One of my escapes is watching sports. I love the competition. I love the storylines. I love bonding with a group of people. I love bonding with my sons, Andrew and Tyler, over sports. Sports represent commitment, dedication, dealing with challenges, mindset, and other personal development concepts that I explore throughout most of my work. Since I like sports and need downtime to ruminate about what I will write about for the future, I often have sports talk in the background.

One of my favorite talk show hosts is Colin Cowherd. I’ve been engaging with his program for about two decades, and I feel that he transcends sports into life. His concepts are relevant to more than sports. Here are my favorite concepts that he talks about. These concepts go beyond the world of sports and can be applied to almost any endeavor. Looking at these concepts from the vantage point of personal development and goal achievement can be very beneficial.

1.   Don’t chase money. Chase management. He often tells young sportscasters who are just starting their careers not to chase money but to chase management. He argues that there is a sea of money out there but a lack of good management. One of my tenets is to build a network of support. It is important to be influenced and supported by success-minded people. I believe there are a handful of people who can help others feel energized about the future and their place in it. Invest in the pursuit of good people who you can follow, learn from, and can support you.
2.   Nothing is everything, and everything is something. Part of Cowherd’s job is to synthesize different pieces of information in order to disseminate opinions. He does not want to rely on only one piece of information. One piece of information is not the whole story. On the other end of the spectrum, every single piece of relevant information is a tiny puzzle piece. Ignoring a small piece might destroy the picture. Part of success is varying the weight placed on different types of information. People have difficulty ignoring relevant information or putting too much weight on information.
3.   Don’t be right. Get it right. Every Monday morning, he has a segment called “Where Colin Was Right, Where Colin Was Wrong.” Part of his job is to predict the future based on current information. Since information is constantly changing Cowherd has to update his information frequently. He does not want to be tied to an opinion when everything is changing. People don’t like being wrong, but even more than that, they don’t like admitting that they are wrong. If you don’t admit that you are wrong and update your information, it will be challenging to make better decisions in the future. Every time I want to improve my life, there comes a time when I have to admit that I was wrong or my assumptions were not wholly accurate. I’m actually happy when I am wrong. Yes. You heard that right. I want to know where I was wrong. If I don’t know, I can’t update my information, and I can’t make better decisions.
4.   College quarterbacks from challenging situations are sometimes better in the NFL. I love this concept because it’s something that I write about a lot and have thought about even more. Since it’s more challenging for me to interact physically, my disability has afforded me the time to think deeply, and I do most of my work in my head. I’m always thinking. Before I write something, I go through it in my head repeatedly. Dealing with challenges correctly provides creativity, tenacity, a will to win, and other benefits. These are the same things that propel someone to success. There’s a big caveat. If you are focused solely on your challenges and not learning the lessons, then challenges won’t pay off for you. If a college quarterback complains about not having the right situation, acts like a victim, or does not take to coaching, then the lessons will simply not be there.

I look for ideas and strategies that I can write about. Wherever I am, I’m always looking for something that can help me, motivate me, inspire me, and that I can pay forward.