Charlie's Blog

One of my passion’s in life is Group Travel. As a Speaker, I host a few trips each year for Edgerton’s Travel. In April of 2010, I led a sold out group of 50 to D.C. during Cherry Blossom Festival time. Along the way I shared inspiration and humor. One of the things I did on this particular trip was play the remarkable 11 minute speech Jimmy V gave that laid the foundation for 95 million dollars to be donated to cancer research.

Jim Valvano once coached underdog North Carolina State to the NCAA Basketball championship with a stunning upset of the mighty Houston Cougars in 1983. In June of 1992, “Jimmy V” was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was relatively still a young man. Immediately he made a decision to use whatever time he had left to help others and to lay the groundwork to find a cure for cancer. In January of 1993, ESPN approached him and offered to help him start a foundation to fight cancer. On March 4, 1993, he was to accept the first Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at an ESPN Award show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Jimmy V was a very, very sick man. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski had become very close to him from the outset of his sickness. Duke is in Durham, just about 20 miles from Raleigh, where Jimmy V coached N.C. State. Coach K had flown up from North Carolina with him. He was by his side the whole time. However, Jimmy V was so sick it was doubtful he could even go out on stage to accept the award, much less talk. But with tumors all over his body, he made his way to the podium and gave an 11 minute Talk that was one of the best in history. After the Talk, he had to literally be carried down the steps. He had no energy left. But his message laid the foundation for a Foundation that has raised over 80 million dollars.

In it, he said:

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

I wanted to share his speech early in this trip, because this would be a trip where we would laugh, think, and cry. We were going to see Memorials that would deeply move us. We would also share humor on the motorcoach.

In his Talk, Jimmy V shared wisdom that has inspired millions, including all of us on the trip.

“We are starting the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. And its motto is “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.” That’s what I’m going to try to do every minute that I have left. I will thank God for the day and moment I have.”

“Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.”

He died 55 days after the Talk. Without the passion he summoned for that Talk, it’s doubtful the Foundation would have come close to raising over 80 million dollars (you can view it at jimmyv.org). The travellers were impacted by it, because it helped set the tone for what was ahead, and learning more about so many people in American history who didn’t ever give up. Throughout the trip, I read from the book “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up” by Justin Spizman and Robyn Spizman (sourcebooks.com).

To read about the remarkable inspiration we received in visiting the Memorials around D.C. go to edgertonstravel.com and look in the Blog area

http://www.edgertonstravel.com/blog/index.cfm?p=69

Charlie Adams
Speaker

My office at home is downstairs. I can hear the family walking around upstairs and can practically tell who it is by the way they walk.

Well, my wife Nancy and I were talking recently when I put my foot in my mouth (again). I said something along the lines of, “Yes, I could hear when you came home earlier today. I was down in the office, and knew it was you walking around upstairs.”

She asked, “How did you know?”

I said, “I heard heavy walking upstairs.”

Uh oh.

She shot me a look that would have scared Attila the Hun.

I desperately tried to dig myself out of the sudden hole I had dug.

“What I mean is, uh, that you are an adult, and, uh, I can tell when you are walking upstairs compared to the kids because it is a heavier walk . . . . not a heavy walk.”

That didn’t really help much.

Basically, I am in bad standing as a husband. With perfect behavior, I can get out of the Dog House by 2048.

Husbands, how can we win?

I mean, we had better have the perfect answer, and time it just right when we get asked, “Does this dress make me look heavy?”

Heaven forbid you wait too long before answering, or that your answer doesn’t seem sincere. OR, that you don’t answer at all!

And let me tell you about the double standard! Nancy and I were getting ready to go somewhere, so we both ended up in the closest and apparently I was in the way.

Without batting an eye she said, “Move your big butt!”

Now, let’s reverse that statement. If I EVER dared to say such a thing to her, she would turn around and hit me with the iron and that would be the end of me.

Whack! Thud!

The Judge would
probably let her off too.

JUDGE: “Mrs. Adams, I see you are on Trial for terminating your husband. What happened?”

NANCY: “Judge, he said, “Move my big butt. I wacked him with the iron.”

JUDGE: “I see. Well, you were perfectly in line. He had it coming. Case dismissed.”

Writing about this reminds me of the Edgerton’s Western Caribbean Cruise trip where I came across a lady wearing a shirt that read: “I like the Ocean. It makes my Rear look Smaller!”

