically mentally it's a whole different deal and that in many ways was what motivated John to want to do it John said you know what everybody doesn't think I can do this but I know I can close my so he accepted the opportunity the closer and in in that very year he came out in 155 closed 55 games had 55 saves unbelievable set a new NL record so not only was he a shy young winner as a starter but he also set records as a closer as well but what it was was John didn't let the negative influences from the world from the media from anything else come into his mind and tell him you can't make this change you can't make this change from being a marathon runner right to a sprinter but he could and he believed he could so I think when we think about unleashing our potential when we think about maximizing our abilities in our own lives the first step in that process is to send ourselves the right messages right to send ourselves messages that allow us to believe that we can in fact execute at the highest level that we have that potential the second thing that I think's paramount is our ability to ensure that we discover who we are and the gaps in the world in which we live and how in fact we can actually potentially close those gaps for ourselves personally and for the world that we live in to add value so I'll give you an example kind of a personal story in 1993 I graduated from Michigan State and I had this passion to be in the business of sports but like most of us right at 21 or 22 we're not sure quite what that might look like but I got my honda accord in lansing michigan where i grew up in a wonderful family and I packed up my Honda Accord and I had about 2000 bucks in my back pocket because my folks were kind enough to let me live at home after I'd graduated for a few months and teach tennis at a little park nearby so I taught tennis made two grand put it in my back pocket and drove to Atlanta without a job and my college coach from Michigan State I played tennis there was kind enough to give me three names of three coaches that she said would be able to help me and I had this philosophy at 21 or 22 that if you ask for advice you get a job and if you ask for a job you get advice right I think the same thing is true in business right if you ask for the business sometimes you just get advice and if you ask for advice sometimes you get the business so I get my car I Drive down to Atlanta and my parents thought well this will be about two to three weeks tops she'll be back driving north on 75 back home to come back and live with us and find a job here well I got down to Atlanta and I woke up and one of my friends from high school was kind enough to let me live on the floor of her apartment for a couple weeks until I could find a place to live and get a job and sort of start tapping into my two grand which I didn't want to tap into too quick right so I get up that first morning and this is before cellphone so I'm exposing my age a little bit but I get up and I call from the landline there at the hot you know at the low apartment and I call this one Pro who my coach had given me the name of and I said hey listen I played tennis at Michigan State you know I want to teach tennis and I'm trying to kind of get you know into my space in Atlanta I want to be in the sports marketing business but I'm thinking you know maybe you might have some nice people in Atlanta they'd be kind enough to give me some advice cuz I really want to pursue my passion of sports and he said well you know that's interesting and we got to chatting for a minute he said you know you may not know this but in Atlanta you can teach tennis in exchange for your rent and I said wow man I got to get one of those deals right that sounds like a sweet situation I said what do you mean and he goes well people teach tennis at apartment complexes in exchange or fur reduced rate on their rent and he said in fact there's this property great location in Atlanta where the pro is actually leaving he's been teaching at the property for a long time but he's actually leaving the property and I don't even think he's told the manager yet and I said you got to be kidding me where is this place right I got to go over there so I get my car I Drive over this place and I walk in and I said hey how are you I played tennis in college do I see of a court I wondered if by any chance you know I could talk to you about teaching tennis to your residents and she said oh well I appreciate you stopping by you know we have a pro and he's amazing he's doing a great job you know and we've had him forever and we're good and you know when you're like 21 how you go to Kinko's or wherever and you make your little business cards and and they're super bootleg right and there's sort of paper-thin but you're so pumped because you actually have a business card now so I had my business card that I had made right that had nothing on it but my name and I walk in and I said well hey I said here's my card why don't you keep this and if anything changes you know let me know and and we can stay connected she said oh yeah I appreciate it but you know like I said he's been here he's awesome I said great so I Drive out I drive across street and I see this little pizza place called perros pizza and I see this little place and I thought to myself man I wonder if that place sells a lot of pizza to that apartment complex because boy they should you know a bunch of folks 21 years old 22 whatever it is they probably love a $15.00 dinner and it's right across the street so the best way to figure that out right is just go over this pizza place so I walk in and I said hi is uh mr. pear out there thinking that was a pretty good guess right mr. poirot as mr. pear oh here and they said I'll ask the matter of fact he is she said just a minute is everything okay I said you know I just had a quick question for him so out walks this guy in all