I don’t know what I love more about college football: Spending Saturday afternoons and evenings watching the games (usually watching the Crimson Tide dominate some weary opponent), or watching the countless hours of ESPN and other networks that all seem to really up their creative “game” this time of year and produce really awesome commercials. Being in the business of creating commercials, it is a time of the year that always gives me more creative energy and drive just from seeing what else is out there.
Being in a role that comes with an enormous amount of pressure (even on a good day there is still immense pressure). I like the commercial on ESPN that has been playing recently that goes through the intensity of college football and being a fan. The commercial ends with Jimbo Fischer, the coach of Texas A&M, walking out of the locker room, and he simply says, “No pressure.”
It’s a bold yet defining moment in the ad and a fantastic way to bring it to an ending. What I love about this ad is how many times a week I find myself saying the same exact thing to myself. In the first four days of this week, I will physically be conducting meetings in 22 different dealerships. That averages a little more than five per day and not all being in the same city. All of this is getting done while trying to monitor the day-to-day operations of the home office at a very high level, clean up details and answer questions from last week’s meetings, and get fully prepared for the meeting schedule I have next week (which isn’t a whole lot lighter).
I try to instill in those around me to have a mental toughness that doesn’t let pressure get to them or bother them. It can be easier said than done, as pressure can make anyone crack or have a bad day/week. What I have found as the easiest way to get away from pressure is to simply know that is coming (expect it) on a daily basis, and know that you are going to have to find a way around it.
With all that I have in my life from businesses, a wife and four kids, to an active sporting and recreational life on the weekends, you simply have to find the best way to control pressure. Otherwise, it will control you.