One of my passions as a motivational speaker is educating and inspiring families on how to get a college education through athletics. More than ever, companies are looking to hire college athletes because of the fire they bring to the culture of the company or organization. Zac Fagan is a young man who utilized the National Collegiate Scouting Association to connect with $18,000 a year in academic scholarship money to play football in college. It wasn’t easy though. Back in September of 2009, Zac could have given up on his dream to be a college football player, but his persistence and the inspiration of his younger sister gave him the strength to overcome the unexpected adversity of his 12th grade season. Zac told me this story:

“Mr. Adams, I had been playing quarterback for five years. I trained year round and was totally dedicated to my game. My senior year finally came. This would be my year and all the hard work would pay off. I was elected Team Captain and our team at T. C. Roberson High in Asheville, North Carolina had really pulled together on and off the field.

We had a scrimmage game right before the season and we lost. The next practice my Coach let me know that he was changing our complete offense and putting in our star running back as quarterback. I was crushed. Now my confidence was shook to the core, I would not have the opportunity to compete for my position. I was still Captain, so I did everything to help the team. I tried any other position the coach would give me (I think I did everything but kick the ball). It looked like my dream of being a college football player was over.

I went eight games without playing quarterback. In November, I won my position back before the final game of the regular season. We had to win the game to make the playoffs. In the game I was able to throw for two touchdowns and run for another. One of the touchdown passes was in overtime to set up the winning two point conversion. It was the best game I ever played in my life!!

However, earlier that day my sister Meryl was admitted into the Hospital. She had battled a life long illness known as Rett Syndrome. It is a neurodevelopmental disease where in her case she had seizures and could not talk. She was in the PEP program at School, which is Progressive Education Program. Each day I was able to spend 90 minutes as a PEP mentor. (photo below of my sister and me).

She was hospitalized for pneumonia just before my game that day and was in critical condition. My family chose not to tell me then. That night, right after the great game, they told me about her being in the Hospital. I went from being really excited to being completely devastated in one second. I literally fell down on my knees on the field.

Saturday she seemed okay, but got worse. My sister died on Monday. She was just 18. The Doctors had diagnosed her with Rett Syndrome when she was 13 and told us to make funeral plans then, but she lived five more years.

When I was going through that hard time where I had lost my starting quarterback job, I would come home from practice where it was a crappy day and I would see her in her wheelchair. She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t move much. You could tell what she was trying to say by her eyes. I would come home worn down from how my senior year was going and that it didn’t look like there was any way I would be seen by College football coaches, and see her and say to myself, ‘I can handle my challenge. I can do this.’ When Meryl died, I made a promise that I would go on for my dreams and live life with passion!

I would not give up on the dream of playing college football. I was able to get game film of that game I played in and got the help of NCSA, the National Collegiate Scouting Association. We rushed it to NCSA and they edited it for me. They posted it and I had also introduced it to other coaches in emails.

To my surprise, Coaches started contacting me. I was getting calls and emails from colleges. I hadn’t played until the last game, and yet it was enough for them to see I had talent. They were schools with my major and football.

I ended up visiting a college that I had never heard of before in the neighboring state of Virginia, only five hours from home – Bridgewater College in Virginia. This was a match on the site, I had an instant connection with the coach that had contacted me, and it seemed to have everything I was looking for. It was the perfect match, I felt right at home with their people and philosophies. I loved that it was a small campus with a very personal environment. Everyone knew each other, which is what I like. Thanks to NCSA, I had learned how to meet with Financial Aid and set up for merit based scholarships. My hard work in the classroom helped. I had a 4.3 GPA with 10 honors classes. The Coaches were able to nominate me for merit based scholarships. The fact that I had taken hard classes really helped as I was offered a $18,250 yearly scholarship. That doesn’t cover everything, but it makes it manageable for us as a family.

Mr. Adams, I am thrilled to say that my college choice was made clear. I will be a Bridgewater College Eagle. A lot of kids get caught up in wanting to play Division One, major college sports. Those guys are huge and fast. I could walk-on but that probably wouldn’t work out. I love the game of football. I want to play it. It’s not about the level. It’s about the game and the fans. I will be competing for the quarterback position, dedicated to their program, studying Athletic Training – pre Physical Therapy and enjoying all that this special college has to offer.”
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Zac isn’t done. He works part time at Marco’s Pizzeria and has organized a big fund raising day on Valentines where Marco’s is donating a significant amount of all revenues that day to go to the
Progressive Education Program in their county, which serves students with moderate to significant intellectual difficulties.

