Saturday + Fall = College Football

Bring on the tailgating, rivalries and College GameDay. The bands, fight songs, and pre-game rituals. The undergrads and alumni, the old timers and the new generation.

It’s football season.

Fans can’t wait to cheer on their team at their home stadium. Every big play is magnified by the thunderous applause and support of the home team’s fans. This psychological edge is no small thing. In fact, it’s a powerful advantage.

Question: Are you playing life on your home field? Let’s discuss.

The Big House, Death Valley, The Swamp…

Your stadium, your fans, your turf. The opposing team has to travel, stay in different hotels and endure unfamiliar pre-game routines.

However, what is the true empirical advantage, if there even is one? What does it mean for the actual score? (Find some in-depth college football home field analysis here.*)

In a nutshell, the home team averaged 29.1 points while the away team averaged 25.8 points.

That’s 3 to 3.5 point advantage to the home team. In a game of inches, that’s a significant difference.

A host of other advantages are also gained by the home team–more yards per play, more yards per rush and better third down conversion rates, but let’s focus on those 3 points.

Your Home Team Gets Three Extra Points. Do You?

Have you ever considered your personal home field advantage? What gives you your power and edge at work, in relationships and life?

The answer is simple and profound: your natural, innate, God-given talents.

Your natural talents are your very own, built-in home field advantage. When using your natural talents, you’re instantly a field goal ahead of everyone else who isn’t.

If this is the first time you’ve truly pondered what makes you stand-out, what are some clues to help you identify your natural talents?

As documented by Gallup’s extensive research on talent, engagement and work, below are five keys signs you are experiencing the power of your talent.

1. A yearning. What does your best day look like?
2. Rapid learning.
3. Flow. Total absorption. Losing track of time.
4. Glimpses of excellence.
5. Satisfaction. You ask yourself, “When can I do that again?”

One of the secrets to fulfilling your potential is understanding your unique talents, respecting those talents and aligning them with your time, effort and work.

Want to have your very own cheerleading section and triumphant fight song?

Check out Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder 2.0 and take the personalized Gallup talent assessment. Begin to discover, understand and focus your Top 5 unique talent themes. Enlist a solid coach to help you understand, grow and focus the edge your talents give you.

By growing and developing your unique talents, every day of your life will feel like you have the home field advantage. And, as badly as we sometimes want a last second field goal on Saturday, the home field advantage in life is worth much, much more.

Email us at hello@strengthslauncher.com and let us help you get your 3 points before kickoff even happens.

(*If the numbers-behind-the-numbers really does it for you, there is additional home field advantage analysis done here. Want even more awesomeness on home field advantage at the professional level? Check out Freakonomics Stephen Dubner’s 2011 analysis here.

Lastly, in a 2010 study, social scientist Jeremy P. Jamieson performed a meta-analysis of multiple team and individual sports showing that a home advantage provided a 60% winning percentage.)