Attitude

1. To me, attitude is how you react at any given time in any given situation.
2. Attitude affects leadership greatly because the way you look at something and how you react to it determines your personality and your morals and values. Others see your attitude every day, and that's part of what determines if they want to follow you or not. In my opinion great leaders are optimistic and willing to constantly have a good attitude, no matter what the circumstance.
3. Your attitude is a choice- The only person who can decide your attitude is you. You are given the privilege of deciding your attitude on life, and how you react relies souly on yourself. In sports, how you react to a play or a mistake mirrors how you react to situations like that in real life, and it helps define your character.
Your attitude determines your actions- How you feel about something is how you're going to react. If you miss a serve in volleyball and feel like you're a loser and let your team down, then that's going to show in the rest of the game. You won't play your best and you will let that one mistake turn into many that help to decide the game.
Your people are a mirror of your attitude- How you act will always rub off on others. As people say, attitude is contagious and that's so true. You must be weary that your actions and attitude are always visible to others.
4. This quote is so true because one of the few things we have total control over in this world is our own attitude. We are given the choice to decide our reactions, and that's a privilege that often gets taken for granted.

Mr. Bollinger

I believe the last point is the most important, and it says, "You are the glue between the leader and the followers." I really think point needs to be stressed because that's the whole job of an assistant coach, or the "second person". You create a type of bridge between the head coach and players considering that usually the players don't agree with everything the coach says. You have the ability to form a feeling of trust, and to solve problems between the two. That's the whole job of an assistant coach.

I believe I'm best at number three, or head coach has to trust you by what you do. I know that the coach gets a good idea of my morals and values through things outside of volleyball, so I always try to practice positive actions 24/7. I don't take place in things I don't believe are right, and I think that shows through my personality and actions. The coach gets to know me through the sport but also through my everyday life.

My weakest is number five, or know your place in the hierarchy because you may have it upside down. Sometimes I act like I'm above everyone else because I'm the leader when in reality it's just the opposite. To work on this I can ask my teammates each day what I can do for them, I can ask how their day had gone, and I can work to make sure they're happy with things on the team.

Mr. Cain's Talk

When he said, "You have the choice to entertain your thoughts" he was saying that you are the one in charge of going after your thoughts and making them come true. As a leader we have the ability to take our own ideas and make them into reality, and that's our job. We are in charge of taking thoughts (our own and others) and to our best ability somehow making them come true in any way possible.

When it comes to adversity, I try to be the coffee bean but tend to be more of the egg. Sometimes when a problem comes my way I automatically get mad and try to ignore the issue (which makes things worse) and I don't even try to think of a solution that could make things easier. So now when adversity comes my way I need to make a distinct effort to be the coffee bean...and try to see the positive side no matter how hard it is.

Mr. Diers

"Trust is in the little things like being on time, being consistent, and being present on a daily basis." This means that with volleyball (year round not just during season) I need to always arrive to practice at least 10 minutes early, always give 100% 100% of the time, and come to every practice, open gym, weights, etc. even if I really don't want to be there. By doing small things like this I can earn the trust of my teammates. Also, "empowering good people" is important in leadership because soon enough you will be gone and it's your responsibility to have great leaders stepping up behind you. In my opinion that's the biggest part of helping Palisade sports...preparing younger people for the great role they will be expected to fill.

That quote is very inspirational because it's saying that the only way you ever have a chance at succeeding is if you step out and try. Someone who gives their all, even if it results in failing, is much more credible, respectable and honorable than someone who was too scared to take a chance, to take a step into the unknown, for they are the cowards who deserve nothing. As Jay Bilas said, "The most important play in any game is the next one."

Initiative and Perseverance

Initiative:
I can show better initiative in my own life and leadership capabilities by starting things that I know will be hard but still sticking to them in the end. I'm lacking initiative in school and doing mt work because it's almost summer, and I just want to be done with school. I can help solve this problem by doing my homework right when I get home so that I don't keep procrastinating, I can make sure that I turn in all my homework by the time they're due, and have someone in every class help hold me accountable.
Perseverance:
I could take that person aside one day and ask what's going on in their personal life and ask how I could help in any way. I could also try to keep motivating them every day, even if it doesn't seem to be helping at first. I could keep telling them to persevere even when things are getting hard and keep trying to be positive while persevering. I can remind them that perseverance is "needed to release most of life's rewards."

Power of One 3/5/10

The video that stood out the most to me was the Power of One, because that boy had the passion and heart for life itself that a leader could only dream for everyone on their team. Even though he only had one leg, he was always optimistic about everything which is crazy because almost every one of us would look at it as a downfall. Instead though, he had the courage to keep moving forward and be the best he could be, which ended up being better than many others his age without any disabilities. And along with affecting the boy, the parents also had to make huge sacrifices. It wasn't easy for them to decide to have their son's leg amputated, but they took that leap of faith and in the end it really paid off. Their son used what he had to excel, and he passed up everyones expectations. Without courage or sacrifice from anyone in that family, he wouldn't be anywhere near where he is today. That is an excellent example of leadership for us all to follow.

Courage and Sacrifice 3/5/10

In one of John Maxwell's books he writes, "The heart of good leadership is sacrifice," and I believe this is true because without true sacrifice, you can't lead. In your heart you must be willing to give up your wants and needs for the wants and needs of others, because truly you should care more about the success as a team than the success of yourself individually. I don't think you can be considered a "good" leader unless you're selfless and are willing to take sacrifice to an intense level...as said before you have to be willing to take risks and step out into the unknown in order to increase your leadership potential.

When looking at those who you influence, courage must be evident. I think this varies with the person or the sport, but personally I show courage by being able to stand up for my own ways and beliefs, no matter what others say about them. In Leadership Gold it says, "I can't lead people if I need people" and this makes sense. Not in an arrogant way considering technically everyone needs people, but in a sense that at times a true leader must move forward, taking a courageous step and not waiting for others' approval. I'm not great at this of course, but I'm really working on it because I believe, or hope, that if others see me being courageous and not trying to blend in with the crowd then they will admire this and want to follow.
Your dedication to potential must remain stronger than your desire to appease others.

You have to have courage to lead because you can only take great steps ahead if you risk something in return. The whole point of leading is to take others where they are too afraid to go themselves without someone else taking that first step; you must be willing to sacrifice your own feelings of contentment and be courageous in order to move forward. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stand at times of challenge and controversy." For your true character to come out as a leader you must first be willing to show courage.