Each morning, weather permitting, I go outside around 5:45 or 6:00 and sit at a spot next to a pond in our backyard.
I love starting my day there.
I look out at the mountain, watch and listen to the birds, pray, read, think about the day before, plan out the day ahead, or just think whatever thoughts come into my head. (If you’d like to see my spot, I did my video this week from there, and I showed the views from my seat there.)
Last Sunday morning, I was reading my Meditations of Ralph Waldo Emerson book. This book is from a series that includes Emerson, John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman.
The books have short passages from the author whose works are highlighted in that book. But on the page opposite the short passage from the author, there is a quote from someone else.
On that morning, the quote I read was from philosopher & poet, Friedrich Nietzsche. While Nietzsche was not the most positive, upbeat guy in the world, this quote is not like a lot of his writing.
Another Sign?
The quote is, “Life consists of rare, isolated moments of the greatest significance.”
Once again, I felt like I was hit with a sign.
As I’ve told you for a few months now, I was receiving signs telling me that I had to start a project I had been thinking of for almost a year.
Those signs first started for me when I was reading the book Change Your World by John Maxwell and Rob Hoskins. Throughout the book, I felt like I was receiving signs to get moving on my project. So I did a series of podcast episodes, videos, and posts on that book.
While doing the series, I read two more books that did the same thing to me, and once again, I realized I needed to get moving on my project.
Then, two weeks ago I announced my new program called SlamDunk Significance as a way for all of us to help create the best experience possible for kids.
Last week’s theme was Coaching for Significance, and then on Sunday, this Nietzsche quote showed up in my book.
See a pattern here?
The concept of significance keeps showing up in my life, telling me I’m onto something with my new program.
Time to Act!
Nietzsche’s quote is no exception. In fact, maybe the quote itself is actually a “rare, isolated moment of greatest significance” for me.
When he says, “Life consists of rare, isolated moments of the greatest significance,” not only is he telling that to all of us, that we have so many moments of great significance that make up our lives, but he may also be telling me that it’s time to move forward with my idea that I believe will provide great significance for coaches and athletes.
That is exactly what I have felt since I first had the idea for SlamDunk Significance. And while I didn’t have that name in mind at first, the concept of doing all that we can to help kids have the best athletic experience possible was such a significant idea, that when the word “significance” kept showing up in my world, I knew that something significant was happening.
My goal for SlamDunk Significance is to provide funding for opportunities for coaches’ education for teams, schools, & leagues to help coaches become coaches of significance who work to create positive athletic experiences for kids.
Interestingly enough, just this past week, I had a school principal say to me, “We can’t afford you.” I don’t think she even knows how much we charge for presentations. She just knows that she doesn’t have the budget to bring in speakers/trainers to help her coaches.
Ironically, she will have four different professional development days for teachers throughout the year, yet the chances are greater that she will have more problems within the coaching/athletic realm than she will in any other realm. If she would devote part of her professional development budget to coach education, she could minimize the number of problems that she will potentially be dealing with.
But most schools cannot afford to do that.
That is why I am seeking financial assistance from professional athletes, professional/college coaches, and anyone with the financial means to help out who recognizes the importance of the athletic experience on the joy, growth, and development of young people.
With their assistance, we can help provide kids the kinds of positive, outstanding athletic experiences that many of those professionals say played a huge role in them rising to the top levels of their sports.
In my last two posts, I told you a few ways you can join our mission, and I will remind you once again what those are:
- If you’re a coach, athletic director, or league director, and you would like to have us pay for a speaker to come to your school, fill out the application under the “Schools/Leagues & ADs/Coaches” section on the SlamDunk Significance page.
- If you’re a speaker/trainer and you would like to be connected with teams, schools, or leagues looking for professional development for their coaches, kids, administrators, and/or parents, fill out the application under the “Trainers/Speakers” section of the SlamDunk Significance page.
- If you’re an athlete, coach, or someone who would like to donate to help teams, schools, and leagues create positive athletic programs for kids by bringing in quality speakers and trainers, click on any button on the SlamDunk Significance page to be taken to our GoFundMe page.
- If you would like to volunteer to help out in any way, email me at scott@slamdunksuccess.com.
- SPREAD THE WORD!! Tell anyone and everyone you know about what we are trying to do to help kids have great athletic experiences. And if you know anyone with the financial means to make a donation to our mission, please let them know about it.
I hope you will consider joining us or helping us out in some way.
After all, our kids deserve to have “moments of the greatest significance,” too. It’s up to us to help them achieve those through their athletic experience.
The more we do that, the less “rare and isolated” those moments of significance will be for them.
And that would be a great thing!