GET MOTIVATED! : Bear Coach Mike Ditka Tells You How in His New Video

College players drafted by the Chicago Bears this week may get a preview of what is in store for them by picking up the latest 30-minute video from Coach Mike Ditka.

No, it isn’t an updated “Super Bowl Shuffle,” which spawned other music videos and rap records, or even Ditka’s own music video that was about as successful as Bears quarterback Doug Flutie was against the Washington Redskins in the playoffs.

Ditka has lent his name and acting skills to an impressive, 30-minute motivational video, “Are You Satisfied?” which tells the story of a troubled father and son. It is aimed at families and businesses.

While fans can buy the shuffle tape for $29, Ditka’s film cost $600 to buy, $200 to rent.

Ditka said the basis of the idea for the film and video was the ACE philosophy: Attitude, Character, Enthusiasm.

“Mike Pyle (a former Bear player) and Tom Barrett came up to me with the idea based on the ACE philosophy for a motivational tape. I didn’t know what the interest would be in that but they said it would be geared toward family and companies,” he said. “So, we formed a company, Tom wrote it, Mike directed it and I acted in it.”

Ditka said his philosophy also came from his family and the coaches for whom he worked.

The production was simple.

“My part was only three days. Mitch Friedman of our staff did a great job filming it,” he said. “It’s hard for me to evaluate it because I’m in it. I think it has some value.”

Ditka ad-libbed changes in the written outline on the day of the filming last fall.

“There was no script. Everything I did was off the cuff,” Ditka said. “We only did it in one shot. We might have reshot only two scenes, that’s all.”

Ditka and his company wanted to project a natural image.

“When you start talking about what you believe in it isn’t as much acting as what your beliefs are,” Ditka said. “I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t look for those things in people. That’s why I wanted to do it. I don’t care if it is a masterpiece. It was what I wanted to do.”

In the film, the father and son write a letter to Ditka and meet with him at the Bears’ training facility in Lake Forest. They watch Ditka use the “ACE” philosophy on the field and in business.

“What we’ve talked about is, ‘Are you satisfied?”’ Ditka says in the film. “Just remember, champions never are.”

The father, played by Chicago actor Byrne Piven, is a salesman who has dropped from No. 1 to No. 12 in the company. The sullen, angry son is played by another Chicago actor, Peter Barrett.

“They were originally directing the piece at companies, but once we got into it, we realized the importance this could have for families,” Ditka said. “I think what we saw is that it would get two birds with one stone.”

Ditka, aware of the success of the “Super Bowl Shuffle” and other entertainment and commercial ventures, insisted his film wasn’t directed at that audience.

“A lot of other similar things have been done by others in football, but the only other one to me that was really successful was the one done by Coach Vince Lombardi. That was the one that preached that ‘you have to pay the price,’ ” Ditka recalled. “Other than that, there are a lot out. Lou Holtz has one. A lot have value. People will judge how well this was done and whether it can help will be up to those who buy it.”

Ditka’s main concern was to get across a point: That sacrifice and commitment were equally as important as talent.

“I wanted to talk about what it takes to win, not being satisifed or being a fat cat, not just being satisfied with being No. 1 one time,” Ditka said. “It’s no question it’s harder to get there than it is to stay. It’s motivation.”