Reading the advertisements in the back of a tennis magazine, an advertisement caught a young man's attention: "The Secret of Never Losing Another Game in Tennis," offered by the only "undefeated" tennis player alive.  

"This could be the answer I have been looking for!" he said to himself.  "Once I have the secret, I can stop reading all these magazines for best practices, stop working out each day, and stop my special high protein and low carbohydrate diet."

He quickly completed the application form, wrote out a check for $99.95, and placed both the application and check into an envelope.  He wrote the mailing address on the front of the envelope, placed a stamp in the upper right-hand corner of the envelope, and dropped the stamped envelope in the mailbox at the local post office.

"I am never going to lose again!", he yelled out loud, as he heard the envelope drop to the bottom of the mailbox.   

For the next several days he waited for the "secret" to arrive.  While he waited, he stopped practicing his serves, put away all this tennis books and videos, and even boasted to the club champion that he would be "meat" on Saturday.  After all, the young man was getting the "secret."

Finally, the day arrived, and in his mailbox was a red envelope marked "Confidential."  Anxiously ripping open the envelope, he found just one piece of paper with the following six words for the secret to never losing another game in tennis: 

"DON'T PLAY ANYONE BETTER THAN YOU."

Sometimes (...just sometimes) we look for the easy road to getting things done.  We look for short-cuts and quick answers.  Whether it's not speaking up during a meeting when asked for suggestions because your idea may be laughed at, not asking for help when we don't know the answer, or dodging a "problem" because we are too busy or "it's not my job." 

It's scary to go to the unknown, because we may fail; we may look bad; we may be "wrong."

In our race to overcome our daily challenges, it becomes necessary to flex our muscles, our brains, and our spirits to overcome our own inadequacies.  We need to reach into ourselves for answers, not be tempted by quick answers and short-cuts, and we need to be humble enough to ask others for assistance, leadership, and encouragement.

So... if you get the urge to dodge a difficult meeting, grow "tired" of figuring out how to improve, or even find yourself content with the "status quo," please recall this story of the tennis player.  You and I are in a constant process of "becoming" someone better than we were just the day before.  The secret to success is to work hard, make a difference, never stop learning, give of ourselves to others, and do our best each day.  

With this secret in mind, you will never lose. 

Until Next Friday,