part0023

“You can only accept what is. When you fiercely accept how the universe unfolds, you see it as something you need. The universe isn’t doing it to you, it’s doing it for you. Whatever comes your way, fiercely accept it as a lesson you need to learn.”

Pat started out as an athletic trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers. Eventually, he became president and an owner. Under his guidance, the 76ers went from last place to the NBA finals. He appeared on the cover of Success Magazine as the first trainer to rise to an ownership position with a professional sports team.

Pat founded Sports Physical Therapists in 1984 and grew the business into a chain of forty centers spanning eleven states. He served as administrative director of the Sports Medicine Clinic of Haverford Community Hospital and has been profiled in Inc. Magazine and Sales & Marketing Management .

He was one of the four judges for ABC's reality television series American Inventor , served as a taekwondo commentator for the 2004 Summer Olympics, and has served as an NBA commentator on NBC. He also hosted a syndicated TV show, Pat Croce, Moving In .

Today, Pat is the owner of the St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum and the pirate-themed Rum Barrel restaurant. He owns and operates, in conjunction with the University of Florida, the Colonial Quarter living history museum in St. Augustine. He serves on the board of directors for Movitas, a mobile technology company focused on the hospitality industry. He financed and served on the expedition that located the shipwrecks of explorer Sir Francis Drake.

My first last laugh was getting rejected by the Philadelphia Eagles. I naïvely knocked on their door and asked, “Do you have a physical therapist on staff?”

There is another V—the “voice” in the head. It can be so destructive. I could have walked away from that experience and let the voice accuse me: I’m no good. I can’t do this. It won’t work. But I didn’t. That rejection fueled me. It set in motion an entirely different path for me. I accepted the no. “Okay. Maybe I’m not ready.” I pulled myself up by the bootstraps. I worked a little harder and took some more courses. I continued to build relationships and strive for my dream.

I have learned to fiercely accept a “No.” I don’t put myself down when I get a rejection. I consider it direction. “This is not where I need to go now.” Eventually, I became a conditioning coach for the Flyers and the Sixers. I went on to be part owner of the Sixers and president of the franchise.

You can only accept what is. When you fiercely accept how the universe unfolds, you see it as something you need. The universe isn’t doing it to you, it’s doing it for you. Whatever comes your way, fiercely accept it as a lesson you need to learn.

Nothing happens without vision. Nothing. Without vision, you will spend your life fulfilling other people’s dreams. In my book, Lead or Get Off the Pot , I outline a vision breakdown:

You must believe you can accomplish your vision. Not just hope so. Hope is a mask of fear. When you say, “I hope I can get something done,” or, “I hope I can do this,” it’s bullshit. It’s a pretty mask on your fear. You’re really saying, “I am afraid that I might not be able to do this.”

Somewhere on that rainbow from the vision to the to-do list, people fall off. Vince Papale, Dennis Franks, the people in the Hall of Fame all rode the rainbow. They made it all the way. They achieved their vision. They might have used different strategies or encountered different detours, but they made it.

Detours are just the universe unfolding. Success is accepting that detour. It is being present and doing your best RIGHT NOW. That is how you wow the universe. In Zen, there is a proverb: “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

On February 20th, 1998, I had a meeting for the 76ers season ticket holders. This was my rookie year as president of the franchise. I had promised to accomplish many things. I was going to give them updates and hear their concerns, comments, and questions.

We had started the season off well, but then things got bad. We had lost the last five games. We had thirteen wins and thirty-nine losses. It was an awful time to go in front of the season ticket holders—my customers. It took courage.

The meeting turned into a bloodbath. They were screaming, yelling, and cursing at me. “The coach can’t coach. The GM can’t evaluate talent. The players can’t play.” They wanted me to trade every player except rookie Allen Iverson. It was embarrassing and painful.

After the meeting, I’m making my way to the exit tunnel. About two dozen fans try to block my exit. I’m thinking, Oh no. I can handle myself pretty well. I’m a fourth degree black belt in Taekwondo. I’m a street fighter. But a gang of Philly fans? I’m going to get my ass kicked. To my surprise, instead of jumping me, they thanked me for listening and caring.

The next day, the press had a field day. The bloodbath was broadcast on ESPN—Fans in the Stands news. You might as well have taken my pants down and publicly beat me with a belt across the butt.

That was the turning point for the franchise. It caused a 180-degree shift. I did fire the coach and general manager. By my third season, we were in the playoffs, and by the fifth, we were in the finals.

The passion of the fans created a ripple in our ocean. The ocean was our passion for winning. That ripple was strong enough to bring about the changes needed to set our winning streak in motion.

