The Delta is always work

My favorite college basketball coach of all time isn't Coach K of the Duke Blue Devils. It isn't Bill Self or Tom Izzo or even the great Geno Auriemma. It's Shaka Smart, the Head Coach of the University of Texas Longhorns.

I like Shaka for a lot of reasons, one being that I basically copied his entire defensive scheme as a middle and high school basketball coach. More than his game plans or plays I love his coaching philosophy. Over the years, as a coach, I have had the pleasure of attending his coaching clinic which afforded me the right to watch him coach the Longhorns Men's Basketball team in person. I gleaned lots of knowledge from Shaka that day but one thing he said stuck with me so much that I have used it everyday of my life for the past three years.

As one of his freshman took two ill-advised shots in a row, Shaka fanned his arms out wide, walked onto the floor and said, "It's always work fellas! The way we do anything is work. There is nothing else." Boom! Profundity right?

I have carried that moment with me through coaching, teaching, job changes, life's disappointments, wins, loses, as a husband, as a father, it has gone everywhere with me. Simply put here it is: The delta between where you are and where you want to be is work. That's it. That is all there ever will be.

Work is all that has ever been between you and accomplishing your goals. What that looks like is different for every person. Some can work around the clock. Some seek work-home balance. I've heard of people setting business hours for themselves (they don't do, think about or answer work communications after a certain time) and I've heard of people who work around the clock. Whatever your method, just make sure you know that your dreams are just on the other side of your work.

Keep working, keep hustling, keep dreaming.