About 28 years ago I was exposed to the idea of transformation. I was immediately excited about the concept as it so seemed to apply to my lifes work as a basketball coach.

I had an accomplished career to that date but was concerned about my inability to reach some of the young men I had on my teams. The number wasnt large but even one life is too many to waste.

Coaches have a premier position in our culture to make a difference. It is second only to the influence of parents and given certain circumstances it could be even more impactful. A coach almost has to screw it up in some way to lose the opportunity.

One of the things I saw early on was that I had been trying to change some of the people I coached. The more I tried to change them, the more they stayed the same. People can change but only they can initiate that change.

When I asked someone in a workshop what transformation is I will got œchange as the response. Change occurs in transformation but the essence of the person does not. We have what we have. Transform the persons perspective, i.e., interpretation of life and there is an opening to take a different action. Different Action=Different Result.

My company was working with a college football team around 25 years ago. In fact, we did five days, 8-10 hours per day with over 85 coaches and athletes. Conventional wisdom said we would never be able to do that. It was voluntary yet we had 65-70 participants the first day and over 85 by the afternoon of the second day. The word had gotten out.

However, this is not about that. Something happened that is an example of transformation, not change. Here is what happened.

Mid way through our second day we were in the middle of a conversation when a hand suddenly shot up in the air. Lets call it Robs hand. Rob had suddenly realized something about his life that he wanted to share with all of us.

Heres the story Rob had to tell. Rob grew up in an Eastern city. When he was ten, his family moved from one area of the city to another so Rob was in a new school. It was his first day.

Sometime in the morning the teacher asked a question and Rob raised his hand because he knew the answer. The teacher called on him and when he stood up to answer he was bombarded by spitballs from the boys in the back of the room. Embarrassed, he sat back down.

That was his story and what he had just realized was he had made a decision in that moment that had affected the rest of his life. The decision was that œit isnt safe to be smart. Some of you have made that same decision. Rob had lived in that decision without knowing he had made one. It was just the way that it was.

So, what did he do as a result? He made œC grades all through high school, community college and, currently, at the University. Nothing more, nothing less. So, naturally, he was only capable of making œCs in his view. His actions were those of a œC student.

The year of our workshop Rob made over a B average. Seeing that a ten year old had been running his life freed him up to be the talented person he was. He was always that and couldnt see it. The moment he could see it his actions changed and therefore his results.

Today we hear the word transformation all the time. TV ads, newsmen and women, authors, etc. Lets not create a cliché that it is another word for change. Change occurs when we see clearly a different set of actions to take. Action is all that ever makes any difference.

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