black he'd been back there throwing dough making pizzas right and he comes walking out and I said hey I said mr. Pirelli said yes I said kind of ask you a quick question he said sure I said do you sell out a pizza to that apartment complex across the street cuz it feels like you should I mean they're right there man and he goes you know that's it that's a great point he said you know we sell a little bit he's sort of looking around at the folks in there kind of getting hot you know like why don't we sell a lot of pizza to that apartment complex and I said yeah I mean it feels like you should he said no question and I said well listen what if we work something out we're like you gave me 1523 pizzas a month and I gave them to the apartment complex to all the residents at the tennis clinic and we could maybe put a little coupon from perros pizza in the newsletter that the residents get at the first of every month you know and you just give me the free pizzas and he said Wow we said so 15 20 free pizzas a month and you'll put a little coupon in the newsletter that the residents get Iced exactly he goes done I love it I said okay but listen man I don't have the deal yet but when I get it I'll be back and we'll work it out and he goes love it let me know so I go back over to my friend's apartment and I pick up the phone and I call my buddies at Wilson Sporting Goods they gave me rackets when I played in college and I said hey can I ask you a huge favor I said listen would you help me up in like sin a box of like tennis rackets you know keychains water bottle t-shirts I mean just anything good stuff I'm trying to get this deal to teach tennis for a reduced rate on my rent and he goes Wow mile he said yeah you know I'll do that for you I'd be happy to and I said okay great but like I need it tomorrow so we go stunt so I get this box the next day and meanwhile I run over to Kinkos actually again and and I print off these little articles that I'd written in the in this little paper in Lansing you know on how to hit a forehand and a backhand like little tennis steps so I print that off like 15 of them because I'm thinking these would be really cool to put in the newsletter to all the residents right so I'm thinking I've gotta wait a couple days cuz I've got to make sure right that the pro has told the lady because you know how you only have so many shots to walk back in before somebody sort of politely escort you out of that place right so I wait about a day or so and then I go back over the property and I said hey how are you I you know I'm Molly I play tennis and she goes oh my gosh I am so glad you're back she said it's unbelievable she said I couldn't find your card she said but our pro came in and he's leaving the property I go no you gotta be joking me this is incredible he goes yeah he said it's incredible timing this is amazing I said unbelievable I said well you know I was actually just coming by to bring you this box of stuff cuz I called my buddy so Wilson and I tell her about these little articles that I'd written I said oh by the way you know I talked to this pizza place across the street I said they're gonna give us free pizza to give to all the residents and she goes well this is fantastic and I said well how did it work with a pro you know what was the deal and she said he just taught went tennis one night a week on Tuesday nights for an hour and I said so he could go get a job another job during the day and she said exactly and I said wow that's awesome I said well how did it work and she said well you know the rents 850 we gave him 500 bucks off the rent every month and he paid the difference of 350 on the first of every month I said oh wow I said you know I mean the Wilson stuff you know that we do this hit for prizes program and I said did you have that deal with the pizza place across the streets goes no no it's great and I said you know what I said listen why don't we just wave it you know just wave the rent straight up you know just 850 straight up wave it you know it's cleaner it's just easier she goes what I said let's just wave it you know let's just call it it's cleaner and she goes well I gotta go get that approved you know I gotta go call my boss and I said okay I said cool I said I'm good you know I got a couple minutes so she goes back and she comes track out about five minutes later and she goes you know what I told him up this Wilson stuff and there's pizza deal and these little articles and she said you're good I lived in this apartment complex for nine years and never paid rent it was beautiful it was beautiful and I tell you that story because to me at the very core I didn't have a lot of money to make it out of the gates right so I had to pull back and discover things that I could do ways that I could add value to create a platform for myself to pursue my dream of sports marketing I had to discover the needs inside that apartment complex at the most basic level for what I could do to help solve problems for him so in turn I could support them right that's what I see the best athletes and coaches do too right the best coaches in the world Doc Rivers Tom Izzo guys that have won national championships world championships these guys pull back and figure out what their own gaps are and they go fill their bench with assistant coaches that they know can support their gaps the best college coaches do the same thing they fill their rosters based on their gaps how do we pull back in life and take the time to discover our own gaps but also the gaps of the lives in which we're trying to serve and when we can discover those at the core I think we can add great value the third thing that I think that the best of the best do to maximize their potential is they get really clear on what they do and why they do it you know rg3 Robert Griffin the third the quarterback for the Redskins an unbelievable athlete and an