Tag Archives: Gordie Howe

Stub your Toe? Get Up ‘n Go

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By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you smile in the face of immediate adversity. Reading time 2:55.

You got off on the wrong foot. You stumbled out of the block. Now you’re sure your project is doomed.

Jack Nicklaus

Well cheer up! The most effective leaders battle back from tough starts. They stub their toe and get back up and go. Consider that:

PABLO PICASSO was born dead. His uncle –a physician- tried an innovative approach (breathing cigar smoke into the baby’s nostrils to shock the newborn’s lungs) and revived him. Picasso, the 20th century’s most innovative artist, turned a tough start into spectacular show over his lifetime.

So did the following six sports legends.

Jack Nicklaus

JACK NICKLAUS, the greatest professional golfer of all time, took his first swing as a professional golfer and drowned his golf ball. He hit his drive into the water. From that pro exhibition match in Miami, Nicklaus went on to win a record 18 major tournaments including six Masters Championships, five PGA Championships, four US Opens and three British Opens. That’s two more than the combined total of Arnold Palmer (7) and Gary Player (9) and three times as many as Lee Trevino (6). Tiger Woods (14) needs five more major victories to unseat Nicklaus.

Lou Gehrig

LOU GEHRIG struck out in his first at bat in the major leagues—on three straight pitches. Yet Gehrig went on to set 45 major league baseball records, including a then-record 2,130 starts over a 14-year span. Continue reading →

Overcoming Injury Against Overwhelming Odds

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By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here are few inspiring stories to help you stay the course in adversity.

Ben Hogan battled back from a terrible car accident to win the US Open

You’re driving on a two-lane highway in the predawn darkness. Suddenly you see four headlights beaming abreast of each other and heading directly towards you. As you get closer, you see that the four headlights belong to a Greyhound bus and a truck. The bus is trying to pass the truck when suddenly the hand of death SLAPS you hard! Painfully hard.

You lie torn, twisted and tangled in a head-on collision with the Greyhound bus. You lie helpless, hapless and hopeless in your prison of personal pain. You lie virtually paralyzed –a whisper away from death’s door for four months.

Suddenly. Incredibly. Miraculously. You recover. And just over a year later, you win one of the most prestigious and competitive sporting events in history. Sound farfetched? Who could defy death like that? Who could defy the odds like that? Who could defy destiny like that. Golf great Ben Hogan—that’s who.

In 1950, just 16 months after his head-on collision with a bus, Ben Hogan amazed the sporting world with his stunning comeback. He won the US Open in a strenuous 36-hole playoff. How inspiring!

Whenever I find myself complaining about a flu bug or just plain feeling lousy, I think of leaders like Ben Hogan and Continue reading →