CHAMPIONS PROVE IT

I’m not sure how things worked when you were a kid, but where I grew up pick-up basketball games usually followed a set of unwritten rules. The winner of the previous game always got the ball first to start the next game. Each person was responsible for calling their own fouls. And if you hit the game-winning shot, the game’s not over ‘til you prove it.

“Proving it” meant once you’d made the game-winner, you had to go to the free-throw line for one more unguarded, high-pressure shot that officially finished your opponent. Miss that free throw and the game continued like your winning shot never even happened. Though its origins are unclear, “proving it” served a simple purpose in those games: it validated your success. Making the game-winning shot on its own wasn’t good enough. "Proving it" was like a test that confirmed you were worthy of winning one more time before the game was over. And if that winning shot you just hit was a fluke? Or if you were just lucky it went in to begin with? Then right there in front of everyone, your failure to prove it would confirm that, too.

Now, I can admit that maybe this wasn’t a fool-proof examination of the winner’s identity, but as a kid it felt like the “prove it” shot exposed to the world what you were really made of. And the truth is, in some ways, proving that - what we're really made of - is still important today. There's a valuable lesson we can learn from that kid's game and apply to our pursuit of success in any area. It’s that regardless of what we’ve done in the past, the past is over. Despite our previous victories, we are responsible for validating our identity as winners again here today. That’s what champions do. Champions prove it.

Despite our previous victories, we are responsible for validating our identity as winners again here today. That’s what champions do. Champions prove it.

I hope you recognize that as a champion, every day including this one provides an opportunity - and a responsibility - for you to prove once again who you are and what you’re made of. Some days that opportunity comes under the spotlight of the big stage, with everyone watching. Maybe today is that kind of day. If so, your positive public performance will validate your identity as a winner. 

To be honest, though, most days you’ll be responsible for proving who you are - not to the world, but once again to yourself. On those days, you’ll be working outside the spotlight, in the dark, where it’s likely no one else will see or celebrate what it is you’ve done. On those days, you may be tempted to label that work unimportant or insignificant, but don't. Proving it to no one but yourself is an important part of the success process. Champions are of course identified by others as worthy of winning, but only because - often alone in the dark - they’ve repeatedly proven it to themselves first.

If there’s one thing those childhood basketball games taught me, it’s that proving it isn’t easy. There are almost always some voices in your ear working to distract you from your purpose. Usually it's the voice of the losers - the people who haven’t had the success you’ve had or those convinced that you’re either a fluke or just plain lucky. In order to prove it, you’ve got to tune them out. Sometimes, to be honest, it’s your own negative voice you have to ignore, that one cultivating your fear of failing or of letting yourself or someone else down. You have to handle that, too.

No matter what the distractions are - and there’ll be plenty - stay focused today and get the job done. If you find yourself on the big stage, take advantage of the opportunity you’ve been given. If you're working alone in the dark, then accept the responsibility you have to yourself. And remember, regardless of what you’ve done in the past, the past is over. Don't focus on your previous victories. Instead, validate your identity as a winner once again here today. Do what champions do. Prove it.