“You’re thinking too small…”

When I was in my early twenties I had a great mentor that would always drop great little nuggets of wisdom on me. Each time he’d open up my awareness to new possibilities and shift my focus onto something bigger and better.

At the time I was depressed because I had blown up my knee and wasn’t going to be able to play the game I loved, Football, anymore.

One day, when I’m sure he was getting tired of my attitude, he said to me:

On a hot summer’s day a wise old turtle was out for a morning stroll. As he was meandering through a meadow, he came upon a frog who lived in a well.

As he looks down into the well the frog boasts to the turtle, “I am the master of this well! I command everything here from corner to corner. Aren’t you impressed!?”

The turtle then tells the frog about the ocean and blows the frog’s little mind.

I still chuckle when I remember the day he told me the little fable. I realized I had spending so much of my time focusing my attention on a very little thing, and was missing out on the bigger picture.

I think we all do it…We get so caught up in thinking about our own problems, challenges or mistakes, that we ignore the possibilities all around us.  Just like the frog thought he had something special because he never ventured out beyond his little well.  Until the turtle came along and opened up his mind to greater possibilities.

How’d he do it?

Information.

I know it doesn’t sound sexy or mind-blowing. But the reality is, that just one new piece of information can completely alter a person’s perspective of who they are and what they’re capable of.

When my mentor would tell me these stories or share his wisdom with me, the trajectory of my life would always change for the better.

So, if you’re caught in a bit of a funk right now, or injured and can’t practice… or you’re having a bad hair day. Watch for the turtle in your life… because there’s always some little sign reminding you of bigger possibilities.

Get out of your well to explore, learn and grow.

P.S. If you’d really like to blow open your awareness of what’s possible, than join the thousands of other athletes here: