Mike, an HVAC foreman for a large general contractor in eastern Washington, told Session 4B of the Leadership Development LAB:

“On September 11, 2001, my wife and I were getting ready for work together. She was watching the news and told me that a plane had flown into one of the twin towers in New York city. I started watching and wondered how an accident like this could possibly happen. When I arrived at work, everyone was talking about this calamity, and then shortly after we started working, it happened again. Another plane hit the other tower. This was no accident. Everyone was talking about this tragedy and no one could focus on work, including me. At lunchtime we all decided to call it a day. I just wanted to go home and watch the news. Well, that’s what I did. I sat in my recliner for four hours in complete disbelief. At about 5:30 my wife told me that I should start getting ready for bowling, which I do every Tuesday night. I am on a very competitive scratch league. I told her I didn’t feel like bowling. She didn’t think that this was a very good excuse. She told me that I would be letting my team down, trying to make me feel guilty to motivate me out of my chair. Well, it worked.

On my way to the bowling alley, I couldn’t stop thinking about this terrorist act and had no intentions or desire to go bowling. I got to the

point where I didn’t care how good I bowled that night, which is not at all like me.

As we started our first game, I felt extremely relaxed and was rolling the ball well. My timing felt perfect. My attention was on the television now as I was bowling, but that night I bowled games of 224, 237, 269, and a perfect 300 game. For bowling this 300 game that night, I received a beautiful 300 ring free of charge and on the inside of the ring is my name and the date, 9-11-01.

The lesson I learned from that night’s experience is that when I relax 100% in a competitive atmosphere and have my fundamentals and mechanics down, my muscle memory will repeat motions, will take over even when my head is not 100% into the game. I also learned the importance of keeping my agreements, keeping my commitment to my team.

The action I call you to take is when you are on a team of any kind, don’t let excuses keep you from participating because people go through adversity every day. Be loyal to your team, it may pay big dividends.

The benefit you will gain is a ton of respect from your team, your coworkers, and a great sense of accomplishment that you will carry in your head and heart the rest of your life.”