Be Invincible!: A Playbook for Reaching Your Full Potential

B E I N V I N C I B L E Introduction: I Am, I Said There is no greater waste than wasted potential, and the greatest challenge to that potential is the constant change we experience. If you cannot adapt and adjust to its ebbs and flows, you are destined to fail in the pursuit of your dream and the fulfillment of your potential. Right now, we?re in the middle of the biggest economic earthquake since the Great Depression. People are losing their homes. They are being forced to leave careers they thought they would stay in until retirement and start new jobs. A whole new generation of adults is moving back in with their aging parents because that?s the only way everybody can make ends meet.But change isn?t just economic. We?re also seeing the rise of technology, from iPads to smart phones, that?s changing how we work, communicate and live our daily lives. We?re seeing society and families change in ways that are pretty radical, from blended families and gay marriage to the way the government is increasingly invading our private lives in the name of security. No matter what you believe or how you were raised, this might be the most unsettling, disquieting time in American history.Or not. Every time you open the newspaper or turn on the radio, it seems like you read or hear about somebody who?s riding the wave of change with the ease of a pro surfer riding a wave on Oahu?s North Shore. You?ve got entrepreneurs launching new restaurants or tech businesses despite the brutal economy.Unknown authors getting great book deals even in the face of impossible odds.Folks coming back from cancer or divorce or bankruptcy to be happier and healthier than ever before. Maybe you sit back and say, ?How in the hell did they do that?? Well, my friend, I?m here to tell you.It didn?t happen by accident. Nobody lucks into success. When I achieved some fame after making the Philadelphia Eagles special teams squad at age 30 back in 1976, plenty of people said I had just gotten a lucky break. But if you know my story, saw the movie Invincible or read my book, you know that nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, I came from hard working-class beginnings and didn?t play a minute of college football. But I also worked my guts out in tryouts and training camp, learned what my coach, Dick Vermeil, wanted from his players, and found ways to make myself invaluable to the team in the role that suited me best. In other words, I had a plan. When times changed, I had still more plans. I reinvented myself. I became a broadcaster, a trainer and a speaker.vii B E I N V I N C I B L E HAVE A PLAN FOR CHANGING TIMES This book is all about being prepared for and evolving with changing times, so that you can find the invincibility within yourself and thrive no matter how crazy things around you are becoming. What does it mean to be invincible? It doesn?t mean being bulletproof, and it doesn?t mean not making any mistakes. Believe me, when I came into the NFL as a raw rookie wide receiver and special teams kamikaze, I made plenty of mistakes. So will you.Change is going to come, probably when you least expect it. Life turns on a dime?sometimes dramatically after a doctor?s diagnosis or a pink slip, sometimes subtly with an idea for a new business or an aging parent?s forgetfulness.When it does, you have two choices: 1. Try to catch up.2. Be prepared.I believe that 99% of people don?t change anything major about their lives until they have no choice. The obese guy doesn?t get serious about losing weight until he has his heart attack. The alcoholic doesn?t go on the wagon until he wakes up in the drunk tank or gets a DUI. Change is probably going to come into your life without giving you any choice, either. But you can choose to be prepared for it when it does come! Being invincible means having the plan, the character, the support and the strength of mind to deal with whatever changes life throws your way and come out on top.Being invincible is also about knowing your weaknesses and compensating for them by building up your strengths. It?s about understanding that life will throw you some wicked curveballs, but that you can handle them. It?s about reinventing yourself constantly and adapting to what comes your way. You?re a lot stronger than you think you are. When unemployment, disease or any other challenge comes along, the only thing that can prevent you from meeting and beating that challenge is you.It?s also about having a plan. When things change, some people are going to panic or freeze like a deer in the headlights of an SUV. You know what happens to that deer, right? Splat. If you?re inflexible or believe that you can only survive under certain conditions, you?re going to be helpless when big changes hit. But if you have a plan that keeps you thinking posiviii B E I N V I N C I B L E tive, taking care of your body and mind, and developing new skills, you?ll be ready to find opportunities where other people only find fear.That?s being tougher than the times. If you don?t believe that you have that kind of resiliency in you?even if you?ve never