Keep your knees bent and your head in the game.

To pay for room and board during my first year in college, I was fortunate to find a job on campus. Seeing the obvious benefits, I quickly found myself pulling staples off dorm room walls for the first few weeks of summer. In spite of that first assignment, life couldn’t have been better. I was now living on my own, living comfortably as far as college students go, and I had recently been accepted to the school’s rowing team.

During that first week of summer I was feeling pretty comfortable in my new job. The type of work I was doing certainly gave me time to think about other things. All that changed, however, after a certain union worker assigned to the college campus that summer simply had enough of my so-called lackadaisical attitude. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been afraid of work, but this guy obviously had a higher calling and was determined to teach me a thing or two about getting more accomplished in a day’s work.

I’ve got to tell you that having a boss who played defensive line in the NFL leaves behind an indelible mark on a person. This guy addressed each day and every task like it was his offensive opponent. It didn’t matter what type of job it was — his attitude was get it done or get off the field.

You might say that a little pressure from the boss did me a world of good. Over time I started to feel less concerned about my job and more interested in proving my worth. Ironically, the rest of that summer was a blast workwise. Not only did I end up learning a lot about myself, I also began to learn a trade that would later become my career. Best of all, I made a friendship that has now lasted more than twenty years.

Here’s the kicker…

A few weeks ago I took time out to watch my son’s basketball practice. Matthew really likes basketball and we both like shooting some hoops together before dinner. At practice, however, I was surprised to notice that he stood out there on court like a soldier in formation, arms straight to his side and knees that appeared locked in position. As you can well imagine, his rigid stance made it hard for him to respond quickly.

Without saying too much on the matter, I encouraged Matthew to work on keeping his knees bent and feet spread out whenever he’s on the court. My advice served two purposes: Matthew’s new stance would help him to respond faster and would also serve to keep his head in the game at all times. Well, it worked. In fact, Matthew came home from his next practice indicating that his coach told him he was really improving. Man, was I pleased to hear that.

Subsequently, before each practice or game Matthew knows what I’m going to ask: “Matt, what are we going to remember to do today?” And with a big smile, he exclaims, “Keep my knees bent.” And what else? “And my head in the game.” While I’m pretty sure Matthew knows that’s only half the game, he understands better what he’s capable of accomplishing.

As an adult, I have realized that I often need to ask myself that same question. Keeping my head in the game helps me to stay productive and focused on the jobs at hand.

Sincerely,

Bent Mikkelsen, Publisher