You asked for it and I’m delivering it to you. Earlier this year many of you commented that you enjoyed Dr. Rob Bell’s last guest post in my newsletter so much that I’ve asked him to contribute another article in 2016. For those of you who don’t know Dr. Rob Bell, he’s one of my professional peers I hold in highest regard. This week Rob has a fabulous follow up book coming out on the heels of his best-seller The Hinge. It’s called 50 Ways To Win: Pro Football’s Hinge Moments and we’re making it available to you for FREE this week.
Rob’s article below explains his concept of The Hinge and why we all need it in our lives. Enjoy, and don’t forget to grab your free copy of his new book.
Hinge (definition): Noun- A movable joint or mechanism that connects linked objects. (v): A circumstance upon which other events depend.
The Greenbrier resort in White Sulpher Springs, WV, housed a secretive bunker that was built in the early 1960s. Located about five hours from Washington D.C., this underground bunker actually became a part of U.S. defense. It was built to survive an indirect bomb strike, relying on the secrecy of its location and the West Virginia mountains for protection. If needed, it would have housed the entire Congress as a fallout shelter. This secret bunker lasted for 30 some years, only to be revealed in 1992.
The Bunker possessed three massive, blast-proof doors, each weighing over 20 tons. The doors were about fifteen feet high, thirteen feet wide, and 20 inches thick. Despite the enormity of these doors, it only took about fifty pounds of pressure to open and close them. The reason one person could easily close these enormous doors was the hinge. The stronger the door, the more important the hinge, and the hinge used for the blast doors weighed 1.5 tons. Without the hinge, the massive doors would have been unmovable.
How often have we felt like that door? We felt confident, in control, at ease, and self-assured of what we are doing. We were as strong as the 29-ton door with amazing hinges. Other times, we have felt the opposite. We have been discouraged; lacked confidence, focus, or burnout from our passion. The door has not changed, it has remained strong. What has changed is the hinge…
The hinge is so integral to any door, cabinet, table, or bridge that, without it, these items become useless. The hinge is also crucial to our anatomy: hips, elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles. No matter how strong our legs are, if we have a torn ACL, our legs are useless.
The hinge connects. We need the hinge. Connection is why we are here…
The hinge is real. The hinge connects. And it only takes one. The hinge is moments or opportunities that make all the difference. We are the door, but a door without a hinge is a wall. Since we can’t know when a hinge will connect, it is our role to have mental toughness.
Over the course of a Super Bowl winning season, there is one play, decision, person, or moment that makes all of the difference. The more closely we examine professional football; we will see these Hinge moments.
It only takes one! The Immaculate Reception, the Drive, Red Right 88, the Catch, the Stop, the Helmet Catch, and Ambush are all plays that may or may not come to mind as Hinge moments in NFL history.
50 WAYS TO WIN examines every Super Bowl winning season from I-50 and provides detailed information behind these Hinge Moments of the team and season. Get your free copy HERE.