“The test of a vocation is the love of the drudgery it involves.” -Logan Pearsall Smith, American Essayist

I’ve talked extensively about perspective ruling the premise; that is the understanding of the “why” of doing something versus the “way” or “how” in which you go about doing it. The relationship between the two is intertwined, complicated and generally love-hate in my world. The ability to keep proper perspective is a must however and all you have to do is “set it forget it” with regards to your premise if you work on your perspective the hardest.

Sound like too much for the morning? Nah. Let me explain. If the premise is to play college football, then your perspective should have started to form rather quickly and you should have started setting the RELEVANT goals and benchmarks that can help you see the bigger picture without losing sight of what’s directly in front of you. If your premise (and it IS possible to establish early enough and be realistic about it) is to go beyond and get paid for playing the sport you cannot imagine being without then you’ve got the ultimate premise vs. perspective battle ahead, but one that can be managed.

Most, if not all of you saw the circus (aka National Signing Day) that descended upon our area when the TV cameras carried live (and not-so-live) commitments for the rest of the nation to see. The eyes of the country were fixated on 2 young men who stood on opposite sides of Tampa Bay; both fulfilling dreams yet eliciting two distinct but not quite mutually exclusive reactions from friends, family and coaches. Many of you may have seen the cameras, the writers, the crowds and so on and thought “This is what it’s all about.”

To those who thought that, you were right and wrong; depending on which ceremony you were at. If you were saying those words without being able to explain what “this” and “it’s” means to you then you’ve lost your perspective already.  You may be saying to yourself right now, “This coming from the dude that preaches if you ain’t pimpin’, you’re gettin’ pimped…this coming from the dude that told me I should treat myself like a business and protect my brand.” You’re right. I did say that. And I mean it. Let me ask you this though…Does Coke Zero taste like Coca-Cola Classic? Wasn’t it “sold” to us as SAME great TASTE, but somehow healthier for us? Don’t you know what makes Coca-Cola taste so good is what has to be taken out in order to make it healthier??? Who’s pimpin’ and who’s getting pimped at the moment?

My point is, don’t fall victim to selling something YOU don’t believe in or even worse something WE don’t believe in. My point is that advertising is an art form. It’s the 21st Century’s canvas. Your medium (meaning WHAT you want to paint your picture with) is what’s important.  I cannot express to you HOW MANY times I have looked at something and thought “what a piece of crap” only to see it sold for millions at an auction. You want to know why it sold for so much? Because someone liked what they saw and bought it. Plain and simple. People in the financial position to spend millions on art work are no different than the people like myself that own season tickets to their favorite college and pro teams. Same premise (spending disposable income on wants vs. needs), but different perspectives (willing to part ways with said income IF the product is worth it to me.)

So that brings me to this Saturday.  This isn’t team sports. Or is it? The team is YOU and the people that are primarily responsible for the investment they’ve made both financially and emotionally. They are the ones that are there when the dust settles. When the first light comes on in your bedroom in the morning to the last light turned off in the film room at night. You may look at it as just another event that takes up a Saturday, but to me and to several of peers it is not. When those lights come on, those of you at Leto, Chamberlain and Strawberry Crest have the ability to get seen in the same regards as those from Armwood, Hillsborough and Plant. The EXACT premise of this combine (in my eyes) is that you need to be ready for that ONE MOMENT that will happen when it’s time to step up and make a play or hide behind your friends/teammates in line.

For some, this may be your only “realistic” chance to get on TV, radio and in print simultaneously. For some, this may be the only “realistic” chance to get seen by the eyes of the nation. Your coaches preach it, now it’s time to live it. You may have 30 additional combines that you participate in this year. That’s awesome. Just don’t waste your time at ours, because I’ll go ahead and say right now that I’m not nor is any member of our staff out there JUST for you. It’s about you, but it’s not. The combine is your canvas, your medium is you. If you don’t want to sell us a piece of art then fine, but it’s about perspective. Last time I checked there were 12 schools playing ball at the next level in this state alone. Surely someone is in the market for some new artwork on the wall.