Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Good morning 👋 !

Welcome to this week’s edition of the newsletter! As the summer heats up, so does the world of soccer/football. This week, football fans were treated to an action-packed spectacle across Europe's top leagues and beyond. Here are the key highlights that you won't want to miss:

1. Premier League Drama: The headline game of the week was Manchester City's 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. Both teams showcased attacking flair, with City's Erling Haaland and Spurs' Son Heung-min playing pivotal roles in a match filled with goals and excitement. In another game, Manchester City also secured a 4-0 victory against Fulham, with a dominant display that underlined their title credentials​.

2. La Liga Action: Villarreal and Atlético Madrid played out a dramatic 2-2 draw. The match was a rollercoaster with both teams taking the lead at different points, only for Atlético to rescue a point late in the game. Meanwhile, Real Valladolid managed a 1-0 win over Espanyol, continuing their solid start to the season​.

3. International and Domestic Highlights: Juventus started their Serie A campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Como, setting the tone for their season. In the MLS, Lionel Messi made headlines with an assist in his 2024 debut for Inter Miami, leading them to a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake​.

Here’s what you’ll find in this week newsletter :

• 💰 Treasure From ‘Pound The Stone’

• 🔥 The Vow That Transformed Us

Click 'Listen Online' at the top of the this newsletter email and enjoy our brand new Audio Newsletter feature 🎧

Happy reading 👋

TREASURE FROM ‘POUND THE STONE’

I read a book recently called Pounding the Stone by Joshua Medcalf. The story is about a high school basketball player who is on the path to mastering himself. He is met with unexpected challenges along the way and learns the true meaning of grit to build his character. He also experiences winning both on and off the court throughout the story.

In this week’s Chalk Talk, I am sharing with you some of the big lessons I most resonate with in the book.

1. Trust The Proccess

“Trust the process”

I am certain you have heard these words time and time again. Sometimes it feels like trusting the process isn’t really going anywhere. Whenever it feels like that, you are more focused on the outcome than what is happening right now.

Ever look at the clock so much that it seems like time is moving slower than normal? This is the same idea when it comes to giving attention to the result of what you want.

The book, Pound the Stone mentions a story about a stonecutter. It may take a stonecutter 101 tries to cut a block of stone in half. Close to the final strike, it might not look like there are any cracks in the stone. But, on the final strike, the stone seems to magically break in half. 

Did the stone break because of the 101st attempt? Or was it the result of the first 100 strikes?

Sometimes we pound the stone day in and day out and it feels like we aren’t reaching any breakthroughs. Trusting the process means letting go of your attachment to the outcome. Trusting the process allows you to build yourself as a person. 

Life is more about what you are becoming than what you can get out of it. Everything you are doing right now is building you for the next stage of your life. Everything you have done prior led you to the stage you are in right now. You won’t reach your goal overnight because it is the small wins and “failures” over time that are the stepping stones for the platform of your life. Each attempt at your goal shapes your character and shows you who you are. 

We are in a rush to be something we aren’t ready to be. If everything you wanted today landed in your house, would you honestly be ready for it? 

2. Grit

“The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.” - Mia Hamm

I remember sleepless nights dreaming about what it would be for me to play at the highest level and what I needed to do to get there. As a kid, I remember constantly riding my bike miles with one soccer ball to train alone only to get kicked off the private fields at Patton Park in my hometown in Jacksonville, shortly after I started my workout. I remember in college wanting to quit soccer at least once every year because of the mental demand. I remember graduating and wanting to fulfill my dream and become a pro. I remember waking up at 5 am every weekday in the summer to train with the FIU Men’s team, then going to the gym to lift with my strength coach Jesus Gallo, then training at night with a U18 boys team. I remember thinking about where my next meal was coming from, being totally broke on the path to becoming a pro and questioning whether or not this was for me. Then, I remember signing my first contract to play in the Bundesliga 2. I remember signing a second contract to play in Sweden. I remember getting called to help Jamaica qualify for its first-ever World Cup. I remember controlling my breath as I walked up to take the 3rd penalty in the deciding match for the qualification to the World Cup. I remember busting my knee in training 4 months before the World Cup and getting a call from my coach that he might not roster me. I remember telling myself that he’s delusional so I busted my ass, loved the grind, and deep down knew that I would be there with my team. Finally, I remember standing in the Stade de Alpes in France at the 2019 Women’s World Cup thinking, “I said I was going to do this and I really did it.” I remember the bonds created with my teammates. I remember God testing my faith through this whole process and my growth as a person as a result.

Grit is about your willingness to get your hands dirty without gripe. Whenever I’m faced with a challenge, whether it is on the field or off the field, I look forward to the grind. I’m ready to get after it, completely immersed, completely focused to annihilate the task in front of me. Grit is about pushing yourself especially when things aren’t looking the best or aren’t going your way. Grit is about never giving up no matter the circumstances or what is happening to you. Grit is the rawness, the realness of the grind. Grit is bringing your fight to the ring and being the last one standing.

Without the ability to trust that everything will work out in your favor and the ability to get in there and straight up hustle, you will miss out on the outcomes of your life that you deeply desire. Give yourself reasons to shine instead of excuses to hide your light. When you’re working, go beyond what you imagine you’re capable of. Go for your heart’s desires and go all out. Remember that we only have right now. There really is no tomorrow because we can’t guarantee that we will see it and yesterday has already left. Life is a bunch of right-nows passing in perpetuity. So while you’re working super hard, don’t be too hard on yourself and pressure yourself with outcomes. You will not have fun along the way. The joy is in the journey.

