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Many entrepreneurs have the freedom to work from home in front of the TV like me. I'm not a ESPN fanatic by any means, but I do have an intense, addictive affair with the World Cup every four years.
And even in the midst of a lovely obsession, I found a lesson to be learned. I was watching the game with my World Cup buddy, Eddie, and he said something that got me thinking..."Getting a goal is so hard!" Yes, it is hard, but certainly possible.
And in business, "getting to that new deal" or "making that sale" is hard. But look at all the people who have achieved it. How? Well, they knew it was possible, how it could be possible, and acted consistently in those steps that make it all happen.
Let me share with you a story from 2001. I'll never forget that year because it was my first year in college, and other crazy things going on in my home city of NY (and I'll save you from the math, I'm 26). It was my only semester at a college 3 hours from Chicago (Knox College), and there was a sold-out Dashboard Confessional concert coming up. I want to say there was 6 of us that packed up like clowns in an old-school VW bug, because I promised each one of them that they would have a ticket by the time Dashboard Confessional began to play. I've done it before, and have many times since: walking up and down the line to get in asking if anyone has an extra ticket (never buying from scalpers, thankyouverymuch.) Although, this was a challenge that scared me... I can get and have always gotten 1-2 tickets for a show... but 6?? And this is when Dashboard was getting big!
One and a half hour in, we had a couple of people stationed in the parking lot asking people as they arrive, the rest of us on the sidewalk. We had 4 tickets and the opening bands taunted us with their muffled music from inside the venue's walls. Hopes were lost, mine, definitely challenged. People were barely arriving anymore. But I knew with my whole heart, and have experienced before: "When you want something, the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." ~Paulo Coelho
So I persisted knowing that it HAS TO happen! Someone was walking back to their car, and they had an extra ticket, and by the time Rival Schools (the band before Dashboard) began playing, we were all in... amazed and pumped (I was floored!!!). I'll never forget that show. I did it - I wanted more than anything to show my friends that you can achieve what you want and life is truly a realm of infinite possibilities.
Back in January, Brian, who I hadn't really spoken to for 6 years mentioned it in a message... "I still have fond memories of going to the Dashboard concert with you with like 9 people and no tickets. That was awesome."
So soccer... there's a determination during some games (sometimes during one half) when the team as a whole begins to believe that this is going to happen. You've seen it. There's a synergy, and almost telepathic communication between all the players. Perfect passes are seemingly effortless - it's as if the team has a single mind that they all think from. It's the sheer determination and focus that stems from their passionate desire that makes it happen.
In the end, what makes the challenge a pleasure, and what makes hard things worth doing is both the process and the win. If you think about it, the things truly worth achieving never are easy, and the game played to get there is (should be!) fun. And yes, fun enough to retell the story 9 years later.
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