You know me well.

It’s about Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.

I’ll begin with all the appropriate disclaimers.  I haven’t followed the news reports on the Favre situation closely, I’m not a sports agent nor have I read Mr. Favre’s contract.  I do know that he’s reported to have been offered between $20 million and $25 million not to play football.

This is one of the most uninspired solutions Packer management could have devised.  Any time “leaders” throw money at people to get them to do what they want, they’re either uninspired or lack courage.  As leaders yourselves, I’m sure you cringe at both labels.

Let’s look at some alternatives to the proposed “marketing” deal Favre was offered:

1. Most contracts call for players to be paid, not that they’ll necessarily play.  If that’s the case in Brett Favre’s contract, then appeal to his concern for the future of the team and ask him to teach the new quarterback what he knows.  It’s called succession planning!
2. If there are performance bonuses built into Mr. Favre’s contract, pay him as if achieved them all, assuming he’s teaching his replacement.
3. If he’s not willing to take on the role of teacher, if his passion is playing and that’s what he wants to do, trade him.  So what if he leads another team to a Super Bowl victory next year?  What’s the likelihood that the Packers or any team will get there with a new quarterback?

Packer management has demonstrated courage in holding their position that Brett Favre will not be their quarterback this year.  Yet, their “marketing deal” is uninspired and unproductive.

Throwing money at unhappy employees makes the situation worse.  In this case, I’m sure that Brett Favre’s dissatisfaction deepened as Packer management withheld the one thing he wanted - the opportunity to compete.  Other players, many of whom share that passion, can’t help but wonder what will happen to them when their time comes.  Will they be able to go to another team?  Finally, management set a precedent that they’re willing to pay unhappy players to get rid of them.  Do any of these create a culture that’s conducive to winning another Super Bowl?  I doubt it.  

It’s counter-intuitive, if you want to be respected as a leader, don’t offer money; offer alternatives.  Any of the alternatives listed above would have achieved the goals of all parties without paying any more than previously agreed.  Sweetening the deal cheapens the relationship and fosters ill-will.  Why?  It ignores the true goals of each party.

No, I’m not talking about book learnin’.

It’s about certainty.

A good friend of mine has incredible talent, a sharp mind and a very caring, sharing nature - all of the ingredients for success.  Yet, he found it difficult to let go of some of the things that were holding him back.  I’m sure that each of you has had a similar experience.  I know I have.

In the past 15 years, I’ve been able to release myself from these fear-based bonds.  How?  I’ve come to learn that everything I need shows up when I need it; not always in the timeframe I’d like, but always when I need it.  This knowledge allows me to avoid a great deal of fear, anxiety and stress in my life.  The absence of these limiters helps me enjoy greater success than I would otherwise.  How did I get to this stage?

There are three stages of development in creating the knowledge (certainty) that the things you need will always be there for you.  The three stages are trust, belief and knowledge.  In the beginning we trust that things will show up when we need them.  At this level we don’t have much evidence on which to base this trust, we are taking a leap of faith. 

As we see things showing up when we need them, we begin to believe that this is always the case.  When we see this reality in EVERY situation we face, even those that seem devastating, we know with absolute certainty that everything we need shows up when we need it.  At this point, our fears are easily set aside allowing us to move forward.

It’s counter-intuitive, but you can accelerate your progress through the three stages by examining any troublesome situation you’ve faced with the question “What showed up that made it easier to deal with this situation?”  Here’s an example of how examining a situation retrospectively can accelerate your progress toward knowledge. 

Recently, my wife had car problems.  It was on a day in which I had only one very early appointment.  I was able to make it back in time to swap vehicles to allow her to get to work.  I called several repair places and found one with an opening to fix the problem.  They were able to get the part they needed in time to get my wife to work the following day - a day in which I had no openings in my schedule at all.  It’s awareness borne out by situation after situation that allows you to KNOW that whatever you need will show up when you need it. 

Within days of sharing these thoughts with my friend, a potential problem was avoided by something, completely unexpected, showing up in time.  Smiling as he shared his good news with me, he also related three other, less troublesome, situations in which what he needed showed up as if on cue.  He’s well on his way to achieving stage three - certain knowledge.