Zac and the QB from Asheville High (T C Roberson’s biggest rival) have become friends as they both have relatives that have battled or are battling serious illness. They are now planning a basketball tournament where the funds will be split between cancer research and International Rett Syndrome Association. They both wore #9.

We hear so much negative news these days. It is so refreshing to know there are great young people out there like Zac!

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If you would like me to set up an evaluation for your son or daughter regarding College Athletics possibilities, email me a paragraph summary of their athletics and academics accomplishments to this point, and what you feel is their commitment to wanting to play the sport they love at the College level.

charlie@StokeTheFireWithin.com

I recently delivered the keynote at the 2010 Safety Kickoff Meeting of the Michigan District of Indiana Michigan Power. The Stoke the Fire Within keynote had a special emphasis of seeking excellence. Their safety record has been impeccable this past year, and they want to maintain their high standards, and even go higher.

When I think of Excellence, I love to share the story of a young lady who exemplifies the word.

In my broadcasting days, I was able to interview many famous athletes. People often ask me who the most impressive athlete I have covered is. Without hesitation I say Vanessa Pruzinsky. They look at me like, “Who’s that?”

Vanessa carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average her entire time at Notre Dame in CHEMICAL ENGINEERING! How hard is that? She was only the third person in the University’s history to do that, and the first female ever. At the same time she was also a starter on the powerhouse soccer team. Vanessa was the Rookie of the Year in the Big East Conference in 1999. She was a key player on a team that was consistently ranked in the top five in the nation, and that has won 2 national championships in the past decade.

She achieved excellence as a student and as an athlete. Vanessa was committed and determined. She had one brutally tough class that led her to tears. The librarian would often have to wake her up at 2 in the morning so that she could go back to her room for some sleep. As an athlete she had to have ankle surgery one season, but came back to lead a defense that allowed just 5 goals in one 19 game stretch.

She was excellence. Not excellent, excellence. It was her state of being. She was as close to perfection as any high achiever I ever covered in my broadcasting career.

My passion for educating families on how valuable it can be to become a true college student-athlete partially comes from having reported on people like Vanessa. This world needs more people with “fire within” like her. I passionately believe an answer for companies is to look to hire more college athletes upon their graduation – especially ones with high GPA’s from top academic institutions.

With the Colts reaching the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning is certainly an example of striving for excellence. He is constantly working to perfect his craft, and leaving no stone unturned. In practice from time to time he has the managers soak footballs in water until they are soggy and waterlogged. He throws them. Some people wonder why he does such a thing.

A few years ago, the Colts made the Super Bowl in Miami. Steady rain fell during the whole game causing the balls to be waterlogged and slippery. Because he had practiced with them, he was ready. His opponent, Rex Grossman of Chicago, struggled.

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” Vince Lombardi

Whether you are striving for peak performance as an organization or individual, or whether you are working hard to earn a college athletics scholarship, it is important to take time to reflect on priorities. Resolution season in January is a good time to take time for self awareness on priorities.

A priority is something very important to your life. It gives focus to your life. It is something with value that shapes your life, for better or worse, the rest of your life. It claims your time, energy and resources. A priority is chosen by you or set by outside circumstances. The world will ask who you are. If you don’t know, it will tell you. You have to stand for something.

When it comes to priorities, here are three questions:

* What do you think about?
* Where do you spend your money?
* Where do you spend your time?

To be successful in priorities, you have to bring together all three of your capacities:

* Imagination – imagine possibilities that will come from your priorities.
* Intelligence – Use your ability to think and plan.
* Will – You must resolve to seek your desired goals. This comes back to stoking the fire within (rah rah!!)

As you reflect on 2010 priorities, tell yourself, “I have the power to establish priorities that will direct my life!”

As 2010 builds up steam, reflect on your priorities and determine two things:

* What you will improve?
* What you will eliminate?

Charlie Adams, Speaker

As I reflect on the various motivational programs I was able to deliver in 2009, one of the lasting memories was the impact NCSA education and guidance had on a terrific young lady named Ashlin Sanders. As a speaker, I have a passion for two things: helping to ignite events with the Stoke the Fire Within keynotes and breakouts, and educating and inspiring young people on how to connect with college athletics scholarships. Companies are looking to hire them, because of the fire they have within.

A year ago this month, I delivered College Recruiting Simplifed on a cold, winter night in downtown South Bend, IN. Kirby Whitacre, Dir. of Athletics for South Bend schools, had organized the event. Kirby has always made sure Recruiting Education is available to families.

