Motivation Monday

Mondays can just flat out suck.

Especially this week.... 

Today, I have my first big exam for supply chain and the supply chain management job fair. I've been anticipating/preparing/avoiding/anxious for this day for the past few weeks. I've prepared accordingly for both. I've studied hard, applied to more jobs than I can count, researched cities (here I come Boston or Atlanta..hopefully! :) ), and edited my resume more than I ever thought was possible. I've turned to Him more than ever in the past few weeks. Along with prayer, I need motivation. Below are some of my absolute favorite motivation videos to watch whenever I'm stressed or just having a bad day. Enjoy :) 

Whatever your Monday brings, you have the power and heart to do anything possible. Here's to what I hope is an amazing week of opportunities and new beginnings! 

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose

Friday Night Lights (aka best show ever)

Right after you read this start watching the series immediately!

One line that will always stick out from this series is "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." This mantra describes the sport of football perfectly. It's an idea of knowing who you are as a team, having a clear vision, putting your full heart into the game, and when you believe in yourself and your teammates you can't lose. 

Football is well known as America's past time. For as long as I can remember football isn't just a past time in the Daniels household...it's a way of life. I received my first football the day I was born from the booster club president of the Massillon Tigers. I guess that's what happens when you're born in a town where the high school football stadium can hold up to 20,000. From that day on, every Friday night for the past twenty one years has been spent in stadiums watching my dad coach the sport he loves. Would I have it any other way? Absolutely not. I am so proud to say I will always hold the title as "Coach D's daughter." I have lived my own version of "Friday Night Lights."

Clear Eyes
This means having a mindset and vision without fear. It will separate men and boys on the football field. I think back to when Red Bank beat Cleveland 20-19 with one second on the clock during the 2008 season. At halftime we were down 17-0. Cleveland was picked to win this game. No one had faith in our team that year. We were in a rebuilding season. Our players and coaches attacked this game with no fear. They had a clear vision of what they wanted to accomplish by the end of the night and they wouldn't let someone who was considered the "better" team stand in their way. I even think about this past Saturday how four true freshmen started for the Tennessee Volunteers. With barely a year out of playing high school football, it can seem impossible to earn that starting position your first year at a D1 (especially SEC) school. What was the game changer in picking a freshman over a senior to start? Clear Eyes.

Full Hearts
When you are engaged and full of passion, you are unstoppable. What sets team apart from others is their passion for the game. When dad coached from the Loudon Redskins, he never had a team that wasn't full of passion. Every Friday Night they put their heart and soul into the game. Our first two seasons at Red Bank were an absolute nightmare. Although I was only nine, it was evident that this team lacked passion. It wasn't until the third year when a senior held a team meeting in the locker room. He expressed how he was tired of losing and things are going to change for the Lions. Red Bank went 7-5 that season and then had three straight years of ten or more victories. The Lions finally put their heart into the game. If a team has a full heart or not, the fans and coaches will know it. This sets the tone of the season. Be full of loyalty, responsibility, and pride built in that makes a "team."

Can't Lose
A game I will always hold dear to my heart is when we lost to Greenville in the state quarterfinals during my junior year. That was our year. We were supposed to be the state champions. The big man upstairs had other plans. We lost 14-13 late in the fourth quarter by a missed extra point attempt. I will never, ever forget being in the middle of the field embracing my parents. It wasn't just about winning that game. It was knowing how hard my dad, the others coaches, and players worked to get up to this moment and watch it all fall to pieces. Five years later as I look back on that night, we did not lose. The coaches, players, and community believed and had faith in each other. The scoreboard showed that we lost, but in our hearts we knew everything we had accomplished that season. When Tennessee had the heart-wrenching lost to Georgia last season no one in Neyland Stadium left that game feeling absolutely defeated. What Coach Jones and the football team showed during that game did nothing but restore belief for the Volunteer nation. Even if things don't turn out the way we planned, there's a peace of mind knowing we did all we could to succeed and we did it with integrity.

Where ever life takes me, the sport of football will always be special to me. Even through all the wins and losses I wouldn't trade what my family has been through for anything. Football is more than a game. I have witnessed boys become men, a player who came from absolutely nothing turn himself into a NFL football player, and how a sport can have such an impact on someone's life. As Ray Lewis once said, "character and integrity and really making an impact on someone's life, that's the ultimate vision, that's the ultimate goal - bottom line."