Two Minute Motivation: Jimmy the Mule

RATED - E for Everyone.

What's up JWT Nation. Here we go, short and sweet...

I have lots and lots of books on coaching and motivation. One of my favorite guys to read/study about is Coach Lou Holtz, who was a great football coach at the University of Notre Dame. In his book, Winning Every Day, he tells this story about a mule. I'm going to do my best to tell it right.

Years ago, before we had tractors to fix this kind of problem, an old farmer got his wagon stuck in a ditch. His neighbors came to help. Nobody could get the wagon out of the ditch. It was stuck real good! So the old farmer went home to get his favorite mule, Jimmy.

Jimmy was old and blind. The neighbors all laughed. There was no way this blind old mule was going to pull this wagon out of the ditch by himself. The farmer hooked Jimmy up to the wagon while they all watched.

"Pull Sammy," the farmer yelled. Jimmy didn't move. "Pull Mike," the farmer yelled. Jimmy didn't move. "Pull Andrew," the yelled again. Jimmy didn't move. Finally, the farmer said "Pull Jimmy." Jimmy took off and pulled the wagon out of the ditch.

"Wow! That was amazing! But if you knew Jimmy could pull the wagon, why didn't you just say his name in the first place?" one neighbor asked. The farmer answered, "Because that wagon was heavy. So if he thought he was pulling it all by himself, he might not have tried so hard. When he thought he had all that help, he believed he could do it."

THE MORAL OF THE STORY, sometimes we let our eyes or our mind trick us into believing that a task is impossible before we even start. Ol' Jimmy thought he had three other mules pulling with him, so he believed he could do it. What could you do if you absolutely believed in your heart that FAILURE ISN'T EVEN POSSIBLE??? Think about that today.

Thanks for reading. Having an awesome day. Make it a win. #JWT