Lou Holtz: College Football Hall of Fame

“There is a difference of opinion as to whether Man’s best friend is his wife or his dog. Why don’t you lock both of them in your truck for a few hours and come back and see which one still loves you.”

Lou Holtz was by far my favorite speaker. I feel like he had the most wisdom, advice and information to impart, and did so in the most skilled and relatable manner. I also felt like he had great power and credibility, and that as a man who had successfully lived his beliefs, he was a source to be listened to. I guess he was the most ‘general authority-esque’ of them all.

• The most important person you need to believe in you is yourself. After that, it’s your spouse.
• Ask your spouse for advice and listen to it. No one knows you better, loves you more, wants more passionately for you to succeed, and will have the courage to be completely honest with you.
• Be EXCITED about your job. Whatever you are doing do it with passion. People love to be around those who are excited, positive, happy, and enjoying their life.
• If you CANNOT live with failure, you will make the sacrifices necessary to be successful.
• Don’t go through life as a spectator, be a participant.
• You never reach a plateau in life. You cannot settle for maintaining the status quo. You are either growing, or your dying.
• When faced with an important decision that must be made on how to prioritize your time and resources, always focus on W.I.N. What’s Important Now. Evaluate the past , focus on the future, and it will tell you what to do in the present.
• You’re obligation is not to be popular, it is to make others the very best they can be.

Four Essential Ingredients to Success

1. You must have a passion to win
2. You must control your attitude
3. Don’t overcomplicate: You need to satisfy the customer, and you need to make a profit. The end.
4. You must be a Dreamer. You must have a vision of what you want your life to be. Everyone must have something to do, someone to love, something to hope for, and Someone to believe in.

When he was explaining the process he went through to determine what he wanted in life, the vision he had for his life, he said he sat down and made 5 columns on a piece of paper, and then just listed underneath each what he wanted to achieve in that area of his life. The columns he used were: Husband/Father, Religiously, Financially, Professionally, Excitement/Action. (I found it especially insightful the order in which he listed these columns, how he chose to prioritize his life.) Also very cool-on the list of 170 things he wanted to do before he died, he has now completed 102.