5 WAYS TO THINK LIKE A CHAMPION

I meet and learn from Champions every day. Not just in locker rooms but in classrooms, hospitals, homeless shelters, homes and office buildings. I've learned that to be a champion you must Think Like a Champion. Champions think differently than everyone else. They approach their life and work with a different mindset and belief system that separates them from the pack.

1. Champions Expect to Win - When they walk on the court, on the field, into a meeting or in a classroom they expect to win. In fact they are surprised when they don't win. They expect success and their positive beliefs often lead to positive actions and outcomes. They win in their mind first and then they win in the hearts and minds of their customers, students or fans.

2. Champions Celebrate the Small Wins - By celebrating the small wins champions gain the confidence to go after the big wins. Big wins and big success happen through the accumulation of many small victories. This doesn't mean champions become complacent. Rather, with the right kind of celebration and reinforcement, champions work harder, practice more and believe they can do greater things.

3. Champions Don't Make Excuses When They Don't Win - They don't focus on the faults of others. They focus on what they can do better. They see their mistakes and defeats as opportunities for growth. As a result they become stronger, wiser and better.

4. Champions Focus on What They Get To Do, Not What They Have To Do - They see their life and work as a gift not an obligation. They know that if they want to achieve a certain outcome they must commit to and appreciate the process. They may not love every minute of their journey but their attitude and will helps them develop their skill.

5. Champions Believe They Will Experience More Wins in the Future - Their faith is greater than their fear. Their positive energy is greater than the chorus of negativity. Their certainty is greater than all the doubt. Their passion and purpose are greater than their challenges. In spite of their situation champions believe their best days are ahead of them, not behind them.

If you don’t think you have what it takes to be a champion, think again. Champions aren’t born. They are shaped and molded. And as iron sharpens iron you can develop your mindset and the mindset of your team with the right thinking, beliefs and expectations that lead to powerful actions.

 When squash vines wilt suddenly, you might see holes at the base of stems that are filled with a tan sawdust like material. If you slit open the stem you might see a fat white worm up to one inch long making its way along the inside of the stem.

 This insect pest attacks squash and gourds. The larva damages or kills the plant by tunneling in the stems preventing the rest of the vine from receiving water and nutrient flow.

 The adult stage of this insect pest is a metallic green colored moth that will lay its eggs on the vines in early summer. When the eggs hatch, the white larvae bore into the stems and feed for 4-5 weeks before crawling out and burrowing into the soil to pupate.

 Insecticide applied after the borer is inside the stems are ineffective. Instead, just slit the stem open with a knife and destroy the borer. If the plant has any life in it, you can cover the damaged portion of the stem with soil, keeping the soil moist until new roots develop. The plants may recover. 

One of my reference books describes Japanese beetles as “beautiful little metallic green insects with bronze wing covers”. Anyone who has fought an infestation of Japanese beetles would take issue with this description!

 Japanese beetles were accidentally introduced into this country in 1916. They arrived in New Jersey, probably hiding in their grub stage in the soil of imported nursery stock. The beetles made their way to Kentucky by 1937.

 Japanese beetles prefer to feed on plants in full sun. They will usually feed in groups that start out at the top of the plant, working their way downward. A single beetle won’t do much damage, but groups feeding in your garden can be devastating. They will devour blooms, ripening fruit, and tender leaves with smell veins. One some plants, they will eat only the tender tissue between leaf veins, giving the leaves a lacy appearance characteristic of beetle damage.

 A little information about beetle life cycles might be helpful. Adult beetles emerge from underground over wintering sites in June; they begin feeding, starting on low growing plants and eventually flying their way up into trees. Adults will live for 30-45 days, with populations reaching their peak in July. Just before dying, female beetles will lay their eggs in lawns or other grassy areas just below the soil surface.  The grubs that hatch from these eggs are grayish white with brown heads and have a characteristic C-shape. They will feed on grass roots until colder weather drives them further down into the soil below the frost line. As the weather warms again in spring, the grubs move back up and resume their feeding on roots. The grubs will then pupate in the ground emerging as adults to start the cycle all over again.

 To control Japanese beetles it is most helpful to eliminate the adult populations. You can do this by attacking them early in the morning or in the evening when they will tend to be slow moving and sluggish. Take a bucket of soapy water out to the garden with you and shake the stems holding the beetles over the bucket. They will fall in and drown. You can place a sheet under small trees and shake them and then fold it up quickly to capture the beetles before squishing them. (Make sure this is an old sheet, you won’t want to reuse it.)

 If you have lots of beetles on your rose blooms, once you have had some bloom damage from chewing, it is usually a good idea to leave the damaged bloom on the plant. The beetles will tend to “finish off” a bloom that has been chewed on already, before going on to the next one. This way you can limit damage somewhat.

 Control of grubs is usually not warranted in the lawn. Statistics show grubs damage to lawns occurs in only about 5% of lawns. (Of course if you are in that 5%, you might take issue with this statement.)  Grubs chewing on grass roots will cause patches of brown grass in your lawn. Grub damaged turf will pull easily away from the soil-just like pulling up a rug. To determine whether or not grub populations are high enough to warrant applications of pesticides, Cut out a one foot square of damaged turf. If you see more than 10-12 grubs in that one-foot patch, you might want to apply a control.

 Milky spore is a germ spore that is touted by organic control specialists it is applied aas a dry powder to the soil in a grid pattern. One application is supposed to be adequate, but it will take years for the spore population to build up enough to provide beetle control.

 Larkspur, geraniums, rue, tansy and garlic are plants that are reputed to repel Japanese Beetles.

 You can also try filling a brightly colored bowl with a little soapy water and lemon juice to attract and kill beetles.

 Here are some points to keep in mind -

• Japanese beetle flight is greatest on clear days with temperatures between 84 and 95 F and winds less than 12 miles per hour. This can bring new beetles into your landscape to challenge any control program that you may have. When these conditions exist, check plants frequently to see if beetles are starting to feed again.
• A few beetles on plants, or some moderate damage, will bring in more. Japanese beetles apparently produce aggregation pheromones that will attract more males and females to feed and find potential mates. In addition, volatile odors from damaged plants may attract more beetles. These conditions also can keep beetle numbers high. Keeping numbers and damage low can mean fewer new arrivals.
• Japanese beetles begin to feed at the tops of plants and move down as defoliation occurs. This makes damage obvious, in terms of brown leaves and esthetic damage, but also can pose coverage problems on large trees. Hose end sprayers may allow applications to reach the target but spray drift and applicator exposure are potential problems.
• Some of the effective insecticides for Japanese beetle control, such as carbaryl (Sevin) and the pyrethroids (permethrin and others) can contribute to build-ups of mites or aphids. Watch closely for signs of these pests and use acephate or malathion if needed. While these insecticides have a shorter residual life, they may help to reduce problems with secondary pests.

Japanese beetle traps are good tools for detecting new infestations and may reduce small, isolated populations under favorable circumstances but single traps or small scale multiple trap arrangements did not reduce damage to landscape plants in UK research experiments.

Some species of Tiphia wasps and a tachinid fly have become established in some beetle-infested areas. They can cause local reductions in beetle numbers but they no not provide reliable control for specific sites.