Is your copy ready for some football?

How is your favorite team doing so far this year?

Around here the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers are off to a great start.

Especially seeing how the Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday night.

I gotta admit though, even though I officially hate the Seahawks because they beat the Packers in the NFC Championship game this year (not to mention the Fail Mail a few years ago- ugh), I like coach Pete Carroll’s coaching style and philosophy.

And how it can easily be applied to copywriting and business.

Carroll was fired in 1999 as Patriots head coach and spent the next decade agonizing every day about what he’d do differently if he ever was a head coach again.

He worked at the college level during this time and jotted do-over notes every day, for ten years, until
he got another head coach opportunity with the Seahawks five years ago.

For starters, he isn’t all about smash mouth, old-school football.

He shoots hoops with the players and brings in different guests to give them alternate points of view.

He dislikes cursing and doesn’t berate players; he maintained a “supportive and nurturing” atmosphere after their Super Bowl loss this year.

Yoga and meditation are a mandatory part of the mix, which the players enjoy.

Think he’s too soft and New Age-y? During his first day at the helm he turned off the AC during practice to see which players would start whining. He got rid of a star player who whined and refused to change his regular seat at team meetings. Dislike of whining is the second of his three decrees:

1. Protect the team;

2. No whining, no complaining, no excuses;

3. Be early.

Carroll says: “I feel badly for those people who measure success by one point in time. But if it’s a process and journey and life engagement, you have a choice to be successful in the arc of growing.”

Cornerback Richard Sherman, one of my favorite players, says:

“It’s simple here: Be yourself, play hard, and you’ll be fine. Not a lot of coaches are willing to take that risk, because it’s a risk to let your players be that open, be that free.”

Quarterback Russell Wilson (a former Badger) says: ” “We talk about being in the moment and increasing chaos throughout practice, so when I go into the game, everything is relaxed.”

So there you have it.

Don’t measure your success by one product launch, one sales letter, one accomplishment at a time.

Be yourself. Be different. Play hard.

Protect your team. Don’t whine. Show up early.

And get yourself some more clicks… and sales… while you’re at it.

About the author: Anita Ashland