What is the Rudy Syndrome?

The Rudy Syndrome is not a disease.  It is not even a real syndrome.  The Rudy Syndrome is a state of mind. 

I made up the term "The Rudy Syndrome" as a way to refer to a certain attitude many years ago after watching the movie "Rudy" about famous Notre Dame football player, Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger.  Rudy was a small, not-very-talented, but determined young man from Joliet, Illinois.   Rudy made it his goal to make the football team at the University of Notre Dame, despite all odds being stacked against him.  If you haven't seen the movie detailing this heroic story, it is a must see. 

So, here's how The Rudy Syndrome works.  There are people who have heart.  And, there are people who have talent.  The people who have heart work with all their might to be the absolute best they can be at whatever they do.  Rudy was a heart guy.  He gave everything he could to be the absolute best practice team player in the history of Notre Dame football.  No one worked harder than him.  No one.  Although he was never good enough to be a starting player, every guy he played with knew that he made them better just by being willing to take a beating, day after day after day, no matter how much it hurt, because he couldn't see giving anything less than his absolute best every day, no matter what.  Because he had heart, and gave his best, his team was better because of his efforts.

Then there are the people with talent.  Some of Rudy's teammates, for example, were given the gift of football greatness.  They didn't have to work for it, they were just born with it.  Some of them worked hard to become the best football players of their era.  But, some of them didn't.  Some of them just coasted along on their talent and didn't put out the effort of a guy like Rudy because they didn't have to.  They didn't put in nearly the effort Rudy put in day in and day out.  These guys had The Rudy Syndrome. 

The Rudy Syndrome happens when people of whatever talent level fail to put in the effort to become the very best they can be.  This blog is published for the purpose of focusing on how people can avoid The Rudy Syndrome.

Posted by Atty Jones at 25 Dec 2007, 9:21 PM
Categories: uncategorized
 

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  • 26 Dec 2007, 10:53 AM Janelle wrote:
    I suffer from the Rudy Syndrome. Its nice not to be an over-achiever. As a wise man once said, "So much to do, so little motivation."
    Reply to this
  • 26 Dec 2007, 12:46 PM Elli Mac wrote:
    If you work "heart," potentiality becomes a potent reality.
    Reply to this
  • 13 Feb 2008, 3:20 PM Ben wrote:
    "Rudy... Rudy... Rudy..."
    Reply to this
  • 26 Jan 2009, 5:28 PM Wanda wrote:
    A syndrome is a "condition" which is a "manner or state of being". Looked at this way, wouldn't we want to HAVE the Rudy Syndrome?
    I agree with you that we need to develop and use our skills and talents.
    If we don't, we are just taking up space in the universe.
    Reply to this
  • 25 Aug 2010, 11:10 AM Tacfit Commando wrote:
    I like your style, the fact that your site is a little bit different makes it so interesting, I get fed up of seeing same-old-same-old all of the time. I've just stumbled this page for you
    Reply to this
  • 2 Sep 2010, 1:01 AM Fat Loss 4 Idiots wrote:
    This is my first time at your blog and I've really enjoyed looking around. I will come back again in the future to check out some of the other articles.
    Reply to this
  • 10 Mar 2011, 1:06 AM Mozius wrote:
    Great insight, great article, and thanks for sharing it.
    How to subscribe on your blog ???
    Reply to this
  • 24 Dec 2011, 8:07 PM Peter Rowell wrote:
    It is ironic that you named your blog after someone who was just given a heavy fine by the SEC. And now *you* have helped craft a GD policy (supporting SOPA) that seriously impacts GD's credibility.

    Nice going.
    Reply to this
    1. 24 Dec 2011, 9:26 PM Atty Jones wrote:
      Dear Peter-

      I'm not sure what the name of this blog has to do with the SEC.  That seems a bit of a stretch.  Regardless of his actions later in life, the story of a young man who worked harder than anyone around him to earn a measure of success is an example many of us can and should follow.  I admit I'm not privy to the details of the investigation into the sports drink and, since there was a "no admission of guilt" adjudication, it appears none of us ever will be.  Nevertheless, this blog's namesake is still a source of inspiration.

      While you appear to already have your mind made up about me, and I will not ask you to change it since we don't know each other, it is important for you to know some of the truth about "my" policy if you are going to make statements about it.  I've heard from many people in the past two days who had a fundamental misunderstanding of our involvement in SOPA.  They were unaware we took a leadership position in trying to make changes to the bill that would make it palatable to the entire Internet community.  They were unaware that we held meetings with policy leaders of most of the top tech companies to hear their concerns.  They were unaware that we proposed changes to the bill and that some of those changes have now been adopted.  They were unaware that our position on a few essential elements was not adopted (i.e., DNS filtering).  And, they were unaware that the current version of the bill, although a vast improvement from the original, made our continued support unsustainable.

      What is also clear from hearing from thousands of members of the Internet community in the last three days is that there are very few people who make the effort to fully educate themselves before taking a position, even one that could potentially cost them money, on a certain issue.  Since you made the effort to post not one, but two, comments here, I will give you credit for being a person who makes an extra effort to participate in useful discussions.  For that, I thank you.

      Go Daddy has withdrawn its support for SOPA, so I wont debate the bill further with you.  But, I do appreciate your passion and encourage you to continue to be involved in the conversation.

      Thank you for the post,
      AttyJones


        

      Reply to this

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