Ashlin’s parents, Perry and Cherrie Sanders, were in attendance. Ashlin was at basketball practice. The 5′8″ guard was in her senior season at Riley High. Even though she was All Conference and played on AAU teams such as The Family, the official NIKE travel program for girls basketball in Indiana, and in Showcases, she wasn’t being recruited that much. The family felt her High School coach wasn’t doing enough in recruiting, but the bottom line is that it is not the job of the High School coach to lead the way in recruiting. It is the responsibility of the family.

A few letters were making their way, but nothing was really happening for this very talented basketball player. As I have said many times, AAU and Club are important because you have to develop the ability to play at the College level, but so many families think it assures them College scholarships. The premier players – the top 20% or so – but many fall between the recruiting cracks. Ashlin was headed that way.

Mr. and Mrs. Sanders heard my 50 minute presentation on The 5 Things You Must Know and The 5 Things You Must Do to connect with College Coaches, and they followed the steps. They knew they had to be more proactive with the recruiting game.

They decided to go into one of the NCSA programs. She built her Profile with NCSA’s guidance, and NCSA sent it out during the season. A lot can happen senior season, but you can’t horse around. Families have to take action.

“Everything came alive then,” said Mrs. Sanders of the response. “We heard from schools all over. Schools we had heard of. Schools we hadn’t. Division 1, 2, 3, NAIA, Junior College. Schools came out of the woodwork. Evansville was very aggressive after her. The Lady Vols viewed her profile. Eastern Michigan was really interested. Middle Tennessee State. Schools in North Carolina, New York, Florida…”

Ashlin was a very good player. Colleges simply didn’t know she existed. The sad thing about recruiting every year is that so many kids don’t get recruited because College coaches don’t know who they are. Good kids who work hard. College coaches today find good, quality kids through verified sites like NCSA. They can’t be everywhere personally finding kids. In today’s recruiting world, they are taking advantage of the internet and the ability to watch a young person’s hilites, full game tapes, and verified transcript all in one place. When they saw Ashlin’s ability to run the floor and play the game, their eyebrows raised!

Ashlin wanted to stay in the Midwest area within four hours of home. NCSA was able to open her up to all those schools’s in that radius.

Academically, she carried a 2.6 GPA as a senior at Riley High and struggled with the SAT, so that limited some of her options. As I always say – and this has resonated with young people because they will listen to an outside expert – “the better your grades, the more options you will have in college sports!” Ashlin’s grades/test scores weren’t the greatest, so she didn’t have as many options. However, she still had some, and took advantage of them! Among her offers was one from Lincoln College, a private, two-year, liberal arts college in Lincoln, Illinois.

Lincoln is covering her $21,000 tuition. Her family is covering room and board.

“That’s what I wanted!” said, Cherrie, excited. There is no greater relief than knowing the vast majority of college costs are being covered. The average college grad leaves with $23,000 in loans. Athletes like Ashlin Sanders have an advantage, which is why families need to be doing everything they can to connect with coaches.

Cherrie wrote a note to me later, saying NCSA had been a godsend to their family. What I love is that NCSA can simply help good kids get a lot more looks. These kids deserve to be playing somewhere. I love how we are able to connect coaches with top quality kids!

Ashlin is home on Break. She is loving her experience at Lincoln College. She has scored 17, 13 and 11 points in recent games, so she is getting to play a lot. Academically, she is now carrying a 3.5 GPA because of the tremendous academic support programs in place for athletes. Her mother calls their academic support “excellent.”

Division 1 schools like Eastern Michigan continue to watch her. No doubt, she will have the chance to transfer to a major college program in two years. Upon graduation, she wants to be a Physical Ed teacher and a coach. Like many athletes, she wants to spend her career in Sports.

“Everyone we talked to at NCSA was friendly and helpful,” said Cherrie. “If you choose to do one of the programs, it’s worth it”

As I head out to speak across the country, I always tell my wife that delivering College Recruiting Simplified will be a life changing experience for some of the people in every audience. The Sanders made the decision to drive out on a snowy night in the dead of winter a year ago to hear the Talk. Their girl was under the radar in recruiting. They chose to follow the steps and take action. Ashlin’s life has been changed. It’s early, but she is on track to earn a college degree. In today’s world, getting a college degree is no longer an option. It’s a necessity. Ashlin is doing it!

