Adversity Shows Your True Character
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of Associated Press
Florida State was one of the most interesting teams of the year.
The Seminoles, who previously won the BCS National Championship, was looking to claim a second consecutive title this year.
They were down 6 times, but found a way to win those close ball games that could have derailed their chances at participating in the first ever “College Football Playoff.”
After winning 29 straight games that included a national championship, the Seminoles got obliterated by Oregon 59-20 in the semifinals that was held at the Rose Bowl in Pasedena, California.
Though Florida State missed out on a chance to play for the national championship against Ohio State, who won their semifinal matchup against No.1 Alabama 42-35 in the All-State Sugar Bowl, they showed their true character in their loss.
After the game, 70% of the Florida State players went straight for the locker room and did not even congratulate the Ducks on their win.
Only a few stayed out to congratulate the Ducks that included quarterback Jameis Winston, who had his off the field issues, wide receiver Rashad Greene and head coach Jimbo Fisher.
That lack of sportmanship was a shock to Kirk Herbstreit, who was the analyst for the matchup on ESPN.
“That’s disappointing that 70 percent of the Florida State team is in the locker room,” Herbstreit said after Oregon’s 59-20 win on Thursday. “It’s easy to go across when you win a game to shake hands. You lose a game after 29 games and you can’t come over and shake a hand of an Oregon player and tell him, ‘Congratulations?'”
Though I have a disdain for the Seminoles because I am a Florida Gator fan, the lack of sportmanship was further confirmation on why I don’t like Florida State.
They showed me that they are a classless team and really need to take a long look at themselves to understand that they are representing their school, alumni and fan base.
Adversity showed Florida State’s true character as being sore losers and I suspect that not many people want to be associated with sore losers.
Focus On Fulfilling Your Goals in 2015
By Cheval John
2014 is coming to a close.
By the time of this writing, 2015 has already commenced in Australia, Japan and other parts of Asia.
People always make New Year’s Resolutions leading up to the New Year only to break them about two or three weeks later.
What they do is make those resolutions based out of shame according to brand strategist, Michelle Van Otten.
So how do you keep your “New Year’s Resolutions” if you keep on breaking them?
Michelle shared that an alternative to a New Year’s resolutions is creating a vision board.
(Warning: It get’s a little explicit between 34-38 minute)
You might wonder what is a vision board?
A vision board allows you to map out your goals for the New Year and to be specific on how to achieve those goals.
Vision boards also allows you to be held accountable to anyone who have seen it because it forces you to actually fulfill those goals.
I had the opportunity to create a vision board before this year when I discovered this concept from a few people who have vision board parties.
I even wrote out my declaration for this year here
I will say that I did not fulfill all of my goals for this year.
Does that make me a failure?
Not really.
The reason is because I had made a whole lot of progress this year and even fulfilled life long dreams that were not part of the goals like:
-Wrote two books in 2014
-Called two collegiate softball games at my alma mater, Sam Houston State
-Witness the SHSU Bowling Team win the school’s first ever NCAA Division I National Championship
-Connected with amazing people on social media, especially Twitter (fulfilled that goal for the New Year)
-Discovered Twitter Chats and learning about the new trends of Social Media
-Heard Chris Guillebeau speak at a book signing event for his new book, “The Happiness of Pursuit.”
-Celebrated my 100th episode of “What’s The Word?”
-Interviewed Susan Campbell Cross, author of “The FabYouList”
-Interviewed Donny Most, formerly of “Happy Days.”
So even if you do not meet all of your goals, it still does not hurt to put together a vision board.
As Mrs Cross said and I am paraphrasing, “Though you do not fulfill your goals at a certain point does not mean that you fail. As long as you fulfill those goals, then you accomplish a lot.”
Now that you have seen an alternative to a “New Year’s Resolution,” my hope is that everyone will fulfill their goals and make this world a better place.
And to keep up with this tradition of vision boards, here is my vision for what I want to accomplish in 2015.
Wishing everyone a fantastic New Year.
What are your goals for the New Year? You can leave your comments below.
Photo courtesy of www.personalbrandingblog.com
Why Being An Underdog Is Great
By Cheval John
Being an underdog can be at times frustrating because many people do not believe that you will succeed.
We see it almost every time in sporting events, especially in championship games where a team is heavily favored to win while many write off the other.
Of course, being an underdog happens in real life outside of sports as well.
Like when people label someone as not having a chance to succeed in life if they drop out of school and not obtain a college degree.
The truth of the matter is if you are an underdog, you are in a prime position to prove the doubters wrong.
