Good morning!

Yes… I’m baaaaaaack.

And I’m incredibly excited to be writing again.

Where have I been? It's felt like everywhere, except writing.

The last six weeks of summer were chaotic and I didn’t make writing a priority. There's some lessons I learned that will help me course correct for next summer when the inevitable chaos happens, but for now I'll just say I had a great summer with my fam that was full of Worthy Wins.

In the meantime, there was an unexpected surprise I got a few days ago that I wanted to share with you because it's a reminder I needed - and I think will resonate with many of you as well.

A CLUB IN NEED OF A RESET

I’m coaching one of my son’s soccer teams this season and this past weekend they had an orientation meeting for the coaches. The meeting was about helping us as coaches be prepared for the season, but more so it felt like a reset for the local soccer club. There is a long history of positive impact on the community, but the quality of the coaching and administration has been struggling for the last few years.

As great as their intentions had been, the club had slipped into a place where they had to make some big changes or were going to face huge attrition.

So, the new staff members wanted to use the meeting with the volunteer coaches as a way to set a new vision. The man leading the presentation, “JP”, was doing a great job and it was clear he understood the need for improvement. He was talking transparently about the past missteps, shared the new long-term vision, and invited us to join in some short-term action steps to move closer towards the vision over the course of the season ahead.

THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS A RESET

Everything was normal until about halfway into the presentation when I turned my head towards the middle of the room. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something that was completely unexpected. And as I focused in I realized that my book was sitting on a table about fifteen feet from me.

But I didn’t bring it.

All these questions started racing through my head…

• Is that really my book?
• Who might have brought it?
• Was it supposed to be right there?
• Was someone going to talk about it?

I was completely perplexed. Another coach I know fairly well was sitting nearby to it, but not close enough for it to be his. There were other coaches in the room that I knew who maybe could haver brought it with them, but I couldn’t make sense of it.

And then out of the blue, JP says, “I found a quote in Worthy Wins, from our very own Coach Olinger, that has really resonated with me.” Then he looks at me and says, “You’re Coach Olinger, right?”

Huh?

Internally my wheels were cranking: I mean, yes, obviously that’s me. But why did JP have my book and know who I was? I had never met him before.

Externally I didn’t show the same confusion and I just responded and said, “Yes, that’s me.”

JP continued on by pulling up the quote and a picture of my book on the huge screen at the front of the room. 🤯

How did this guy I had never met before end up with my book and choose to put it up in this meeting?

It didn’t matter.

He was using it to drive home a point about the reset the club needed to make. The quote he used was this:

“The journey to get Worthy Wins begins with a first step in a new direction.”

JP was trying to make clear that the only way to get the club back to it’s rightful place was to take a first step in a new direction. And he was using the meeting to invite us as the volunteer coaches to join in the reset - with my book as an encouragement on the process.

8 TRUTHS ABOUT RESETS

We all need resets from time to time. What I’ve found in my own life is that the pursuit of Worthy Wins begins a first step.

So, here’s eight truths about resets that are helpful reminders for me… as an individual, a leader of people, and a consultant.

1. You can start over at any point when you decide things aren’t working.
2. I’m prone to be moving so fast that I miss seeing the opportunity or invitation for a reset in an area of my life.
3. Resetting is not merely a thinking exercise.
4. You cannot begin a reset without taking action.
5. Resets don’t change the circumstances instantly, but they do give us hope for a better destination in the long run.
6. Sometimes we have to wait to take a first step and sometimes we just need to take that first step now.
7. No matter what you’ve done, how far you’ve gone off track, failed, let yourself down, or whatever else might make you feel like you’re disqualified - it’s never too late to take a first step in a new direction.
8. First steps in a new direction are the beginnings of new stories. They become pivotal moments in our lives when the story begins to change because we chose to take a step back and go in a new direction.

Ultimately, there is power in resetting and all it takes is a first step to get started.

JESUS INVITES US TO RESET

In the Bible we see Jesus invite many different types of people to reset, to take a first step in a new direction. What they had done before - good, bad, or indifferent - did not matter. There weren’t preconditions for taking a step in a direction that would change their lives for the better.

The biggest example for me is when he invites a ragtag group of guys to become his disciples. Without getting into all the theological and historical context of a rabbi selecting disciples - just know that there were typically many hoops to go through to become a disciple.

Jesus removed all the hoops to invite a group who didn’t ‘deserve’ it to become his followers.

In each case, he began with an invitation into a first step in a new direction.

In Luke 5, Jesus asks Levi, one of the most despised types of people at the time - a tax collector - to come and follow him.

There was no vetting, no make good for his past grievances, just an invitation to reset with a first step.

What I learned during my first trip to Israel was that Jesus’ invitation to these soon-to-be disciples was about the next step. It wasn’t about fast forwarding to the end of their lives.

He was inviting them to reset with a first step.

And it’s the same for us.

RESETS CAN BE SIMPLE

This is getting long so I’m going to cut it off for now. But I’ll share some thoughts on my own personal resets heading into the end of 2025 in an upcoming note.

For now, I hope that wherever this finds you that you realize you don’t have to keep going as is.

A reset is as simple as first step in a new direction.

Rooting for you,

JO

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WORTHY WINS REFLECTION QUESTIONS

A few simple questions for consideration...

• Do you feel like you’re winning right now in your most important relationships?
• What about your most important accomplishments?
• Is there anywhere you need to consider a reset right now?
• What is ONE first step you can take to help begin the reset?

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{Saint Augustine, FL 32080}