I Succeed Because I Have Failed

This is one of my favorite quotes by Michael Jordan because it shows that no one is perfect, and to be the best you can be, you have to go through adversity and come out on the other side.

I saw an elite guard high school guard playing in a big game this weekend. She is the type of player that fans and parents of other kids stay around and watch. She is the type of player that other coaches and other parents want to beat.

The energy in the gym was electric, and every time she got the ball, you could hear a buzz in the gym. Half of the gym was cheering for her and motivating her. The other half of the gym was yelling at her and telling her opponents to get her, stop her, and take the ball away from her.

With about 30 seconds left and her team up by one point, the other team stole the ball from her went down, and scored a go-ahead layup. Most athletes at that moment would put their head down, feel defeated, and wouldn't want to be in that situation again, but what she did next is what made her special.

Her team was down by 1, and they were denying her the ball with two people like they had been doing the entire second half. Most girls in that situation would yell for help and have someone else bring the ball down the court, but she made two cuts, split her defenders, and demanded the basketball. She then calmly dribbled the ball against pressure, made a quick move to get to her spot, shot the shot that she works on every day, and hit a game-winning basket.

I asked my daughter, "If you had that much pressure on you, in a big game, against a great defender, and she stole the ball from you with 30 seconds left, how would you respond?"

When she hesitated, I told her, "The greats aren't great because of what they do. They are great because of what they overcome. The greats understand big moments. They understand that big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. They also understand that sometimes big-time players fail in big moments, but they step into the arena and demand the ball anyway. They aren't afraid to fail, and if they are afraid, they do it anyways. That elite guard was elite because she failed in front of everybody and then she immediately tried again."

2 Questions:

1 - When you face adversity, what do you tell yourself?

2 - What is one time that you have faced adversity and handled it well?