Living up to expectations

Bill Curry was recruited by the Green Bay Packers.
The kid from Atlanta had never been that far north.
Defensive captain Willie Davis encouraged Curry.
"You can earn a place on this team," Davis told him.
That expectation made a difference in Curry’s commitment.
Making it to a professional football team is incredibly hard.
You have to develop a high threshold of pain.
Ray Nitschke broke Curry’s nose and knocked him out.
Curry didn’t quit — because Willie Davis had faith in him.
He couldn’t let Davis — or himself — down.
Later, Curry asked Davis why he had said what he said.
Davis said he didn’t know. There was a lesson there.
Great leaders do what’s right even if they don’t know why.
Has a great leader done something like this for you?
Have you encouraged others with your faith in them?
Remember Winston Churchill’s brief but famous speech?
"Never give in, never give in, never ever give in."
Your words of encouragement will make a difference.
Go make a difference in someone’s life today.
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How a geeky idea became a smash success

Yesterday we talked about how generosity advances dreams.
Today we’ll talk about a really geeky idea that succeeded.
Why do sports teams have mascots and names for their teams?
It builds brand awareness and fan loyalty, doesn’t it?
You don’t pull for Green Bay. You pull for the Packers.
Robert Stevens ran a small high tech company.
He hired young computer nerds to do the work.
With the growth of technology, Stevens ran into lots of competition.
Enter a vision, a dream and a strategy.
He dressed his tekkies like "The Blues Brothers".
Black suits. Trousers three inches too short showing white socks.
White shirts with a brand name on the front: The Geek Squad.
They drove VW Beetles with the Geek Squad brand name.
The nurds loved being "Geeks". Suddenly it was cool to be a "geek".
Stevens built a thriving nationwide business with a geeky idea.
This differentiated his people and his business from the competition.
Here's a challenge: What lesson can we learn from his example?
What geeky idea might differentiate us from the competition?
Think about that. Write your ideas into your journal.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about the man who revolutionized marketing.
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