Charlie Adams, Speaker
To see about getting your athlete evaluated for college athletic scholarship possibilities, contact me at charlie@StokeTheFireWithin.com

Thanksgiving weekend, among many other things, provides an opportunity to waddle out from the table and watch a movie. I don’t go to the Movie Theater often. When I do, it is usually to watch something inspirational. Earlier this week I saw “The Blind Side” with my two oldest children.

I give it a “Thumbs Up” as Siskel and Ebert used to do. I highly suggest you try to see it. You will come out of it reinvigorated and feeling like you spent time watching a quality film with a good message. The opening weekend box office was better than expected for this film, which means people are talking about its’ impact.

The movie stars Sandra Bullock. Like many of you, I have seen a lot of her movies. In my opinion, this is her best acting performance (my gosh, I am starting to sound like a movie critic writer…). Her performance is deserving of Academy Award consideration. This is a far cry from “Speed” or “Miss Congeniality.” She plays Leigh Anne Tuohy. Talk about having a fire within! Leigh Anne Tuohy has it, and Bullock was dead-on portraying it! To top it off, she played a southern woman and didn’t try to force a southern accent, which is usually disaster for Hollywood actors. Being from the South, I have often literally cringed as actors tried to manufacture a southern accent.

The Blind Side tells the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home in Memphis. His mother suffered an addiction to crack cocaine, which impacted his education. He repeated both first grade and second grade, and attended eleven different schools during his first nine years as a student. He had no real home and wandered around night to night. At 6′3″ and 350 pounds, he was quite the sight wandering around. One night Sean and Leigh Anne Touhy and their two children saw him walking alongside the road in short sleeves and cold weather, and took him in for the night and beyond. The Tuohy’s are a well-to-do white family that help him reach his incredible potential. At the same time, Oher leads them to learn more about themselves. When you see where Oher started and where he is today, you will be stoked. The pictures at the end of the movie have a powerful impact.

Okay, that paragraph REALLY sounded like a movie review.

Tim McGraw does a really nice job playing Sean Tuohy, Leigh Anne’s husband. Ironically, when I was in High School in the late 1970’s in Oxford, Mississippi, I watched Sean Tuohy play basketball for Ole Miss. He was a very good player out of Newman HS in New Orleans (the alma mater of Peyton and Eli Manning). He married Leigh Anne, a cheerleader for Ole Miss, and went on to own about 80 Taco Bell/KFC franchises. That led to the “well-to-do” status.

Over the last few years, I had heard about Michael Oher and the Tuohy’s. A best-selling book was written about the story, and then the movie came out. We made a point to be there as soon as it was released, and came away inspired. The Theater was packed, which is a sign a good buzz had come out that this was indeed a quality film worth shelling out $8.

This isn’t a rah rah sports movie, but a compelling true life story of the fire within a woman, and what it did to help a young man reach his potential in life.

Staying on fire takes a daily effort. One way to do it is watching this new film sometime over the next few days. I promise you that you will come away stoked! If you see it, let me know how it stoked the fire within you.

Just don’t go after eating a heavy Thanksgiving meal. Full stomach plus dark theater leads to ZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Charlie Adams

Over the weekend, Stanford University crushed mighty Southern Cal 55-21. 55 points are the most ever given up by Southern Cal.

The leader of Stanford is head coach Jim Harbaugh, a man with fire.

Read what he said when he was introduced as Stanford Head Football Coach in 2006:

“I vow I will attack this endeavor with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”

The headline of the article read: “Harbaugh On Fire with Enthusiasm.”

He took over a program with the toughest academic requirements in major college football, and he has them ranked in the Top 15 in America.
He made no excuses. Instead, he brought a fire. In my observations from having interviewed over 4000 peak performers, I have found time and time again that the biggest factor in success is having the fire within. As Jim Harbaugh has shown at Stanford, amazing things can happen when it is stoked.

What are you as an individual and as an organization doing today to kindle the fire within you?

I challenge you to take the approach Jim Harbaugh did when he accepted the challenge of leading Stanford Football:

“I vow I will attack this endeavor with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”

Being the Quarterback for Notre Dame is one of the most high pressure position in Sports. Jimmy Clausen is the Quarterback this year. He is having a Heisman Trophy worthy season. Clausen has a fire within to be the best he can possibly be. He is never satisfied with his performance. He accumulated massive stats in the loss to Navy recently, but all he could think about afterwards was the loss as a team and his inability to score a touchdown late in the game. Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis said this about the fire within Clausen:
“He was texting me at one in the morning about fumbling on the 1-yard line. He had just thrown for 450-plus yards and that meant nothing to him.”
Champions have that kind of fire within.