Change your dreams or change your habits
This past Saturday I attended the Walter Camp Awards Ceremony in New Haven, Connecticut. For my day job, I work in marketing for Lexus and we have a sponsorship with the Walter Camp Foundation. We had Lexus vehicles on display and one of our Lexus dealers presented the award to the player of the year. Aside from these sponsorship elements, I was not sure what to expect out of the evening. The attire was black tie so I grabbed the dress I wore to my sister's wedding, which I could barely squeeze into and off I went to New Haven.
Before the awards ceremony kicked off there was a happy hour. I was sitting with my coworker, eating cheese and minding my own business when an older woman looked at me and said “what brings you here?” In my mind I thought, “well, I am here because I need a paycheck and in order to get that paycheck I have to do shit like this.” Instead, I smiled and said, “I work in marketing for Lexus, we are one of the sponsors of the event.” She was clearly feeling her second plastic cup of red wine and went on to tell us her life story. At first I thought, how do I escape but then as I listened I was drawn to her and what she had to say.
She was a retired school principal of twenty years and a mother of three. I asked her for her main piece of advice for raising children and working with children for over two decades. She told me that whenever something went wrong with her students or children she would say to them, “help me understand.”
I loved this. The times when I have personally struggled in any relationship (friend, coworker, family, etc.) there was a disconnect with communication and understanding. This simple question is a way to level the playing field and get on the same page. She also said that you can’t help anyone unless they ask for help. I really liked hearing this reminder as well. It’s easy to feel like you can help someone when their problem seems obvious. When it’s not your own shit it’s easy to sit back and think, well if you just did this, you could fix it. I have a lot of my own shit and I am sure people could help me untangle it, but sometimes you have to untangle the web yourself or else you won’t know how you got out and you will find yourself in the same mess later on.
After parting ways with our new best friend, we headed upstairs for dinner and the awards ceremony where the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award was presented. The recipient was Caleb Williams. Caleb is projected to be the number one draft pick into the NFL next year. When he walked up to the podium to accept the award, the room of over 700 people went silent. He had such a captivating presence.
Caleb talked about the adversity he faced when he wasn’t getting playing time. He said his mantra is “change your dreams or change your habits.” He wasn’t going to change his dreams of being the best, so he took it upon himself to change his daily habits to get him to where he wanted to go. Once he put his head down and did the work, he was getting playing time and quickly proved that he was the best on the field. This resonated with me. It was a reminder that in order to do great things, you must also do hard things. He took matters into his own hands to create the life he wanted.
I drove out of town the next morning feeling inspired. I was inspired by one of the best college football players in the country as well as a nice, overly chatty woman I just happened to bump into. It’s a reminder that inspiration can come from anywhere and you never know who can have a lasting impact. I encourage you to listen to anyone you come in contact with, you never know who will teach you your next lesson or what impact it will have.
XO,
Torey