The New York Jets got bounced from the playoffs last night after winning two amazing games against two of the top quarterbacks in the game – Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

If you watched the game or heard anything about it, you know that the Jets looked like two different teams during the game – one in the first half and one in the second half.

I think part of it had to do with the fact that the Jets were emotionally and physically drained after winning at New England the week before.  The Steelers are the better team, but the effort the Jets put forth in the first half was pitiful.  Right before the end of the half the Jets put 3 points on the board to go into the locker room, down 24-3.  The team that had beat one of the best teams in the NFL the week before was down 21 points (3 scores) after only a half of play.

But that’s not the interesting part.  What makes the story (and my post) is the fact that they rallied in the second half to score 16 unanswered points, but the rally came up short.

According to head coach Rex Ryan: “We played a good half. We never played a good game, and that was the difference.  You get to this point, you’ve got to play a great game against a great opponent and we played a good half and that was it.”

One crappy half and one great one led to them losing the game.  The Steelers had an amazing first half and a crappy second half where they almost gave away the game, but they did just enough in the second half to hold on for a win.  It got me thinking about careers and performance on the job.

Career First Half vs. Second Halves
Some people graduate college or high school and burst right out of the gates.  After a certain point, the intensity begins to decline.  Whether it’s due to them starting a new family or settling into a comfortable lifestyle, they don’t attack their days with that same intensity.  Others will have a so-so career and finally decide to give it their all at work.  They take on new responsibilities and flourish, surprising not only themselves, but those around them.

Of course I’ve made the above scenarios very cut and dry – working like crazy for one half of your career and not so much in the other half.

My question to you is what kind of “first half” have you had in your career to date?  Are you where you thought you would be?  What kind of effort have you put in?  Do you have the results to show for it?

One of the big stories of the Jets Steelers game is that the Steelers’ QB, Ben Roethlisberger is heading to his 3rd Super Bowl.  Ben started the season on the bench because of off the field issues and had to sit out the first four games of the season.  He could have thrown in the towel on the season, but he didn’t.  He worked hard at being ready for that fifth game and being ready for the rest of the season.

Turning Around Your Season (and Career)
Regardless of where you are in your “season” you have the ability to turn things around and get back on track.  You can refocus yourself on your goals and get after them.

If you’re already doing well – a few promotions and a nice salary under your belt – now is the perfect time to sharpen your focus and rededicate yourself to your work before you begin to get too comfortable.  Comfort leads to complacency and complacency leads to decline.  Don’t let that happen to you.

Side Bar – I’ve written about the importance of avoiding complacency before.  It’s worth a read if you need a kick in the pants on the topic.  Lazy?  Here’s a friendly reminder about the importance of not getting complacent:

“The enthusiasm you have for your life and your job is what keeps you going.  Enthusiasm is a short step away from PASSION.  If you’re PASSIONATE about something and you’re doing that thing for a living, then you’re set up for success in life.

Passion and enthusiasm for your work is what will help you be your best when things aren’t going smoothly.  It will stop you from getting stuck and becoming complacent.  The moment you get COMFORTABLE is the moment you start declining and become vulnerable.  When you don’t follow your passions or you’re not enthusiastic about your work, then you’ve got a lot to FEAR, namely getting laid off, gaining weight, being depressed, unfulfilled and a dozen other depressing states.”

For those of you that are just starting your careers and have a long way to go before you reach the mid-point, think of this time as the First Quarter of your career and finish this quarter with style.  Regroup and get ready for the Second Quarter and build from there.

“I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.” – Vince Lombardi

Life doesn’t have to be hard if you make the process of living and working a game, something to have fun with.  Write your own playbook and attack, attack, attack.

“Football is like life, it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.” – VINCE LOMBARDI

While I’m not advocating that you give it your all at work and forget the rest of your life, I am saying that you’ll be happiest knowing that you followed your passion and gave it your all in your job.  Work hard for the good cause you believe in and don’t half-ass it through half your career and then try and make up for it later.  Later never comes.

One last football reference and one that always gets me recharged.  I hope it does the same for you.  At my house I had a rock with this quote from Vince Lombardi, the great Green Bay Packers coach, etched into it:

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

The rock now sits in my brother-in-laws back yard, surrounded by snow.  From the legend of the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field, it reminds me right now of the level of commitment needed to push everything else aside and focus on the task at hand.

Do you have the ability to do that?  Of course you do.  You just have to want it bad enough.  Go and get it.  Make the second half of your career something to write about.

A few more Lombardi quotes to pump you up:

“Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent’s pressure, and the temporary failures.”

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”

“If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.”

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

“Leaders aren’t born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”

TIME TO TAKE ACTION
What are you waiting for?  Stop reading and get moving on creating your game plan for the rest of your life.  Greatness awaits you.  You just have to take that first step of mapping out your future.  The next step is easy – take MASSIVE ACTION.