Here are two examples of those who overcame the odds to be successful:
THE 2014 SAM HOUSTON STATE FOOTBALL TEAM
The Bearkat football team had a huge turnover in personnel leading up to this year’s season.
Most of the players who were apart of the most victorious team in program history had graduated.
The architect of the team who led the squad to two consecutive Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Championship appearances, Willie Fritz, accepted the job at Georgia Southern.
With a new head coach in K.C. Keeler and a majority of the squad being new including 17 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) transfers, the Kats were selected to finish third in the Southland Conference (SLC).
It seemed as if the predictions were going to come true as the Bearkats had a 1-3 start, including a loss to the eventual Division II National Champion, Colorado State-Pueblo, which ended a 22-game home winning streak at Bowers Stadium.
Even I gave up on the team for this season.
However, the Bearkats kept a positive mindset, believed in each other and won seven out of the final eight games in the regular season to clinch a share of the SLC title and the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
Sam Houston kept their momentum going with three consecutive victories over three-top 10 ranked teams before falling to three-time FCS National Champion, North Dakota State at the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota during the semifinals.
The Bearkats are more optimistic about their chances at making it back to the playoffs and even winning a national championship.
DARRIN BENTLEY
Darrin Bentley is someone everyone should pay attention to in 2015.
I had the opportunity to interview him on my show, “What’s The Word?” earlier this month.
Mr. Bentley is the founder and host of Big Wig Nation, a weekly show that showcases highly successful people in different industries.
The podcast has been on the air for five months.
But it already has close to 100,000 downloads.
What is really amazing about Mr. Bentley is that he is very transparent and authentic.
He shared in his bio of the podcast’s website that he is a high school dropout.
Now if a person don’t graduate high school and move on to college, they have a slim chance at having a successful career according to a report by The Atlantic.
However, Mr. Bentley overcame the odds and worked his way up from the mailroom to a 6-figure salary on Wall Street and now as an entrepreneur.
So if you feel that everything is not going your way or feel like no one believes in you, celebrate.
Because once you achieve success, the ones who doubted you before, will all of a sudden applaud you for overcoming the odds to be successful.
Have you ever felt like an underdog? You can share your comments below.
Video courtesy of The Bearkat Sports Network
Photo Courtesy of www.fm-base.co.uk
SHSU Defeats Prairie View 61-44
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Jabari Peters went 5-of-7 from the field to score 12 points to lead Sam Houston to a 61-44 non-conference men’s basketball victory over Prairie View A&M Saturday afternoon.
After the Panthers scored the first basket, Sam Houston never trailed, building a 23-point lead in the second half.
Jayrn Johnson and Karim York each scored 10 points to lead Prairie View. The Panthers dropped to 1-10 for the year. Sam Houston, undefeated at home this year in five games, is 7-4 for the season.
The Bearkats out-boarded Prairie View 42-26 with DeMarcus Gatlin, Michael Holyfield and Aurimas Majauskas each pulling down seven rebounds.
The Panthers kept things close during the first nine minutes of the game. Sam Houston led by only two, 14-12, with 10:58 left in the half.
A layup by Aurimas Majauskas started a 14-1 Bearkat run. A jumper by Majauskas put Sam Houston up 28-13 with 3:38 left. The Kats went into the locker run with a 17-point lead, 34-17.
Sam Houston State now breaks for the Christmas holidays. Next action for the Kats is Monday, December 29, when the SHSU men play host to Howard Payne in a 6:30 p.m. contest at Johnson Coliseum.
The Bearkats open Southland Conference action Saturday, January 3, with a home matchup with Incarnate Word.
Stuart Scott Leaves A Lasting Legacy
By Cheval John
You know you did your work and fulfilled your destiny when people leave touching tributes for your hard work and dedication.
Stuart Scott not only trendsending the sports journalism industry with phrases like “Booya,” he made a strong impact on many people who are normally not watching sports.
Scott passed away earlier this Sunday morning after a long and courageous battle with cancer.
His death affected so many people at ESPN to the point that Hannah Storm had to hold back tears while she broke the news of Scott’s passing.
He even had an impact on the President of the United States, Barack Obama.
Many sports teams around the country had moments of silence for Scott:
Former Sportscenter anchor Rich Eisen, who was paired with Scott during most of his time at ESPN, left a heartfelt tribute at his current job, “The NFL Network:
Mr. Scott will not only be remembered for his charisma and passion for sports, but also will be remembered for his fight against cancer.
Here is the speech he gave at the ESPYs last year after receiving the Jimmy V Perseverance Award:
One thing is for certain, Stuart Scott fulfilled his destiny and has inspired all of us to be ourselves and not worry about pleasing everyone.
Rest In Peace, Stuart Scott. You will be really missed.
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