The Art of Being a Pig

“If you call one of our players a pig he’ll probably come up and high-five you!”
- Kyle Whittingham

The Art of Being a Pig

My friend Sandra Johnson owned her own advertising firm when I met her. She worked for the firm I was with, so I had the great pleasure of getting to know her. What I love most about Sandra is her great sense of humor and her ability to see things from a different point of view. For example, one Christmas knowing that my friend Brad loved dogs, she gave him a beautifully framed poem entitled, “Things One Can Learn From A Dog.”


When it came my turn to open a gift we all laughed in delight when I received the same gift, but with all the words changed from dog to hog and the rest of the body changed to reflect the difference between a dog and a hog. It still enjoys a prominent place on my office wall! You may wonder why?


A few years ago I became interested in hog farming so I spent quite a bit of time touring hog farms and studying them. Sandra knew this and was very humored by it since I had never hog farmed before. She just couldn’t picture me as a hog farmer.


When one of her associates misspelled my middle name as Gordan rather than Gordon, Sandra immediately dubbed me, “Dan the Hog Farmer.” This name has stuck with me for almost fifteen years now! In fact, when I was working in New York I went to a restaurant one morning and saw a group of people from Salt Lake City.


The group had come for a Theater Tour. As it turned out, I had a couple of friends in the group so I was able to recognize that they were from Salt Lake. It was wonderful to see them so I came over to say hello and talk for a while. My friends were kind enough introduce me to other members of their group. And, this led to a most unexpected turn of events.


I was introduced to one woman in the group and she got the most surprised look on her face. Since I had never met her before you can imagine this took be back a little! Then it became clear.


She looked at me and exclaimed, “You’re Dan the Hog Farmer?”


My stunned reply was a simple, “Yes.”


Then, said she, “Sandra Johnson has told me all about you. I didn’t expect to meet you in New York City and dress in a suit!” I have laughed at this turn of events for a long time but, I hadn’t thought of this experience for years, because I’m no longer interested in Hog Farming, until this week.


A group of my friends and I had the chance to talk with Kyle Whittingham, Head Coach of the University of Utah Football Team. During our meeting Kyle was asked, “What did you do to inspire your team to have a perfect 13-0 season last year?”


That’s when Kyle said, “I don’t have to inspire them. We recruit great young men. But, if you call one of our players a pig he’ll probably come up and high-five you!”


Then he went on to explain that he taught them about breakfast. “I told them that when they look down at their breakfast, the eggs on the plate came from a chicken. The bacon or ham on the plate came from a pig. The chicken gave a little bit of herself, but the pig was totally committed.” He said. Commitment is the basis for Coach Whittingham’s team. He has created a culture of total commitment.


But, there is something else he has done. He has surrounded his players with great coaches. They are men of skill and ability. They are men who have played the game and are now able to transfer their experience to the players they coach.


While I listened to Coach Whittingham I learned something about pigs I never really examined during the days I was known as “Dan the Hog Farmer.” I learned that there is art to being a great pig and that art can be used to help in many other areas of my life.


To be successful, I need to be committed to a successful outcome and I need to surround myself with people who have successfully done what I hope to do. Then I need to be willing to do what they ask me to do and to perform with accountability and faith.


There were two games where the Utah Football Team had to come from behind in the remaining minutes and seconds of the game to win. Coach Whittingham said, “The team had no doubt they could do it.”


I have no doubt you can do it! You can be successful! Make a commitment, surround yourself with a great coaching staff and have faith in yourself.


In short, go out there and be a pig!