It starts with getting a good night’s rest. I get 7–8 hours of sleep each night. I am a big believer in nourishing myself with good sleep. Some say they can survive on 4–5 hours. I’m not about surviving. I’m about thriving. I believe you need 7–8 hours to energize you for the other 16 hours. You must be ON when you greet the world. If you are tired when you pick up the phone or respond to an email, you might express something you will regret for the rest of your life.

I have a morning routine. My routine wakes up my mind. I get out of bed. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I feel the energy flowing through me. I clap my hands, rub them together, and say, “Today is going to be a great day.” I take that energy from the earth—it flows from my feet right up to the crown of my head.

I love when my feet hit the ground between 4–4:30 a.m. I have a cup of coffee. I take the dog outside for a walk. I journal and do some Chinese writing. From there I work out for an hour. After I work out, I shower and eat breakfast. I then meditate. Boom! I’m ready for the day.

Even though I am retired now, I still have this routine. By 9 a.m., my body is ready. My mind is ready. I have the energy I need to face the day. In the afternoon, I take a ten-minute power nap. I look like Grandpa Munster laying in a coffin. I nap just long enough for that blood to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Regarding food, I’m Italian. I was raised on pasta. I love it, but I can’t eat as much I used to. I eat three meals a day. I rarely snack. If I do snack, it’s a small snack like fruit or carrots. If I have something like potato chips, it’s a handful, not a full bag. I don’t eat late. I don’t go to bed with a full stomach. I’m 90% gluten-free. I eat nourishing food and have protein with my meals. My favorite protein is fresh fish. I have restaurants in Key West. That’s where you get fresh fish. I drink alcohol at happy hour, but I don’t drink after that.

I believe in moderation. I don’t worry about my diet. I try to be fully present when I am eating. That’s the problem with a lot of people; they just stuff their face. They haven’t even tasted the first helping and they can’t wait to get to the second. That’s why there are so many overweight people.

Spirituality also affects your energy. You have to know that the Divine One is in your corner. That stokes fierce acceptance when challenges come, like Hurricane Irma. God knows the plan. We’re just players on this field. God knows the outcome. So go with it. That gives you more energy.

The voice in the head affects vitality too. Look around you. You will see people who are not even working that hard, but they’re dead tired because their mind is beating them up.

To deal with the things that drain emotional energy, you need to go to the seed of the emotion—that voice in the head, the chatterbox. You have a thought. You infuse that thought with energy and consciousness. It becomes an emotion. That emotion turns into a reaction—like igniting a powder keg.

We all have karmic DNA, and that affects our reactions. That karmic DNA can come from our parents or ancestors. The best way to change negative emotional energy is to give it space. If you are angry, breathe.

Anger, disappointment, and being upset are fear-based. That is not who you truly are. It’s a thought. Your thoughts aren’t you. They are just thoughts. Let them go. When you hold onto them, you infuse them with more energy. That voice in your head says, “You know what that person said about me?” The thought keeps going. You begin to create a mind map and add more energy to it. It becomes an emotion and creates a negative ripple in your pond.

We all have negative thoughts, unless maybe you’re the Dalai Lama, Jesus Christ, Buddha, or Gandhi. We all have negative thoughts, but they’re not you. Let them go. I work on my biceps and my quadriceps, but the most important muscle I work on is my LET IT GO muscle.

My late father used to say, “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” So, many times, I’ve asked and was told no. But I don’t hear the no. When I asked Harold Katz, the former owner of the 76ers, if I could buy 10% of the team, he said, “No. When I sell the team, it will be all or nothing.” I didn’t hear no, I heard “all or nothing.” I came back forty-eight hours later and offered, “I want to buy the team from you. All of it.” He said, “No. When I sell the team, it is going to be for about 125 million dollars. I’m not ready to sell yet.” I didn’t hear no. I heard “125 million dollars.” The first rule of negotiation—he who says the first number loses. Take “no” as the information you need. It’s a learning experience.

You need to believe in yourself vehemently. Not that you’re better or worse than someone else. That’s ego. Believe in yourself and know your purpose. That’s all.

When you believe in yourself, understand your purpose, and do your best work NOW, you create high vibrational energy. You activate the law of attraction. For example, you could be waiting tables. When you believe in yourself, know your purpose, and do your best work NOW, people will notice. “Hey, look at that waiter. What a great attitude. Look at the smile. We should give him a job.”

I have always been one who believed in celebrating the little victories. I felt that celebrating the small wins stoked the embers of passion. I am now of the faith that when you are present NOW, that is success. Victory is not a future achievement.

As the Bhagavad-Gita—one of the greatest books outside the Bible—says, “Do not be attached to the fruits of your labor.” Do not be attached to the fruits of your actions. The action you take today is not about achieving a win later. It is about winning now—in the present. Do your best now, because now is all you have. Today is not a means to an end. Today is the end. This is all we have. When you realize that, the wins become even more glorious.