Lou Holtz, a successful college football coach, having coached Notre Dame to a national football title in 1988 and two-time Coach of the Year. He retired after 27 seasons with five schools, including William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Notre Dame, but returned to coaching with the University of South Carolina in 1999. One day in 1966, one month after having been just hired as an assistant coach to Marvin Bass at the University of South Carolina, Lou Holtz found himself unemployed and questioning whether he was in the right profession after Bass resigned as head coach. Holtz's wife, Beth, was eight months pregnant with the couple's third child and Holtz had just spent virtually every penny he had in the bank to make a down payment on a house. His wife gave to him the book The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz in an effort to lift his spirits. The book suggested that you write down all the goals you want to achieve before you die. Holtz sat down at the dining room table and let his imagination go. Before he knew it, he had listed 107 goals he wanted to achieve in his life, covering all areas of his life that he wanted to improve, from professionally to parenting to improving his spiritual life. Holtz discovered the power of positive thinking and setting life goals. He figured out exactly what he wanted. His list became a guideline for his life and a measuring stick of his success. Lou Holtz is a motivational speaker and encourages all to reach for their goals, chase their dreams and ideas, and be a participant in life, not a spectator.


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