I went to Penn State and though I’m not a huge college football fan, it was impossible to not feel the impact of Paterno’s passing in Penn State Land this week. So I wanted to pay tribute by sharing a few of my favorite JoePa quotes.
“You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the mark of a true professional.”
I’ve been thinking about this idea a lot lately. What’s the difference between good and great? I believe it’s being able to perform at a higher level consistently. It’s easy to be better one day a year, or one day a month. To be something different, you have to be able to deliver beyond all others on a consistent basis. That means consistency – When it’s cold outside; When you don’t feel like it; When you didn’t get what you wanted; When you feel like nobody is watching. You can’t build a reputation for excellence on, “Yeah, sometimes she does a really good job, other times she just doesn’t put the effort in.”
“Believe deep down in your heart that you’re destined to do great things.”
This one should probably go before the first one because it’s what makes that consistency a little easier to deliver. If you believe in yourself (really, really, believe) you can perform when the chips are down, because that’s what you were put here to do. To do anything less would be to deny fate. Have the audacity to believe that you can do great things and push yourself to do them.
“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.”
This one is classic. I’m reminded of the Saturday Night Live skit where Sarah Palin is telling Hillary Clinton that you just “have to want it.” Hillary laments that Palin is probably right, if there was one thing she could have done more it was “want it.” The point here is that everybody wants success. You have to be willing to put the work in (and here’s that word again) on a consistent basis. That means two of Coach Paterno’s favorite things; studying and practice. For those of us not privileged enough to walk between the white lines, that means analysis and testing.
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