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Terry Bowden, a former Auburn coach and current football analyst, told the audience at the annual meeting of the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce about a minister who talked like a revival preacher.
Bowden did a pretty fair imitation of a revival preacher himself, talking in what could only be described as a rapid-paced Southern drawl.
Bowden used his own experiences as a former coach, as well as anecdotes about other coaches such as Tom Osborne, Bo Pelini, Urban Meyer and his own father, Bobby Bowden, to show what he believes it takes to win both in football and in business.
Bowden said that people must not only want to be successful, but must also have a desire to be the best. He described the phenomenon as an urgent, burning desire to be the best.
He noted that winning coaches and winning businesses also recruit good talent who share that desire to be the best. Bowden said successful coaches and businesspeople inspire and motivate the people on their teams, getting the whole organization to buy into their way of doing things.
Bowden said another trait shared by people who win is that they love to compete.
Another important trait is the willingness to pay the price. Bowden recalled his own four years as a graduate assistant coach.
He said it was a tradition at that school that the first coach into the office each morning made the coffee.
"I made the coffee every day for four years," Bowden said.
In today's world, being willing to pay the price means not just a willingness to work hard, Bowden said. "You have to be willing to change and adapt."
He pointed out that Tom Osborne adapted as a coach, making linebackers out of football players who might have played in the defensive backfield and making defensive lineman out of players who once might have played linebacker.
Bowden said Osborne did that in an effort to get more speed on defense and it eventually resulted in three national championships.
Bowden said successful people also take responsibility, coming up with the attitude that their organization will not be successful "for my effort, but for my talent."
He noted that his 11-0 Auburn team beat Alabama in the final game of the season with backup quarterback Patrick Nix. After the game, Bowden said he wrapped his arms around Nix and asked him how he had such an outstanding game.
Nix said he couldn't get to sleep the night before thinking about all his responsibilities to the team. Bowden said that was amazing considering that Nix was a backup quarterback who should have thought he had little chance of playing against Alabama.
Bowden leavened his presentation with humor, with the first joke coming at his own expense. He said he figured he would be the big news in Grand Island on Thursday, only to be upstaged by news that the State Fair is likely coming to Grand Island.
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