Good Morning, Islanders Country.
After Monday night’s win, Patrick Roy played the role of professor and poet, saying, "In life, you could be an eagle or duck. He was an eagle."
I wanted to understand its origin. Surely, it wasn’t a Roy original, though I anticipate we’ll hear a few of those during his tenure. I traced the “eagle mentality” back to a personal growth guru named Wayne Dyer through a story about a cab driver named Wally.
After hearing Dyer’s explanation of what differentiates ducks from eagles, the cab driver overhauled the negative outlook of his profession, took ownership of it, and started treating it as a high-end limo service with a clear mission statement.
In short, it’s about how you are in control of your mindset. You can decide to shift away from making excuses (a duck) and start making decisions to change your attitude and differentiate from others (an eagle).
Over time, little changes and positive steps in the right direction will lead to transformational change. You’ll put in the work, stay consistent, and start to reap the benefits from all of it.
Ducks may fly together, as Gordon Bombay taught us, but Roy wants his team to soar like an eagle. No complaints, no excuses, wake up every day expecting good things to happen. Take responsibility for your actions, prepare, and practice to be ready for when an opportunity presents itself.
Roy came to Long Island with a swagger, an attitude, and a winning mentality. He’s now working on having his team have the same.
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