It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how good you look.
No, that’s not right.
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how drunk you get.
You’re kidding, right?
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you place the blame.
Ouch. That’s terrible.
Grantland Rice, an American sportswriter who lived from 1880-1954, is perhaps most famous for the following lines:
"For when the One Great Scorer comes,
To write against your name,
He marks - not that you won or lost –
But how you played the Game."
Now that’s more like it.
Another way of saying this is,
“I went out and I squeezed the towel dry.”
That’s what Tiger Woods once said. After the Master’s Tournament in 1998, Tiger was disappointed that he did not repeat his win of the previous year, but he felt good about his top-ten finish: “I squeezed the towel dry this week. I’m very proud of the way I hung in there.”
On another occasion, after a British Open when he finished third, Tiger said, “Sometimes you get even more satisfaction out of creating a score when things aren’t completely perfect, when you’re not feeling so well about your swing.”
Here’s another legend addressing this concept.
Mia Hamm, as declared by the Washington Post as “perhaps the most important athlete of the last 15 years”, tells us, “After every game or practice, if you walk off the field knowing that you gave everything you had, you will always be a winner.”
Sometimes there is the simple satisfaction of knowing in your gut that you have given your absolute best and that is enough.
Have you won every time you’ve gone after something you wanted?
Have you scored perfectly in every situation of your life?
Know what? I surely haven’t.
Rather, answer these questions:
Have I done my best? Did I squeeze the towel dry?
Did I think thoroughly?
Did I try sufficiently?
Did it read enough good and accurate stuff?
Did I listen with open ears?
Did I hear everything that was said?
Did I give an open mind?
Did I try every reasonable avenue?
Did I do my best?
You can always rest well at night when you have the satisfaction of knowing you have given your best effort and that there is no stone left unturned.
I hope you’ll go out today and squeeze the towel dry.
My friend Kevin Hall has written a terrific book called Aspire. To use his words, "This book has gone viral." I've read this book three times this year already, and I can see that I'll read this book from time to time. It's that great.
Harvey MacKay, famous for authoring the book Swim with the Sharks has written a great piece on Kevin's book as well. Here is the link for Harvey's column.
Enjoy!
Harvey MacKay - Aspire to Use the Hidden Power of Words
No, that’s not right.
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how drunk you get.
You’re kidding, right?
It’s not whether you win or lose; it’s how you place the blame.
Ouch. That’s terrible.
Grantland Rice, an American sportswriter who lived from 1880-1954, is perhaps most famous for the following lines:
"For when the One Great Scorer comes,
To write against your name,
He marks - not that you won or lost –
But how you played the Game."
Now that’s more like it.
Another way of saying this is,
“I went out and I squeezed the towel dry.”
That’s what Tiger Woods once said. After the Master’s Tournament in 1998, Tiger was disappointed that he did not repeat his win of the previous year, but he felt good about his top-ten finish: “I squeezed the towel dry this week. I’m very proud of the way I hung in there.”
On another occasion, after a British Open when he finished third, Tiger said, “Sometimes you get even more satisfaction out of creating a score when things aren’t completely perfect, when you’re not feeling so well about your swing.”
From Mindset, Pg 99, Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
Here’s another legend addressing this concept.
Mia Hamm, as declared by the Washington Post as “perhaps the most important athlete of the last 15 years”, tells us, “After every game or practice, if you walk off the field knowing that you gave everything you had, you will always be a winner.”
From Mindset, Pg 99, Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
Sometimes there is the simple satisfaction of knowing in your gut that you have given your absolute best and that is enough.
Have you won every time you’ve gone after something you wanted?
Have you scored perfectly in every situation of your life?
Know what? I surely haven’t.
Rather, answer these questions:
Have I done my best? Did I squeeze the towel dry?
Did I think thoroughly?
Did I try sufficiently?
Did it read enough good and accurate stuff?
Did I listen with open ears?
Did I hear everything that was said?
Did I give an open mind?
Did I try every reasonable avenue?
Did I do my best?
Did I act with integrity?
You can always rest well at night when you have the satisfaction of knowing you have given your best effort and that there is no stone left unturned.
I hope you’ll go out today and squeeze the towel dry.
In Closing
Harvey MacKay, famous for authoring the book Swim with the Sharks has written a great piece on Kevin's book as well. Here is the link for Harvey's column.
Enjoy!
Harvey MacKay - Aspire to Use the Hidden Power of Words
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