Excelling without your best

SPORTS HEADLINE-USA HAS LARGEST 1ST ROUND LEAD IN RYDER CUP SINCE 1979
Yesterday marked the beginning of the Ryder Cup, an annual golf match featuring the best players from the United States vs. Europe's best golfers in a team competition. But one thing is missing from this year's event. THE best player in the golf universe, Tiger Woods. Woods has been out of golf recovering from knee surgery following his heroic win at the US Open this summer.

So with the US Team missing their far and away best player you'd just assume that they'd struggle to find their footing, maybe be in some tighter matches than previous years and overall have a harder time competing, right? Well to the contrary, they ran out to a huge lead after the 1st round, their largest since 1979. "We're in a good place," said US Captain Paul Azinger. "Who would have thought?" With 6 rookies on the team this year, who would have thought indeed!

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT-
So what do you do when conditions in your life are less than ideal? Do you find it hard to overcome obstacles in life when the odds seem insurmountable? Do you view your challenges and obstacles with fear and regret or do you relish the challenge and attack things head on? Believe in yourself, your abilities and your destiny and power through the barriers in your path.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT-
Your top salesperson just left the company. Your best representative is on vacation as the 'big wigs' are coming to town and you need to have a good showing. Sales goals and accountability to management or your shareholders doesn't go away just because you are without your top performers. Look within to uncover new superstars. There are winners with untapped potential within your organization simply waiting for the chance. Giving them a chance, encouraging and supporting them could be the keys to your victory.

FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT-
It's really easy to focus on what's missing in our lives financially. I sure wish I'd have bought some Google stock a few years back, anyone with me? The lottery numbers sure would come in handy right about now, wouldn't they? When faced with tough times, look within and truly assess your resources. Determine what tools you can use to get you thru the rough patch until you are able to be at 100% again. Making wise decisions on savings, budgeting and credit will keep you on the green and away from the rough!

GAMEPLAN-
There are times when we are all at less than our best. Life happens to all of us at one time or another. Whether it's a personal loss, professional struggles or financial turmoil, each one of us has to overcome and persevere at times when we wish conditions were more favorable. Dr. Robert Schuller once said, 'Tough times never last. Tough people do.' Face your challenges head on, don't focus on what you don't have, focusing on maximizing what you do and embrace your victory!

OOPS!

I've always been a believer that adversity is the catalyst for some of life's most valuable lessons. My favorite all time quote is from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convenience but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy."

For my inaugural blog post of what I hope to be daily strategies for victory garnered from the world of sports, let's look at the week of Ed Hochuli.

SPORTS HEADLINE-HOCHULI BLOWS CALL, COSTS CHARGERS VICTORY
If you follow the NFL at all, you've seen and heard about this story. One of the leagues best, and unquestionably highest profile, officials, Ed Hochuli incorrectly ruled a play an incomplete pass rather than a fumble with less than a minute left in the 4th quarter of a close game between the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers. He reviewed the call and immediately and on the field acknowledged his error, but as the rules are written, he was unable to reverse the call and correct his mistake. As a result of the mistake, the Broncos retained possession and on the next play scored what ended up being the game winning touchdown.

Throughout the following week, an admittedly devastated Hochuli weathered brutal criticism, endured hate mail and speculation about his job. In response to the backlash, Hochuli took an unusual step. He admitted he screwed up and apologized. He took out an ad in the San Diego newspaper as a mea culpa, taking full responsibility for missing the call and contributing to their team's loss. No doubt he will be back on the field this weekend, 'guns blazing', belting out 'First Down!' as two more teams strive for victory.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT-What areas in your life have you made mistakes in but didn't step up to the plate and acknowledge your culpability? You don't have to take out a full page ad in the paper, but maybe it's the simple steps of sending an e-mail, mailing a card or making a phone call that will make the difference in someone's life today.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT-Where in your business can you see where an error was made that by a little more attention to detail would have been the difference between success and failure? What changes can you implement to ensure that similar errors don't occur in the future?


FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT-We've all made mistakes in handling our personal financial affairs but nothing is a permanent 'game changing' mistake. The wonderful thing about money is you can always make more. Even the most catastrophic mistakes rarely result in 'game over'. The first step is acknowledging your mistakes and understanding the behavior that led you to make them. Then correct the behavior to change the result the next time you are faced with a similar decision.


GAMEPLAN-
The lesson I want to share from this is no matter what your circumstance, you will face adversity of your own doing. The question is will you take reponsibility, acknowledge your mistake and soldier on? It would have been easy for Hochuli to blame the NFL for the rule not allowing him to change the obvious error. It would have been simple for him to just ignore the firestorm and move on to the next game. In life, the right choice usually hurts a little bit, but in the long run you are a better person for making it.