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It’s Super Bowl Sunday. You’ve got the hot wings, the dip and chips, and the Flatscreen TV. You’re ready to kick back and enjoy the Packers and Steelers in XLV. It’s great to root for winners on the field. But as you do consider these tips for a post-game plan to post some wins in your own career.

1. What’s your Super Bowl? The dream of playing in the Super Bowl is a powerful one, driving players relentlessly through every game of each season. What dream can you affix in your mind, what place do you want to go to, what shining moment are you striving for? What’s something that will get you fired up to get out of bed early each morning?

2. Put in the time. Everyone likes to talk about their favorite star players and wear their jerseys during a winning season.  But few people take notice before they’re gridiron heroes: when they’re putting in the tough hours, practicing hard when no one’s watching, and persevering through slumps, injuries, and other setbacks. Realize that for pro football players—and for you—there is no such thing as an overnight success, according to Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, it usually takes about 10 years.

3. Have a tantalizing talisman. The Super Bowl ring is the ultimate memento of an NFL career and symbol of success. The ring means more than its 5K worth of gold and diamonds; each ring tells the story of a team, a season, and a player.  Instead of waiting around for the company to give you a gold watch for your retirement decide upon your desirable talisman and affix a goal for achieving it. Put a pic of it on your desktop or Blackberry screen saver. Let it be known that you will obtain it if you achieve your goal. Maybe it’s a new wristwatch, diamond ring, pocket knife, or set of golf clubs. Whatever it is, consider getting it engraved, and you’ll not only have a nice symbol of your success to enjoy, but something you can pass on.

4. You might lose. Imagine slugging it out all season with the Super Bowl in sight then falling short like the Jets or the Bears this past season. Oh, the agony of defeat. And in the big game today someone must lose. Part of the appeal of the Super Bowl is watching the struggles of life play out on 52 inches of Hi Def. A dream will come true for some while for others it all comes crashing down. The fact that many of these players will start from scratch again next season is an inspiration for all of us to start anew tomorrow.

5. Get in the game. Over a 100 million people are expected to tune in to the Super Bowl. But only a few dozen at best will see time on the field. Those players will be the subject of comments and commentary from legions of spectators far and wide. In his famous In the Arena speech Teddy Roosevelt said, “It’s not the critic who counts.” Instead it’s the person who gets in the ring and takes his  lumps and comes back for more. Focus less on critiquing others and more on the steps you’re taking to be on top of your own game.

6. You might make a mistake. Immediately after the Super Bowl, everyone had an opinion on what the Steelers did wrong, or what the quarterback should have done differently, or who else should have done what.  The best lesson there is that you have to allow yourself to make mistakes of your own. Playing it safe won’t gain you much yardage.

7.  Plan your comeback. Those who didn’t make the Super Bowl are already making plans for next season. The coaches all make that clear in the post-game press briefings. The defeated Steelers are plotting a return to the Super Bowl and the victorious Packers are planning to avoid the perils of complacency. So how about you? Ready to stage your own comeback?

I decided to try out my new Blu-Ray player with a bang so I grabbed—what else?—“The Expendables.” This 2010 homage to ‘80’s action movies features a rogues’ gallery of action stars including stalwarts Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, and of course, Arnold in a cameo.

The reviews were mixed, but the box office returns were impressive, so whether it was the intense action, the stunts, the weaponry or the in-your-face high resolution, I enjoyed the ride.

At one memorable point in the film, Willis, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger appear in the same scene for the first time in their collective careers. There are any number of little lessons you could take away.

You might say, “It’s never too late to do what you might have done,” or “You’re never too old,” or perhaps something along the lines of, “You’re only as old as you allow yourself to be defined to be.” But those chestnuts are, well, old.

I like this lesson better. In the scene, Mr. Church (Willis) is interviewing mercenaries Ross (Stallone) and Mauser (Schwarzenegger) for the job of overthrowing a Latin American dictator. Church tells them, “Both your names came to the top of the list.”

As we go into the new year, many people are busy compiling their own “to-do” lists. But perhaps our focus might be better spent trying to make it to the top of someone else’s list. Getting the attention of a Mr. Church looking to hire the best for a job you’re good at.

So who’s list do you want to be on, and what can you do to get to the top of it? That might be something worth shooting for.

Feelin’ the blues? Let this tale of rock n’ roll resurgence revive your spirit.

In 1990 Alice in Chains burst onto the music scene with their dark, grunge sound and the unique harmonizing style of guitarist Jerry Cantrell and lead vocalist Layne Staley.

By 1996 the Seattle band had released three top-selling studio albums, a trio of EPs, and corralled legions of fans with songs such as “Man in a Box,” “Rooster,” and “Down in a Hole.”  The future looked as bright as the stage lights until Staley added his name to the long, sad list of musicians with lives cut short when he died of a drug overdose in 2002.

At that point, as far as Cantrell and his bandmates were concerned, the last chapter of Alice in Chains had been written.

As the years passed the surviving members of the band began jamming, and eventually began kicking around the idea of recording again. In 2009 Alice in Chains released a new CD–their first in 14 years—as a tribute to their fallen friend. Touring in support of the now-certified gold record, the band recently released their fourth single from the album.

Cantrell handles much of the lead vocal work on “Black Turns Into Blue” along with newcomer William DuVall. But before the album’s release there were many skeptical fans of the opinion that no one could match Staley’s stage presence, personality, and especially his amazing vocal range. Cantrell himself knew this to be true. He also knew he couldn’t let that stop him.

In interviews Cantrell explained how he found the confidence to reunite the band and tackle the microphone despite the long shadow cast by his friend. He remembered how Staley had believed in him and regularly encouraged him as a singer—an unusual trait in a business often dominated by paranoid, ego-laden frontmen. Cantrell recalled one particular poignant exchange:

Jerry Cantrell: “I just can’t sing like you, man.”

Layne Staley: “Well then learn to sing better.”

After several years of mourning, Cantrell took that advice to heart and got to work writing and recording; the ghost of his friend as his muse and inspiration. But it was also about a new beginning and letting go of the past.

The band recorded the title track in the studio with none other than Elton John on piano. (In a full-circle twist of fate, the first concert Staley had ever attended was an Elton John show.)

In an interview with Spin, Cantrell said,  “(Stuff) happens and things are not going to work out the way you want them to all the time in life. You get knocked (down), like you inevitably will, and it’s really about how you go about picking yourself back up. This is our process, this is what we’re doing.”

It’s a great story of a band that found its way back from the brink. There will always be others better than you.  But that shouldn’t discourage you from improving your abilities and honing your strengths and talents. You have a right to do your thing. There will always be reasons to quit–and people encouraging it–but that doesn’t mean you have to listen.

Somewhere there’s an audience that needs what you’ve got, and a stage waiting for you to step up and give it your all.