Dance in the End Zone!

The topic for this blog comes from my Wednesday podcast - and we call Wednesday, "WIDE OPEN Wednesday".

This phrase has a great connection to the topic for today as well. Here's the bottom line to be thinking about when you hear or read the phrase, "WIDE OPEN"...your day is WIDE OPEN before you and it's WIDE OPEN for you to do with it as you will!

It's true! Yes, I do know that there are many thngs that can happen during our day that are out of our control. But, again, we DO have control over how we react to those things and also the impact that it may have on our day, week and life. The day is, indeed, WIDE OPEN before you.

It's not always to remember that, is it? It's not always easy to act in a way that demonstrates belief in that principle. It does take effort!

When I was in High School playing basketball, I can remember many times in practice or even in a game how the coach would fuss at us if we didn't play very good defense. I especially remember how it applied to me when someone on the opposing team would drive down the lane for a lay up! Why? Because I played in the middle and, usually, was responsible for stopping them. When this would happen the coach would say something like, "My goodness guys! I could drive a Mac truck down that lane!"

Now obviously, he was exaggerating just a little, but he was pointing out that the lane was "WIDE OPEN" for the opposing team and it allowed them to have success.

As I watched Monday Night Football the other night I enjoyed seeing Felix Jones (yes, a former Arkansas Razorback! - Go Hogs!) have success running the ball. However, even though Felix is very talented and very fast, he couldn't have success without others BLOCKING for him, MOVING people for him and CREATING a WIDE OPEN lane or "hole" for him to run through.

We must do what is necessary to give us that "wide open" situation in our own lives. I believe that listening to positive podcasts (yes, like mine)and reading positive things like you are doing with this blog are the things that "BLOCK" for us and create the holes for us and present the principle of "WIDE OPEN" in our day.

Here's something else though. Sometimes an offensive line can open up a hole for a running back and the running back doesn't take advantage of it. Why? He doesn't "see" the hole! This is especially true of those times when the hole that is opened up is only there for a split second and not very big. You will hear commentators talk about a player that has the ability to "see the hole" and to "hit the hole". That's what they are talking about - those players that have the ability to SEE the OPPORTUNITY to make FORWARD PROGRESS due to that opening.

"PROGRESS IS NOT CREATED BY CONTENTED PEOPLE" - Frank Tyger

I appreciate my friend, Jim Ferguson (by the way, Happy Anniversary to Jim and his wife!) for sending this quote to me. It's powerful and it's true!

Yes, we need to appreciate what we have. Yes, we need to be thankful for our families, our homes, etc. Being happy and peaceful does not necessarily mean that we have to be content to the point that we cease to look for the "WIDE OPEN" opportunities in our lives!

We can again see this idea played out in the sporting world. Many times - and this is true in just about ANY sport - a team will have the lead as they near the end of the game and they will become very conservative in their approach to the game. They cease playing to win and begin to play to "not lose". And, many times, the very thing that they try to avoid (losing) is exactly what happens!

They became content with a lead instead of pushing forward for what was available to them. How sad that is to see for a true fan but it is even sadder to see that played out in life.

Successful running backs - for example - are those that are not content for a gain of five yards but work and struggle and fight for an additional two, three or more yards.

Now, in case you think I'm talking about living a life of "it's never enough" - that's not what I'm talking about. Let's make this real simple. Let's say you decide that you are content with what you have right now. That's great, right? Sure it is! However, the fact is that, for most people, in order to even maintain our present lifestyle we must STILL go back to work tomorrow and do our best. Why go back? Why try to do your best? Why try to gain a promotion?

You see, all of these things point to the fact that we must ALL continue to work toward this level of peace and joy in our lives.

This has really turned out to be a blog full of sports analogies - and yes, here comes another one!

I love games played on real grass! I love it when, due to rain or snow, the field gets messed up and muddy and the players uniforms actually LOOK like they are playing football! When this happens, due to the fact that most of the action takes place in the middle of the field (the "trenches") the field becomes a mess there! It becomes hard for the players to keep their footing which makes it especially hard for any running back that tries to run in that mess!

So, what does a smart coach do? He tries to organize plays that will get that running back to the outside - away from the muddy mess in the middle of the filed - where the footing is more solid and where he can get to the "WIDE OPEN" area of the field!

You will even see this played out when the filed is NOT a mess. Perhaps the play was designed for the running back to go right up the middle. You will see the talented running backs (the ones that "see the hole") many times hit the wall of players there, realize that the hole is not there and then "bounce out" away from that mass of players and then get to the "outside" to the "WIDE OPEN" part of the field and many times get a lot of yardage or even score a touchdown.

WE MUST DO THIS IN OUR OWN LIVES many times! Hey, listen friend - we need to open our eyes and realize that sometimes we have to get out of the rut and out of the "muddy mess" that we keep stomping around in and CHANGE DIRECTION! We need to open our eyes and see that, sometimes, we must do something different and try to get to that "WIDE OPEN" part in our lives.

Wanna' know a secret? It's there every single day! But, you have to see it. You have to want it. You have to seek it and you have to desire it!

Last night as I was listening to a CD I heard a guy say, "Champions play in the end zone."

I like that! The champions are the ones that have found a way to "see" and then "hit the hole" in order to get to the "WIDE OPEN" area of their lives!

And, my friend, that champion lies within YOU!

Oh, and when you get to that end zone? DANCE, my friend, DANCE!

What a celebration!

Remember - today is WIDE OPEN for you so, with that in mind...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike