MMM--KICKING FAILURE

This last week kicked off one of the greatest weeks of each year, football season. With the excitement of college football in the air and next week the NFL, I thought it would be fitting to merge the concept of this week's Monday Morning Motivation with the great game.

This week is about "Kicking Failure." Over the past two years there has not been much to cheer about. The economy sucks, our houses aren't worth squat, people we know and love are losing their jobs, retirement funds, sources of income, and gas prices suck.

Though this time has been more of a "national failure," based on greed, gluttony, and selfishness, we cannot help but feel that we are failing in some ways as well. When things around us seem to be falling apart, it is much more difficult to live with hope and believe that we will eventually come out of this. And before it is all said and done, the reality is, we will continue to see more and more people's lives fall apart, which will just make the reality of our own possible failure even that much closer.

But "Kicking Failure," is the only option I see for all of us. We have to ask ourselves, "Do I want to end up like Ray Finkle (pictured above), living a double life as Loius Einhorn to escape the difficulties in my life? or "Do I want to be able to have my life and perspective changed through difficulties and failures?" This would be like another football player, Scott Norwood.

Scott Norwood, if you have never heard of him, was the guy who missed the field goal in Super Bowl XXV, after his quarterback Jim Kelly orchestrated a perfect drive to get them into field goal range to win the Super Bowl. At the time, Norwood was a Pro Bowl kicker who could drill 47 yard field goals blindfolded.

Norwood, however missed this one. With the Superbowl on the line, the crown jewel of of his profession was all right there in front of him. He was one of the best 28 in the world at what he did. He had hit this a million times with his father back in Virgina as they had practiced every off-season since high school. It should be been automatic...

What's happend to you that should have been automatic? What have you been working on your whole life, what have you put all of you effort into? What have you prepared to be great at? What happens if you get to that point and it doesn't work out?

...Norwood missed.

A picture perfect setting. A chance to be a hero to his team, the city of Buffalo, his teammates, his family, his profession, and he missed it wide right.

We must remember that no matter how much we prepare, how much we learn, how much we practice, we must prepare deep down to be able to handle defeat and failure. Our response to this failure shows who we really are. Our response to failure can give us a new perspective we may have been blinded to before. Our response to failure can catapult us to a new level of living. Most importantly, our response to failure can clarify what is important in our life.

Norwood is now living as a successful Realtor in Virginia. In a Sports Illustrated article by Karl Taro Greenfeld he writes about Norwood saying:

"American Sports, Scott will tell you, will break your heart. But they will also, in their most basic form, nurture your soul. He thinks about Del (Norwood's Father), and about showing up. And as you look at this life, at Carly (Norwood's Daughter) sipping from a juice box as Kim (his wife) braids her her hair and Conner and Cory (Norwoods Son's) climbing all over Scott as he walks in his steady gait toward the family's Plymouth Voyager, you think, I know this guy. He's just like me."

Do not be afraid of failure. Only be afraid of not taking it's lessons. You may feel right now like you are failing, you're failing as an athlete, you're not where you think you should be, your job is failing, your family is failing, your kids are failing. But I encourage you to "kick failure."

Let it be known that there is no such thing as failure, there are only lessons in circumstances. Know that through all of this, there is a chance for you to experience your true greatness.

After being hounded by the media for multiple failures in creating the light bulb, a journalist asked Thomas Edison, "How do you feel about having failed thousands of times." Edison replied, "I have not failed. I've just found thousands of ways that won't work."

Leadership expert John Maxwell says in his book, Talent Is Not Enough, "There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who get things done, and those who don't want to make mistakes."

To kick failure is to embrace failure. Line yourself up on the holder, take three steps back and one to the left, take a deep breath, wait for the snap, take your steps toward the ball, keep your eye on ball, let your leg rip....

"And the kick is.....

...no good!"

EMBRACE IT...