Voices

Football Coach Lou Holtz Gives Accounting Pep Talk

Lou Holtz, who coached Notre Dame and other championship football teams over a long career before becoming a best-selling author and ESPN analyst, delivered some sage advice at the CCH User Conference in Orlando.

[IMGCAP(1)]Holtz talked about the philosophy that has kept his career more or less on track through ups and downs and kept his marriage intact for over 50 years. Holtz has also become an inspiring motivational speaker, even though he freely admits to having a lisp and a stutter. “I’m not a saint, I’m not an entertainer, I’m not a dancer,” he said.

Holtz said people need to make an impact on other’s lives. Otherwise, if they don’t show up at work, they won’t be missed. He advised his audience to follow their dreams and passions.

“If you don’t have a dream, you don’t know where to go,” he said. “Martin Luther King stood up and inspired people. One man had a dream. He wouldn’t have inspired people if he had stood up and said, ‘I have a strategic plan.’

“Don’t go through life and be a spectator,” Holtz added. “Be a participant.”

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