I finished watching the FIFA World Cup yesterday with my soccer expert, Bobby. Through his friendship and expert soccer advice, I have really grown to enjoy this game. Like all sports, it has its own idiosyncrasies, weird moments, unusual rules, poor officiating and the beauty of athleticism.
For this year’s cup, once again, all teams but one went home unhappy. Yesterday, The Netherlands ended up on the short end of the match. Watching their players collapse in sadness at the end reminded me once again about how tough it is to really achieve the pinnacle of success.
Yet, it also reminded me of what I have said often, that we much be careful about how we define success. This is especially true for us individually. We hear from speakers, teachers, coaches and motivational speakers that “if we will just believe, we can achieve.” Well, that’s simply not true if you were any other team than Spain in this year’s World Cup. I am certain that all of the players believed, but when the whistle blew, only Spain was holding the cup.
We of course see this all the time in other sports and in life. Many people apply for the job, but only one person gets hired. So, what do we do with this? Quit trying? Tell people to never have dreams? Of course not—instead we remember to carefully define success.
How do I define success?
Sure, each team and player would first define success as winning the Cup. But, hopefully, every player from The Netherlands will see their journey as successful because they made it to the final game. In over 80 years, only 2 other teams from their nation ever made it, so that is a huge success.
And, each player from The Netherlands, Germany and Uruguay should rejoice for having made the Final Four. I bet the other 28 teams who did not make it would trade in an instance, even if they knew they might lose that game. The success there must be defined then in achieving excellence over the month.
Further, though, every team in the World Cup can hold its head high. According to FIFA, over 200 teams attempted to make it, yet only 32 did. Those 32 teams were not losers, but were successful. And what about the individual players?
Again and again, the announcers told stories of players who were older, and some thought they shouldn’t be there. Others stories came out about injuries being overcome, or life problems being dealt with. Some athletes, including stars like Spain’s David Villa and The Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder were told they were too short, too small to be world class. Our own Landon Donovan has heard that from time to time, yet he still emerged as our countries top scorer in World Cup history.
You are not a failure if you don’t achieve the pinnacle
The point is obvious. Have big dreams, yes! Each soccer player should dream of holding the cup, and feel sadness this year if they did not achieve that dream. But, they cannot believe that they are failures, nor can they sit around and mope. Life must be lived. Other parts of the overall dream of success can and is still being achieved as long as you live each and every day.
Diego Forlan and Thomas Muller understand that. These men were on the losing side of the semi-finals. Forlan is the excellent goal scorer for Uruguay, and he helped his country advance to the final four teams for the first time in 40 years. Muller, at the same time, was the very young striker for Germany, also helping his team reach the semi-finals.
But the both lost. So, if they only defined success as winning the World Cup, then both might as well quit living. Might as well move into the basement of their parent’s house and shut out the world. Of course, we’d all agree that was silly. And FIFA would say that also.
The Boot and the Ball
You see, Thomas Muller won not only the award for being the Best Young Player in the tournament, but he won The Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals. He had 5 goals in 6 games and he added 3 assists. Meanwhile, Diego Forlan took the even more prestigious Golden Ball award. According to FIFA, the Golden Ball represents being the very best player in the entire tournament. He won over excellent players like David Villa and Wesley Sneijder, who were on the winning teams in the semi-finals.
Winning both awards, even while being on the losing side, is a hint to us all. While we may not achieve a certain dream that we have held, if we do our daily work to the best of our ability, we are winners. We will achieve life success. People will notice.
So, get out there. Choose to do something today that will be a mark of excellence. Tackle one task today that is part of your Success for Life journey. Do it with a smile. Do it to your very best. You’ll have a boot and a ball at the end of the day!