THE VOW THAT TRANSFORMED US

It was a brisk night on a beautiful pitch in Corvallis, Oregon. I laced my Copas and was thrilled for the task ahead. It was my freshman year and one of the most anticipated games of our non-conference season. Oregon is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. With towering pines, lots of cheerful people, and lights that made night time look bright, it seemed to me like Christmas arrived in September. I remembered having a lovely feeling inside as I stepped on the pitch at Oregon State. I was excited to work. The whistle blew and before I knew it, 90 minutes went by, the whistle blew again and it was 7-0. My world was rocked. I don’t even remember what happened in the game. All I knew was that everything felt off and we got played around like a bunch of cones. It seemed like goal after goal was coming and there was nothing we could do to stop them. Usually I remember what our coach says to us as he was never shy to deliver his thoughts about our performance, but oddly I didn’t remember anything. Maybe I was too lost calculating the events that unfolded in the game.

The next day at practice our seniors called us forth. We all agreed that our performance was nothing short of awful. We all agreed that Oregon State was a top team and the game was challenging. We all agreed that no matter what happened in that game, we would move forward together as a team. We knew we had more in us. All of us understood this and agreed upon this. Our senior captains let us know that they have our backs and that in order to move forward in a positive direction and get results, part of our play needed to be for one another. Our captains looked at us sternly and made us own up to our own individual responsibilities and help each other with their responsibilities as a collective. On that day, we vowed to die for each other on the field. We had a wonderful relationship all around during my freshman year and it was quite a blessing. We made a promise to ourselves and to each other that we would play our hearts out. In honorable character, we could never break a promise.

We left the field refreshed and refocused as the following day we faced the University of Oregon. Another tough team. We didn’t care about the scouting reports and results on paper. We didn’t know what the result of the game would be. We did know that we made a promise to leave everything on the field and give everything ounce of what we had to ourselves, each other, and the game. I don’t remember the details of the game. I remember being physically exhausted and it was like I was fighting for my life, as many games felt that way. Right now, I had to search up the stat sheet to see exactly how the game played out. (I didn’t remember I scored but that was pretty cool to find.) We were up 2-0 in the first half. One goal scored against and it was anybody’s game. No wonder it felt like I was fighting for my life because we kept the game in our favor for an entire second half. Allowing one goal from the opponent in the 62nd minute, it was crunch time and one more goal would mean we gave the game away. We ended up winning. I remember feeling so proud and so accomplished because we came together as one body and mind, and delivered on our vows. The feeling was indescribable. Powerful. Before the whistle blew, we circled up, put our hands together and said, “I promise.” And, we have done it every game since in my freshman year.

One person can make a difference in the game but it is all players contributing together that make the biggest difference. No matter your position or your role, if you’re a starter or a non-starter, if you are injured, or an equipment or team manager, you are one part of the whole body. The whole body cannot function without every part involved. You can have a head, but if you have no eyes, you cannot see. You can have arms, but if you have no hands, you cannot grasp. All parts must come together in oneness to become a driving force. Think about this the next time you step on the field with your teammates. Your spirits fused with one another make powerful moments happen in games. It seemed like we changed a team culture overnight because we were all connected to a single purpose. I believe chemistry is one of the most important parts of a well-functioning and successful team. I remember literally having nothing left in me but knowing the soldier next to me needs me to recover for her, so I run 40 yards back to defend a ball when my legs have nothing to give and my mind is carrying my body weight. On the flip side, I knew that my teammates had my back and I could trust them when I needed help. You need to play for yourself first but understand that playing for something bigger than yourself opens another force within you and wills you to finish the task at hand. Playing not only for myself but for my teammates did exactly that. In my freshman year at FIU, I was placed in the Sun Belt All Conference team and was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. I had no idea I was going to get those awards and they were not in my sights. I was just keeping the promise I made and these things came to me out of the blue.

Make a vow right now to yourself that you will give your heart in every game. There is no measuring this. You will feel if you are dying for the game or if you are just counting the minutes that go by. You may be able to fake your heart to your parents, to your team, to your coach, but deep down you know you cannot fake yourself out. You know when you have given everything that you literally have nothing left to give and you know when you left something on the table. When you don’t go all the way, there is a lingering sense of guilt that most of the time we try to push away and pretend that we don’t care or that it doesn’t bother us, but it does. And, that’s a weak response. Don’t leave anything on the table. Go big, get after it, and give your heart. Start the initiative within your team to make a promise to each other and hold each other accountable. No matter what situations you will face, you are in this together. No one on my team was afraid to make each other own up to their own mistakes. We called each other out when we knew things weren’t right and could be done better. We held each other to a higher standard and we held ourselves to the same standards. Individually, we weren’t afraid to admit that we made mistakes ourselves. Be inspired to make and keep promises to die for your teammates. Your teammates need to know that you have their back–that they can count on you. And, you need to deliver on that promise and show up for them. Give it everything you got, watch your team dynamic change, and your individual growth skyrocket.

(Thank you to all of the 2011 FIU women’s soccer seniors who bitched and barked at us and loved us hard. To April, Vicky, Kelly, Deana, Carly, and Courtney.)

I want to hear some stories about your experiences with teammates who ignited a fire in you or whom you were to die for and your relationships with them. Email me at [email protected] and I’d love to share your stories with others.

Join the Inner Circle: Special Invitation!

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• FREE 3-Month Access: Enjoy FREE access to the Skool platform for 3 months! This includes full access to our mindset course and all the features we’re rolling out

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• Win a 1-Year Membership: Share why you should be selected and invite friends to join the course or calls. Each referral boosts your chances and earns rewards!

Interested? Email us at [email protected] with your story and why you’re passionate about joining. We can’t wait to hear from you!