POWERFUL QUOTE MOTIVATES ME – MAYBE YOU TOO

This morning, while sitting in the airport at DFW, I was logged onto my Twitter account (@kraigkann) and checking in on the daily “tweets.”

Here’s what came up from my friends at the University of Missouri Baseball program.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Wow. How true this is. And how applicable it is to me at this stage of life, and also my company, HTK MEDIA, as we continue to make inroads and grow as consultants & media trainers in the sports industry.

Think about the quote as it applies to sports and television.

* Did the Golf Channel -which had hopes of becoming a global network dedicated to the game, figure 50 million homes was a good stopping point? Or was there something in place to take it above 100 million?

I just read in Sports Business Journal that MLB Network, which launched in 2009 with 50 million homes, has only added 5 million since. And there’s no way they’ll stop there.

* Does Notre Dame have something in place to help them restore the tradition and the reputation that once had the school among the great powerhouses in football and basketball?

Brian Kelly is not just a “hire.” He’s a leader, and a builder of programs. And he does it in short order. Grand Valley State became a small school with a big resume in a very short time. Central Michigan turned the Mid-American Conference on its heels in no time. And Cincinnati went from Big East school to BCS contender and national title hopeful on his watch.

* Does a Major League Baseball team just hope that someday all the pieces will come together and – wham – the post season will fall in their lap and a World Series title will follow?

I guarantee you that every MLB franchise is trying to build from within. There’s a plan to assemble and stockpile draft choices that become minor league assets and puzzle pieces. It starts from the top, filters down to the lowest level.

Player of Year?

* Did Matt Kuchar think he’d be a 3-time PGA TOUR winner and the tour’s leader in the “all around” statistical category overnight?

Not a chance. In fact, while contending at the PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, he talked about someone telling him that it was a 10-year learning process that would lead to a “comfort zone” that would then lead to consistent success. Kuchar won the Barclays on Sunday...clearly his biggest win yet. And we all know that golf tournament trophies don’t just fall in your lap.

Hey, I’m no different than most of you. A life without goals gives you little direction. I’ve set them my whole life. In fact, years ago while attending a camp during a summer off from High School, we were asked to list our goals, put them in an envelope and open the envelope ten years later. I did it. And found that I’d achieved more than three-quarters of the things on my list.

Years later, I’m about to do it again. I think it helps your mind, creates energy and sets an example that those who are standing still are being passed and passed quickly. I’m fortunate to have a collection of good people who represent me at CSE (Career Sports & Entertainment.) We talk a lot about what I want to do and where I want to go. But getting it and getting there is much more than just a conversation. It’s about a plan we have in place and how we implement it.

Every day, I go to work trying to figure out how to get better. I look at each day as a challenge. And in some books I’ve read recently about life and business, I’ve come to believe that there really are “clock punchers” who show up and do only what they are told to do…. and others who are “creators” who show up with an energy to deliver something above what is expected. Not necessarily for their employer...but for themselves. Add to your inner-resume every day and you’ll be the indispensable employee when somebody’s going to be shown the door.

New Stadium for the Mean Green

I’ll again go back to a meeting I just had in Denton, TX. The University of North Texas is currently the only Division I school that’s got a football stadium under construction. Was their current stadium “serviceable?” Yes. But they don’t want status quo. The athletic directors want something better for their program, their teams and their students. Is it easy to get to the top in big-time college football? No. Does it happen overnight? No. They convinced me they have a plan in place to make their goal something within reach.

In starting HTK MEDIA, my goal was to align ourselves with athletes, and athletic programs that want to better themselves. Getting there requires a lot of work. And teams like North Texas intrigue me more than teams like USC. I enjoy the challenge of helping people get to their goal more than taking people who’ve achieved so much already and attempting to convince them that there’s more out there.

I’ll give you the quote one more time.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

I left Dallas-Ft. Worth today after spending time with my 96 year-old grandfather who’s been struggling with eye trouble among other things. 3 months ago he was going to the gym 3 days a week and otherwise fairly healthy. Now things don’t look so good. He may never see again and there’s impending surgery but only if he can regain some strength he’s lost after a 3 week hospital stay. There are no guarantees. As I told my Mom when I left, “he can get there, but we can’t just wish it to happen. “

Then I drove to the airport and read this quote. Man, coincidence or what?