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1/16/2006 I have the privilege of speaking at the University of Michigan on Friday Jan. 20th to the UM/Ross Ivey Business School Executive Conference. Of course I’ll draw upon the homogeneous nature between life and sports. The two are inextricably linked. Time and again, the people that come out on top in both have the same commonality; they play the hand their dealt, and they find a way to make it a winner. No one bats 1.000, no one goes undefeated, no one gets dealt aces every time. Winners take the hand they’re given and find a way to win…The others? They complain they never get good cards… I was really happy to see Michael Pitre and Jerard Rabb play recently in College Bowl games for UCLA and Boise State respectively. Both graduated HS from my alma mater in So. Cal, and it took them each (3) years to get on the field. Partly due to injuries, partly due to the hard work and dedication given the extreme competition they faced. They didn’t complain about the coach, cry, quit, or transfer schools because they weren’t treated like superstars. They played the hand they were dealt, and they’re winners. Tom Brady finally lost his first playoff game as a New England Patriot. He’ll be back. As a freshman in HS, he was the backup QB on a team that went 0-9! Look where he is today. It doesn’t matter where you go to school, what size you are, or how good you think you might be, you have to play the hand you’re dealt if you want a chance to win. And keep in mind, people may not know what cards you have, but they see how you react. They’re always watching you, 100% of the time. 40 years ago a long shot team from West Texas shocked the world by defeating #1 Kentucky to capture the NCAA basketball championship. Coach Don Haskins refused to let his players believe what they’d been told their whole life; not big enough, smart enough, tough enough and they couldn’t handle the pressure. They took the hand they were dealt…and became winners forever. Former President Ronald Reagan went to tiny Eureka College in Oregon! Huh? If that were happening today, there would be people that think he’s inferior because he didn’t go to a larger school with a bigger name. But it didn’t matter. He knew it’s not what you have in life; it’s what you do with it. Conversely, there will be those that attend large schools, but may not realize their potential because they back peddle when they don’t get their way. He was a successful businessman, actor, and perhaps the most popular president of the 20th Century, serving (2) terms from 1980-1988. He will be revered forever as a great American. Ironically Ronald Reagan wanted to be a professional athlete, but he wasn’t dealt the best hand in that area. But that didn’t stop him from being a winner in the game of life. (c) 2006 Novi
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