Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. Those are famous lines from NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombard in his “What It Takes To Be No. 1” speech. Lombardi had delivered pieces of the speech many times but pieced it all together in Dayton, Ohio, in 1970. Those simple words may be more powerful and more meaningful today than they were 41 years ago. I have the entire speech hanging on a wall in my office, and I read it each time I need a motivational kick.
So how does one define winning? Or losing? In sports or other activities where scores are kept, it’s easier. But what about things that aren’t so measurable? Like marriage? Parenting? Jobs?
My good friend and Johnston High School head wrestling coach Aaron Tecklenburg tells his athletes every year that part of winning is refusing to quit, and that quitting is a habit that will likely carry over into their marriages, their parenting skills and their careers. Don’t quit, he says. Ever.
My high school wrestling coach, Bill Fjetland, was more direct in his view on quitting. He said quitters were the lowest things on the earth. Whale turds, he called them. (Think about that for a moment, and you will catch on.) He was so disturbed by quitters that he would cut their faces out of the team photos that were on the walls of our wrestling room. Or in some cases, he would leave the faces in the photos but put the word “quitter” in place of the athletes' names in the captions.
Regardless of how it is described, quitting has consequences that affect many people beyond the quitter. Teammates. Spouses. Children. Co-workers. Customers. The list goes on.
“But I am not happy, and I deserve to be happy,” some might say. True, but the choices we make in life aren’t always about us — and shouldn’t be. Think about that the next time you are ready to give up or quit on anyone or anything.
Have a marvelous Monday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 |
