Bernie Fratto

Inside the Frattohouse 

by
Bernie 
Fratto

 
The Marshall Plan

January 3, 2010

By the time Texas Tech/Michigan State game kicked off Saturday, the event had become a sideshow. Tech Coach Mike Leach was fired for refusing to do something, as a result of disciplining WR Adam Jones for his defiant behavior. Meanwhile, Denver WR Brandon Marshall was also suspended for a game for his refusal to do what was asked of him, and Bronco Coach Josh McDaniel put his team in jeopardy for being equally defiant.

This week it’s back to the grind for all of us. I don’t care whether you’re the 6th man on the freshman basketball team, or a Division Vice-President of a major corporation, there is one thing we all have in common.

Our bosses, our coaches, our teachers, supervisors, whatever… are going to ask us to do something we might not feel like doing. And there are only two types of people in the world. Those who do what is asked, with a great attitude and without procrastination and those who wish they had.

And the latter outweigh the former. And make no mistake, whether you’re an aspiring athlete, or you’re entrenched in the workforce, the people that get ahead and stay ahead are the ones that get-it-done and they don’t complain.

And, only about 5-10% fall in that category. They’re the ones with the corner office, and the definiteness of purpose. The rest bellyache and moan they never got their chance, they never got a break and it’s always someone else’s fault.

I happened to see a couple of those folks over the break. One parent complaining their kid didn’t get a fair shot, and another one who just couldn’t believe their boss couldn’t see how brilliant they are. Their attitudes opened the door for somebody else, that’s the way it always goes.

Because of events at Texas Tech and Denver, neither one of those organizations came away with the type of season they would’ve like to have had, thanks to stubbornness and feelings of entitlement.

Yeah, you could say there’s always next season, but you only have so many seasons and the future is now.

Happy New Year…

(c) 2010 Novi Information Network
www.novi.org

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Bernie Fratto is a freelance writer, radio personality, and motivational speaker.  His passion for sports comes in part from his experience as a former Cincinnati Red farm- hand.  "Behind every sports story lies the hearts and minds of real human beings" said Fratto.  "These athletic endeavors often serve as a metaphor for the game we call life."

Bernie is also on the broadcast team at Live 97.1FM talk-radio, and is a frequent co-host on the popular "Parker & The Man Show," a nightly sportstalk show which airs Monday-Friday from 7-11pm.