RIP Caden. The class of ‘24 lost one of their very best. To his friends, I’m so sorry. For those who didn’t know him, you missed knowing a very special person. Cherish each moment.
The 2024 AP US Government & Politics Exam scores:
5: 24%; 4: 25%; 3: 24%; 2: 18%; 1: 9%
All subjects’ AP score distributions for 2024 will be posted here when available: https://t.co/dGHdSrtbBF
Niccolò Machiavelli, the Renaissance political philosopher, is best known for his work "The Prince," in which he offers advice to rulers on how to gain and maintain power.
Here are 10 key principles distilled from his writings:
Kids have to learn to dig deep, struggle & fight their way out of adversity. You can pay to put them on every kind of competitive team, get them a trainer/equipment/extra practice, but if they can’t claw their way past troubles that WILL come, they’ll never develop as athletes!
Teaching the Constitution to students and then listening to politicians and justices has me thinking I’m teaching in an alternate universe to political reality. Calling the unit Foundational Philosophy and Documents will be renamed Forgotten Philosophy and Documents.
While some might see this as a partisan repost, it is not. It is an explanation of what is happening wrt bill making and budget making - topics we’ve just addressed in class. Yes, this is a Dem complaining. Read the posts for the process and the implications.
It's hard to explain how dysfunctional the @HouseGOP is, and the degree to which their own internal divisions are superseding every normal function of government. But I'm going to try with a short story about this week in the house. Thread:
Larry Bird said, "I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end."
Success comes from doing the work.
🔹It comes from your work ethic
🔹It comes from your preparation
🔹It comes from your discipline
Larry said what drove him is when a coach told him, "Larry, no matter how much you work at it, there's always someone out there who's working just a little harder - if you take 150 practice shots, he's taking 200."
Larry said that comment always drove his work ethic and desire to get better.
He said, "I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody – somewhere – was practicing more than me."
How Larry Bird's Work Ethic and Practice Habits Prepared Him for Success:
1. Practice Harder Than Your Play
When you train hard, it becomes easier to compete because you have tested your mind, body, and skills.
Larry Bird's practice habits were legendary. He would wake up and shoot baskets first thing in the morning and then go for a run before practice. He would practice with the team and then he would shoot more shots, lift weights, and then run again. Coaches would bring their teams early to the Celtics arena to see him working out pre-game. O, one team even saw him running stadiums pregame.
2. Practice with Purpose
You have to spend time being intentional and practicing what matters.
Larry Bird would start each morning with 500 jump shots and he had to make 99 free throws in a row or he would start again. He would want to get up as many shots as he possibly could, but he kept shooting until the ball sounded right. There was no end timeline, the goal was excellence in everything he did.
3. Practice to Perform
The goal is a mindset of excellence. When you practice to perform, you're confident enough to overcome that feeling of pressure.
Bird said, "I never felt pressure...Because going into those games you never knew what was going to happen. I always had enough confidence in my game, and I put in the time and the hard work."
His former teammate Bill Walton said, "He wore that body out with the jumpers and the run and the movement and concentration and the focus, discipline and sacrifice. He had it all."
4. Practice The Fundamentals
Look at the fundamentals in your discipline and start with mastering those because creativity and innovation all stem from it.
In high school, Larry Bird didn't play against the best competition but he excelled in high school and college because he practiced the fundamentals. He practiced dribbling, passing, shooting, and positioning. Bird said, "You've got to have them down before you can even think about playing."
"You can make all the excuses you want, but if you're not mentally tough and you're not prepared to play every night, you're not going to win." - Larry Bird
- - -
Follow @coachajkings for more content like this!
Larry Bird said, "I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end."
Success comes from doing the work.
🔹It comes from your work ethic
🔹It comes from your preparation
🔹It comes from your discipline
Larry said what drove him is when a coach told him, "Larry, no matter how much you work at it, there's always someone out there who's working just a little harder - if you take 150 practice shots, he's taking 200."
Larry said that comment always drove his work ethic and desire to get better.
He said, "I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody – somewhere – was practicing more than me."
How Larry Bird's Work Ethic and Practice Habits Prepared Him for Success:
1. Practice Harder Than Your Play
When you train hard, it becomes easier to compete because you have tested your mind, body, and skills.
Larry Bird's practice habits were legendary. He would wake up and shoot baskets first thing in the morning and then go for a run before practice. He would practice with the team and then he would shoot more shots, lift weights, and then run again. Coaches would bring their teams early to the Celtics arena to see him working out pre-game. O, one team even saw him running stadiums pregame.
2. Practice with Purpose
You have to spend time being intentional and practicing what matters.
Larry Bird would start each morning with 500 jump shots and he had to make 99 free throws in a row or he would start again. He would want to get up as many shots as he possibly could, but he kept shooting until the ball sounded right. There was no end timeline, the goal was excellence in everything he did.
3. Practice to Perform
The goal is a mindset of excellence. When you practice to perform, you're confident enough to overcome that feeling of pressure.
Bird said, "I never felt pressure...Because going into those games you never knew what was going to happen. I always had enough confidence in my game, and I put in the time and the hard work."
His former teammate Bill Walton said, "He wore that body out with the jumpers and the run and the movement and concentration and the focus, discipline and sacrifice. He had it all."
4. Practice The Fundamentals
Look at the fundamentals in your discipline and start with mastering those because creativity and innovation all stem from it.
In high school, Larry Bird didn't play against the best competition but he excelled in high school and college because he practiced the fundamentals. He practiced dribbling, passing, shooting, and positioning. Bird said, "You've got to have them down before you can even think about playing."
"You can make all the excuses you want, but if you're not mentally tough and you're not prepared to play every night, you're not going to win." - Larry Bird
- - -
Follow @coachajkings for more content like this!
You don't control your circumstances.
You don't control your boss.
You don't control your teammates.
You don't control your competition.
You control your effort.
You control your mindset.
You control your attitude.
You control your decisions.
You control you. Focus on that.