Jun 10, 2010 Posted in Fun and Inspiration

A Philosophy Lesson from Dave “The Hammer” Schultz

So I was watching the Stanley Cup Finals this evening and the Canadian icon Don Cherry interviewed legendary tough guy Dave “The Hammer” Shultz before the game.

If you’re not familiar with “The Hammer” he was the king bully back in the 70′s when the Flyers were known as the Broad Street Bullies. I was only about 7 years old when Dave ruled the roost but I do remember him always beating up on some poor sap from the Leafs.  He was the toughest of the tough in an era of incredible tough dudes.

So Don Cherry is talking to him and the name Fred Shero comes up.  Fred was another legend but for his coaching skills, not his fists. In fact, he was known to have ‘disliked’ fighting in hockey – all the while putting together a team that would give opponents nightmares.

In any event, Shultz mentioned something that Shero said once to get the lads revved up.  It was something to the effect of, “If you’re worried about people criticizing you the solution is simple.  Say nothing, do nothing and be nothing.”

Huh?  Did I just pick up a great lesson from The Hammer himself?  I guess I did.  I have a number of half-completed projects on the go that I haven’t done anything with simply because they might not be well received.  In other words, I’m breaking my own golden rule of marketing – test everything.

Who cares what others think?