Earlier this year, the world lost a football coaching legend.
In January, Coach Philip Haywood passed away after a tragic car accident. He was 73 years old and had just completed his 50th season as a head coach.
Coach Haywood spent the last 41 seasons of his career as head coach at Belfry High School, a small-town Class 3A school in Kentucky. With a record of 491-162, he was the winningest coach in the history of Kentucky high school football.
He won eight state titles, finished runner-up six times, was named the Best High School Football Coach in America by USA Today in 2013, and was named the National Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association in 2017.
Haywood was also the author of two books, in which he shared his lessons for succeeding in football and life.
I’m grateful to all the coaches who take the time to share their wisdom by writing books. I could name dozens of books written by famous coaches that have had a tremendous impact on my life philosophy and my career as an entrepreneur and author.
While Coach Haywood may not have been as famous as some of those coaches who piled up wins at the pro and college levels, in some ways I find his advice more valuable because he succeeded so consistently and for so long at a small-town high school, where the talent is homegrown and the resources are often inferior to larger programs.
In his book, Climb the Mountain (a book I HIGHLY recommend), Haywood shares many valuable lessons for achieving success in all areas of life. But one particular passage stood out to me and has stuck with me ever since I read it.
In his chapter on the importance of thinking big, Haywood writes:
“Today most Olympic-caliber milers will run a sub-four-minute mile [a time once thought to be impossible]. Many say track and other sports records are continually being set because of better nutrition, training, facilities, and even genetics. Certainly, this is true. But if this is all there is to it, wouldn’t this hold true for animals as well?
“Look at thoroughbred horse racing. Horses now have better nutrition, better barns, better training, and even better breeding than in the past. But the times of races in 2005 are very similar to the times in 1995 and all the way back to 1955. What’s the difference? The human brain, the power of the human mind!
“It is because of your mind, your ability to think, that you are different from every living thing. Because of this great mind, record-setting athletes, new technology, and society keep moving forward.”
– Excerpt from Climb the Mountain by Philip Haywood.
What a great point we so often forget.
While we all want to use the most effective technology, training programs, and nutritional information when trying to achieve our goals, we must never forget that the most important and most powerful weapon we have is our mind.
What you feed your mind and how you develop your mindset makes the biggest difference of all in determining the type of life you live.
In his book, Haywood explains the importance of thinking BIG, and how that separates the highest achievers from everyone else.
“If God can plant within you the tiny seed of a dream, it is only reasonable that he can supply the wherewithal to fulfill that dream,” Haywood writes in Climb the Mountain. “I believe God wants you to think big, dream big, and put those thoughts and dreams into action.”
Coach Philip Haywood thought big.
He achieved big, winning more games than any other football coach in the history of his state.
And he lived big, always believing that his top priority was mentoring students with lessons that would guide them throughout their lives.
When it comes to succeeding in any field, remember this lesson from a coaching legend.
Never underestimate the power of your mind and the crucial role it plays in determining your success.
Think Big. Dream Big. Achieve Big.
