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“It’s hard to beat moments like this, and it’s hard to beat teams that act like this.”
Last night, Reece Conca played his 100th game for the Richmond Football Club. He’s a popular club-man, best known within the club for his “Conca cuddle” celebrations with team-mates after they have kicked a goal.
It’s been a long journey to get to 100 as he has had terrible luck with injury throughout his career.
And then, 15 minutes into his milestone game, he suffered a dislocated ankle that left him writhing in agony.
As a fan, it was hard to watch such a fine young man suffer such pain and heartbreak, but what happened next was both inspiring and heart warming.
After he was loaded onto the stretcher to be taken from the ground and off to hospital, every single team-mate who was on the ground came up to support and acknowledge their fallen soldier.
Social media is used by a lot of people to say mean and hateful things.
Religion is used by a lot of people to control and manipulate others.
Businesses are used by a lot of people to ruthlessly make money, without consideration of ethics or morality.
Prescription drugs and alcohol are used by a lot of people to escape from the problems of the world with terrible consequences.
There are two important steps to take before you try to shoot an apple off someone’s head.
Firstly, you need to practice relentlessly.
You need to master your craft and give yourself the confidence that you can hit that small target under pressure.
Secondly, you need to build a reputation that you can do it, so that someone will trust your skills and put that apple on their head without flinching.
Author Peggy Noonan once wrote this the Wall Street Journal:
In a way, the world is a great liar.
It shows you it worships and admires money, but at the end of the day it doesn’t.
It says it adores fame and celebrity, but it doesn’t, not really.
The world admires, and wants to hold on to, and not lose, goodness.
It admires virtue. At the end it gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy, talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it better.
That’s what it really admires. Read the rest of this entry »
Most athletes get injured at some stage of their playing life.
Some feel sorry for themselves.
Some get to work on their rehabilitation and come back stronger.
Most actors will have unsuccessful auditions throughout their careers.
Some give up on their dreams and content themselves with waiting on tables.
Some keep working on their craft and front up to the next one.
You know the joke.
A clown hands you a handkerchief and as you grab it, more come out.
Red ones, yellow ones, green ones.
One after another in a seemlingly endless rope of colour.
Ideas are like that.
Here’s to new adventures.
To moments when we are way out of our comfort zones.
To those times when we let go of one trapeze, not knowing if we will be able to grab the next one (or if the net will catch us if we fall).
To periods of time when we aren’t quite sure if we are trembling with fear or excitement.
To new horizons, new interactions, new lessons, new surroundings.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to do all of things that you want to do with your life.
To start that podcast.
To travel to Europe (or if you’re from Europe, to travel to Australia).
To plant that garden.
To restore that relationship.
Professional athletes train incessantly to get better.
World-class musicians are always practicing, practicing, practicing.
Soldiers are consistently doing drills or carefully simulated combat missions to further develop their skills.
Why?
To get better.
I’m an optimist, so I believe that no matter the situation, the best is almost always yet to come.
However, such a statement needs to come with an important caveat.
The best is yet to come, but only if you put in the work.
Only if you don’t rest on the laurels of past successes.
