Dan Reeves, a great player and head coach in professional American Football, gave the film his seal of approval. He also commented:

"If you're not a Christian, it will still appeal to you. It's all about life."

In the You Tube extract, Brock, one of the team, sounds defeatist about their next match. Coach Taylor calls him out and tells him to do the death crawl i.e crawl up the field on his hands and feet with a player lying on his back (back to back).

Brock asks the coach if he wants him to crawl 30 yards up the field. The coach replies that he thinks Brock can go 50 yards. Brock says he could do 50 yards but without anyone on his back. The coach does not agree:

"I think you can do 50 with Jeremy (another player) on your back but even if you can't I want you to promise me you will give me your best."

"OK"

"You're going to give me your best?"

"I'm going to give you my best."

"One more thing - I want you to do it blindfolded."

"Why?"

"I don't want you giving up at a certain point when you can go further."

Jeremy gets on Brock's back and off they go.

The coach gives constant encouragement and inspiration. He never stops talking so that negative thoughts cannot enter Brock's mind:

"Give me your best. They're you go, Brock. That's it - a good start. A little bit left. A little bit left. That's it. There you go, Brock."

"Are we at the 20 yet?"

"Forget the 20. You give me your best; you keep going. Don't stop!"

"I want to rest a second"

"Keep moving; keep moving; keep driving. Your very best; your very best. Keep going. There you go. There you go. Don't quit. Keep your knees of the ground. Don't quit till you got nothing left. Keep going; keep going. I want everything you got. You keep going. You're doing good. You keep going. It's all heart from here. You promised me your best. It's all heart. Come on Brock. Give me more. You promised me your best. 20 more steps."

Brock is groaning in agony but is still moving forward. Jeremy is managing to stay on his back. The coach never lets up:

"Keep going. Don't quit. Don't quit. You don't quit on me. You keep going. 10 more steps. 10 more. 10 more. Keep going."

"I can't."

"You can. You can. 2 more! 1 more!"

Brock collapses and gasps: "It's got to be the 50."

"Look up, Brock. You're in the end zone!"

Brock looked up in total amazement. He had crawled 100 yards across the entire field. His team mates had stopped laughing and joking a long time before. They had gradually got to their feet and walked slowly after him. They looked on in awe from further down the field.

The coach wanted to make the most of the moment:

"Brock - you are the most influential player on this team. If you walk around defeated so will they. Don't tell me you can't give me more than I've been seeing. You just carried a 140 pound man across this whole field on your arms. Brock, I need you. God's gifted you with the ability of leadership. Don't waste it. Can I count on you?"

"Yes."

Jeremy had been trying to interrupt for a while.

"What is it, Jeremy?"

"I weigh 160 pounds!"

Brock had done his best and had achieved excellence in the death crawl at least. He was now a role model and inspiration for the rest of his team. However, he would not have achieved his best without the help of his coach who expected and demanded the best from him.

John Steinbeck put it well:

“It is the nature of man to rise to greatness, if greatness is expected of him.”

Coach Taylor expected Brock's best and if anyone gives their best they may well achieve greatness. Mike Brescia has pointed out the fact that if you give your best, you will become the best since so few people give their best. Give your best and you will become a leader. You will have the power to make a difference.

The Coach extracted a firm commitment from Brock to do his best and blindfolded him so that he would not accept any artificial limitations on his own power. He then encouraged and urged him to do his best. He expected him to do his best.

He kept up a non stop flow of positive words which did not allow Brock to harbor any negative thoughts for long. His encouragement became more intense as Brock felt more and more pain.

The coach ended up on his knees as he encouraged Brock's huge effort and at the end of the field he, too, was flat out on the ground. The best go the extra mile and are not content with mediocrity, or even the good. Both the coach and Brock gave their best.

The best believe they can achieve big goals. They welcome competition because they know that competition will keep them from getting lazy. They welcome competition because it will help them discover the huge reservoirs of power and ability inside themselves.

The best decide what is the best thing to do and do it first. Chris Widener puts it in a nutshell:

"The best have habits and discipline that get them to the top by doing the best things and doing them first."

You and I may not have coaches like Grant Taylor to drive us on. We may have to be our own coaches. This is not so bad. We can model ourselves on coaches like Taylor.

We can expect the best from ourselves. We can constantly challenge ourselves to do better and to keep going when we feel like giving up. We can use the techniques of non-stop positive talk, affirmations and visualizations of success to shut out any negative thoughts that may pop into our minds.

We can read motivational articles, books and ebooks. We can listen to motivational audio and watch motivational video. I'll list the url of the You Tube extract in the resource box at the end of this article so you can inspire yourself with this brief story again and again. Better still buy the DVD of the entire film 'Facing The Giants.'

I'll have to wait till April before it is released in the UK but I have already preordered the DVD. If the extract about Brock's death crawl is anything to go by, the rest of the film should be highly inspirational and powerfully motivational.

Be your own coach and aim to be the best you can be. You will become a leader and begin to make a big difference not only to your self but to others.

Welcome any competitors in your field. Do not let them depress you. They will push you to make the most of your abilities. Make sure your self talk is positive and don't ever quit on yourself. You can achieve almost any goal you set your mind to. Don't settle for the mediocre or even the good when you have the ability to achieve the best - the ability to achieve excellence.

Face up to the giants like fear and procrastination that might be holding you back from achieving your goals. Ask for help from God or the universe and, like David of old, destroy your Goliaths and live a life of victory and excellence.

John Watson is an award winning teacher and 5th degree blackbelt martial arts instructor. He has written several ebooks on motivation and success topics. One of these can be found at http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

You can check out the you tube extract at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vB59PkB0eQ

Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site but please include the resource box above.