What’s on your schedule this week?
Many people set annual goals. It makes sense that a lot of people use the calendar as the time frame to accomplish these goals.
“By the end of the year, I will accomplish….”
Sometimes it makes sense to make your windows to achieve success much smaller. This could be quarterly, monthly, or even weekly. If you think about it, a daily “To Do List” is sort of like a daily goal sheet.
Sports teams need to look at much smaller time frames for their goals as their season is shorter than a full calendar year. Major League Baseball teams play 162 games in a season, while the NBA and NHL play 82 games in their regular season. The NFL now plays a 17-game schedule and most major colleges play a 12-game season. Only the best of these teams get to play more games in playoffs, championship games, or bowl games.
Now imagine you’re an ultimate college football fan and are trying to attend SIXTY games this season. Without flying to any of them?
Chase Your Goals with Planning and Passion
Meet Ben Chase.
Ben grew up in Orlando and is a proud graduate of The University of Florida. Ben went on to earn his Law Degree from George Washington. He was working in Tuscon, Arizona for a company helping schools and businesses learn to leverage the new NIL landscape impacting college athletes and programs everywhere when he and the company decided to part ways.
At a crossroads, and with the college football season nearing, Ben found himself deciding what to do next. He came upon an unverified factoid that two brothers had attended an unofficial 50 games in one season, so he started figuring out how he might be able to attend 50 games…and then set his goals even higher. Could he attend 51 games? 55?
Why not sixty games?
Armed with access to the college football schedule for every program in the country, Google maps, and a whole lot of adrenaline, Ben started planning his crazy quest. He just had a few rules; no planes and he had to attend the entire game…so no leaving at halftime to get back on the road.
As a huge college football fan and fellow Florida alum, I’ve been following Ben’s journey on his Twitter and Instagram feeds. As he neared Ohio this weekend, I reached out to see if he might want to connect for a few beers and a friendly conversation. He gladly accepted my invitation and we enjoyed a fun afternoon exchanging stories of our mutual fandom of sports, the landscape of college athletics, and the challenges and charms of life on the road.
We met up and enjoyed a spirited conversation about his journey so far, shared ideas about some opportunities he might encounter, and the insights he has learned about himself since rolling East from Tuscon to Las Cruces, New Mexico for Game 1. We also talked about the power of relationships; not just over the course of the next few months as he tries to accomplish his goals, but how they are the basis of almost any success people achieve in their careers and lives. We shot this quick Instagram reel before we parted ways.
16 games down. 44 games (and 3 weddings) to go!
That’s the great thing about making your goals specific; they are easily measurable. You know how you’re doing along the way. If you’re willing to post your goals in writing or share your goals with others, it’s a great way to hold yourself accountable to get them done. You’ll also likely find others (like me) who will encourage and help you accomplish the goals in any way they can.
Someday this week, Ben will pack up his mini-van (which also serves as his hotel for a majority of the nights on his journey) and head South from Columbus towards Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He’ll be watching Middle Tennessee State University host the Roadrunners from UT-San Antonio on Friday night before rolling down to the plains of Alabama to watch LSU and Auburn battle, on what could be, a rainy Saturday, before rolling over to Atlanta to knock one of those weddings of the list.
Game On!
Aren’t you tired just thinking of Ben’s schedule over the next few months? Especially because most colleges only play games on Saturdays. But it could give you some encouragement and energy on tackling your goals this week, month, or through the rest of the year.
Making a few calls or scheduling a few appointments doesn’t seem near as daunting as driving from Syracuse, New York to Athens, Ohio on just 40 minutes of sleep. Following up with past clients or hosting a few open houses should be way more comfortable than grabbing a few winks at a local Wal-Mart parking lot before running to the local gym for a workout and a much-needed shower.
Ben’s adventure is just that; a fun adventure.
But it’s his adventure.
It’s his journey.
It’s his goal.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a young man road-tripping to sixty college football games for a season. He isn’t curing cancer…but he might meet someone along the way who will. He’s not doing brain surgery…but he could tailgate next to someone who did just that earlier in the week. He might not remember everyone he shared a few beers with…but he might remember me.
I know I’ll remember him and will be watching him work towards his goal.
Safe travels, Ben.
Keep building relationships, solving problems, and having fun.