believed it?now is the time to start.NEIL DIAMOND IS MY GURU When I was younger, the Neil Diamond song, ?I Am, I Said,? lifted me up more than any other song I had ever heard. You know the tune: I am, I said To no one there And no one heard at all Not even the chair To a young guy who had come out of the projects of suburban Philadelphia and dreamed of playing pro football but had accepted that he would spend his life as a schoolteacher, Neil was singing about me. The song was about someone who, even though he had great potential inside, had always been invisible to everyone around him. I decided that I wouldn?t allow that to happen to me. I would show everyone what kind of man I was.Let me tell you, there?s nothing exceptional about me. Just like when I was a player, I was and always will be a blue-collar guy with a bluecollar attitude. To this day, people tell me that I never forgot where I?m from and I take great pride in that. Ask me what I?m made of and I?d say that I?m all heart and truth and guts, no finesse. I made the Eagles, stayed in the NFL and won the hearts of the people of Philadelphia because I brought unlimited passion to the field every single day and played like I was out of my mind on every single play. Why not? I did something that I think more people should do if they want real success in their lives: 1. I found something that I loved doing.2. I determined what I needed to do to keep doing it.3. I did that something to the best of my ability every single moment.ix B E I N V I N C I B L E That?s not rocket science, right? Good, because I?m no rocket scientist.I?m a guy who now, in my mid-sixties, makes a living speaking to big groups and companies about the lessons I?ve learned in my life. That?s why I, along with my wonderful wife Janet, have written this book. I?m going to share with you my secrets to becoming invincible in your own life, no matter how tough the times may get.Joining me in this is my wife, Janet Cantwell Papale, who?s the strongest and most capable woman I?ve ever known. A former world-class gymnast who reinvented herself as a world-class diver after a career-ending knee injury, she?s lived the lessons of this book as a successful coach at The University of Pennsylvania, an entrepreneur and real estate professional, and a wife and mother. Janet amazes me every day by managing my career, taking care of our family and still inspiring everyone around her. She?s got plenty to share with you throughout these pages.I think we?ve made it pretty clear when either Janet or I are speaking.When we switch from one to the other, you?ll see one of our names in capital letters?JANET:?in front of a new section. When we switch back to me, you?ll see my name?VINCE:?at the start of a new section. It should be clear. Janet also has some fantastic candid opinions and advice just for women; you?ll find them in the ?Janet?s Words for Women? sidebars in each chapter.YOUR INVINCIBLE MOMENT If there?s one thing you can say about me and Janet, it?s that we?re survivors.I?ve survived growing up on the outskirts of the toughest city in America.I?ve survived Coach Vermeil?s infamously brutal training camps and the bone-crushing grind of the NFL. And I?ve survived colon cancer, which doctors were fortunate enough to detect early.Janet survived Lyme disease and a terrible sledding accident where she was actually in the hospital getting last rites. She survived the end of her gymnastics dream and came back stronger, first as a outstanding diver (now that?s an incredible athlete!) and then as a top coach. But we?re really not that special. There?s nothing in us that?s not in you, too.That?s exactly why when I was playing football, it seemed like the whole city of Philly came out to cheer me on game days. It?s the same reason x B E I N V I N C I B L E that even now, people come up to me and tell me that my career or my movie inspired them or helped them through a dark time in their lives. I?m one of them. I was the real Rocky. People see something in me that they also have in themselves. We all have it. You have it. You just need to see it and use it.Janet and I are going to tell you how to do that. We?ll tell you how to make your plan. We?ll advise you on how to set and change your goals as life changes. We?ll talk about how to understand and define your role.We?ll tell you how to avoid the ?bucket of crabs.? We?ll share with you the fitness and nutrition secrets that keep us looking younger and feeling better than a lot of folks twenty years younger. And that?s just for starters. You?ll learn everything you need to create your own invincible moment?that time when you defied the odds and your own limitations, silenced the doubters and overcame your fears to come out on top.We?re also going to share with you some stories from real people who have had their own Invincible Moments: a few 9780738731803\\Noel Tyl's Masterwork DVD series offers a unique way of learning which will delight new and seasoned astrologers alike. While Tyl is known for being one of the most prolific writers in the astrology field, this DVD series also highlights his skills as a dynamic communicator.