unbelievable quarterback well he has a post-it note on his locker that says know your why because he says if you know your own why why you play the game that you play and if you all the players that you play with why then you want to sacrifice more so that you can win when you can look to your right in your left on the line as an athlete and know what their y is you can solve anyhow that's what Viktor Frankl wrote unbelievable author unbelievable man so what is your why I would challenge you to pull back in your own life personally professionally you name the category and identify why you do what you do because to me that creates clarity and that passion for your Y can suffocate any fear that you have inside of you that may tell you that you're not good enough or that you can't do it you know that little voice that comes out sometimes over here and says I don't know I don't know if you're good enough fast enough whatever it is that little voice isn't doing you any good right so getting clear on your Y helps suffocate those negative voices the fourth thing that I think is paramount is discipline when you look at the best athletes and coaches in the world most of the best have tremendous discipline they have the ability to recover from challenges really really fast they have the ability to dig in and behave in a consistent way over and over again to help them create a platform for themselves in their lives right so one of the guys that I think does this incredibly well is many of the guys out on the PGA Tour many of the ladies on the LPGA Tour and certainly any of the other thousands of amazing athletes well every year I get to have dinner with a guy by the name of Butch Harmon Butch Harmon is one of the most well known golf teachers in the world he's taught Tiger Woods Phil Mickelson he's caught many of the best ladies on the LPGA Tour well butch is a guy that every Tuesday of the Masters typically we have dinner and I was sitting with butch a couple years ago and at the end of dinner we sort of stopped and we were just chatting among sort of the small it was a very small group of folks and I said hey butch I said can I ask you a question I said listen man you know what do you think is the difference between the best athletes and coaches in the world the best golfers that you teach the ones that are holding trophies over their head that are consistently finishing top 10 that are making cuts out on the PGA Tour over and over again and everybody else so what's the difference with the folks that are 1 to 10 on the money list and then the folks on the money list they're like 11 to 125 what's the difference he said without question it's their ability to recover from adversity faster than everybody else how do we make sure that we send ourselves the right messages so that when negative things happen in our lives we don't let it unravel I've been around a lot of athletes that have gone through slumps that have struggled but you know what I see them all do the best do is they don't let it unravel you look at the best athletes scorecards they may go bogie out there but guess what they're gonna go Bertie the next hole you look at a baseball player that goes over 404 for a couple nights in a row well guess what he's gonna do maybe on the third night he's gonna hit a bomb he's gonna go two for four he's gonna recover he's not gonna let it unravel so grab opportunities in your life when you start to see that snowball coming recognizing it creates discipline so that you can in turn send yourself the right messages so that you can in fact recover it's paramount and then if we execute with discipline we can in turn execute right if we behave with great clarity if we behave with great belief and passion then we can in turn build a platform by which we can begin to execute you know so often in life we have success and then we take a deep breath what I found with the best athletes and coaches in the world is they never stop they keep the pedal down Tom Izzo one of my clients years ago the head coach at Michigan State for their basketball team is those a guy that years ago wins the national championship right he wins it all unbelievable as many coaches will tell you it's getting a little bit lucky keeping your athletes a little bit healthy and sort of getting it done well is a wins the national championship so what happens at like 10 o'clock at night right he's on the shoulders of his players cutting down a net pump that they won the national championship they did it right and then you know at 10:30 or 11:00 he's he's back doing a postgame interview with the media breaking it down right and then maybe having a couple cokes with his coaches celebrating privately winning the national championship and then as Tom would describe it at 8:30 the next morning he was on the phone with a snot-nosed 18-year old kid begging him begging him to come play basketball form at Michigan State the best of the best executes with urgency consistently that creates a platform for them to do it over and over and over again so I believe that if we wake up every day and want to maximize our potential want to unleash everything that we have inside of ourselves we have to first believe in what we do and why we do it right we have to discover our own gaps and the gaps in the world in which we want to serve we've got to get really clear on why we do what we do and then at the core we've got to have the discipline to behave the way in which we've gotten clear that we need to behave to unleash our potential to maximize our platform and then we can what we can execute at the highest level thank you so much you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 30,131

Keywords: ted, English, tedx talks, tedx, TEDxEmory, ted talk, ted talks, tedx talk, United States of America, ted x

Id: FZuO32MJ6o8

Length: 19min 7sec (1147 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 02 2013