In the discussion about chasing greatness, there really is a starting point.
Anyone who is in the pursuit of a champion’s life has to know their “Why.” No one has ever sustained Greatness without a strong sense of why they were driven to it.
To LINgit to Quit!
I hate to be late to a party, but I’ll admit I kept waiting on this one because I kept thinking it might flame out.
Count me in on the party…but only because I’ve spent the last week learning more about Jeremy Lin the fighter than Jeremy Lin the man-of-the-moment New York Knick Rock Star. Lin’s face is everywhere. The Knicks point guard has taken the world by storm. He has led the Knicks to a 7-2 record since he became a starter. His highlights include hitting a game-winning 3 pointer at the buzzer to beat the Toronto Raptors and nationally televised wins over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers and the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. During this time Lin became the first NBA player to score at least 20 points and have seven assists in each of his first five starts. Ever.
Owning It…
The road to greatness in sports often looks to us like an unbroken string of successes.
We don’t often see or remember the failures nor do we remember how they were handled.
We should.
In the NFC Championship game three weeks ago, San Francisco 49’ers wide receiver and punt returner Kyle Williams mishandled two punts that led directly to a touchdown and a field goal…and indirectly to his team being eliminated from the playoffs.
Eli Manning: Quietly, Confidently Chasing Greatness
In August 2011 Manning was being interviewed on New York City’s ESPN 1050 Radio by Michael Kay.
“Is Eli Manning an elite quarterback? Are you a top 5, a top 10 quarterback?” Kay asked.
Manning simply replied “Yeah…”
The firestorm from that one-word answer lasted all season…especially when the Giants were floundering at 7-7 and looked like their playoff hopes were dashed. But every time a reporter or fan threw his answer back at him, Eli stood strong. “I believe I am,” is all he said.
