When times are tough....

This is an excerpt from the novel The Pep Talk, co-authored by Kevin Elko and Bob Shook. It features stories taken directly from pep talks given to college and professional football teams the night before big games.

In one of the National Championship games, the University of Miami was playing the University of Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. In the locker room was a unique player named Joaquin Gonzalez, who grew up in Cuba and moved to Miami. Joaquin had perfect SAT scores and was offered an academic scholarship to Harvard but decided to play football at the University of Miami. What I often do when I speak to a football team is throw the football to a certain player and ask them to speak on how they should mentally prepare for the big game. Being extremely bright, I thought I would test Joaquin and see what he would say. When he got the ball he stood up and said, "I expect Nebraska to be the toughest team we ever played. Moreover, I expect the player across from me to be equally as good. As a result, I will bring the best me, not take a play off and maintain that intensity throughout the game." He went on to say, "My sporting blood is up and I am prepared for the challenge." That spectacular young man set the tempo and the game was not close as Miami dominated and won the National Championship.

The following year, the University of Miami was on a long winning streak and was playing Ohio State for the National Championship in the Fiesta Bowl. Again, I threw the ball to who I thought was another bright player. He took the ball, stood up and said, "Ohio State does not belong in this game." "I will wipe up the field with the guy across from me." Miami lost the game and the National Championship.

People are frequently saying that things are so tough right now or asking why things happen to them. What I would now say to them is similar to what Joaquin said. "Get your sporting blood up." Tough times will bring out the best in you. Tough times are a good thing. They let you step back and really assess and evaluate your life situation and your priorities. Tough times will not defeat you, but throwing personal discipline to the wind because you think times are too tough will defeat you.

Easy or tough, the price of winning is the issue. I remember the day that the racehorse Smarty Jones died; the horse's owner was quoted as saying, "The price of love is grief." I don't really know why, but that quote really hit me. I guess I thought love was free and took it for granted. Then I realized that nothing is free, we have to pay a price for everything we desire. This is evidenced in our own lives and the lives of others around us. I challenge you to look at what you love in life and make sure that you enjoy it while it lasts, because there will come a time when you won't be able to enjoy it anymore or as much as you used to.

This last paragraph reminds me of something. A friend mentioned to me that they recently got out of a long term relationship, one in which they thought that the person they were seeing would turn out to be the person they married. They said, "I now know how someone can die of a broken heart. But that being said, I feel good feeling bad." In other words, this person's broken heart was a price well worth paying for the love he gave and received because it really showed him what he had lost and how special it was. I guess that's why people say "you don't know what you have until it's gone."

Like Joaquin in the aforementioned excerpt, expect things to be hard and then it doesn't matter. After you make the decision that things are hard, manage the decision, and decide to bring the best you have to offer. Pay the price and stay on your day to day process. Give all you got, every minute of every day. It will be difficult but if you do this...you will not be defeated!