An Inner Spirit So Bright

As some of you might remember, Lou Tice and current Seattle Seahawks football coach, Pete Carroll, knew each other for quite a while before Lou passed, and one of their collaborations was Pete’s “A Better L.A.” project. (This began while Pete Carroll was at the University of Southern California.)

Pete’s not your “normal” football coach, and his personality and attitudes initially caused some skepticism with the local sportscasters and sports writers. After two Super Bowl appearances in a row, other NFL and college football coaches have taken notice. He may be the oldest coach in the NFL, but he certainly doesn’t act like it – just watch him on the sidelines during a game.

The thing about Pete is that he is a very “up” person. It’s not artificial, something he puts on for the press. This is the real Pete. He has a real belief that something great is about to happen, and he means it. “If something is going wrong, I don’t care, because I know, over here, something really good is just about to happen,” Pete has said. And, if something were to really go wrong, “I don’t come out of my office until I get myself right. I’m too contagious.”

You, too, are too contagious. Each of us has an impressionable effect on the people around us, positive or negative, because we have influence. Because we are growing and becoming closer to our true potential, we have influence. Others look to us for an example to follow. This might seem like a heavy burden, but it doesn’t have to be. You can carry it well, and here is an affirmation from Pete to help: “My inner spirit is so strong and so bright that nothing, or no one, can blow my light out.” Lou added another piece: “I’m like the birthday candle that won’t go out.”

You are strong and capable, and with an inner spirit so bright, if you use it for the right reasons, you have a positive influence on the world around you. Now, multiply that by a million and what do we have? Multiply that by a billion, and what do we have?

A world of possibilities, ready to become realities; that is what we have.