Dear John,

I’m starting to looking forward to college football season — only a couple of months away — so I’ve got a bit of a football life lesson for you today.

Here's the scenario: It's 1986, Notre Dame vs Penn State, late in the fourth quarter. Penn State leads by less than a touchdown. Notre Dame is driving towards the goal line. A pass play is called. The tight end from Notre Dame breaks clear in the end zone. The quarterback hits him with a perfect pass in the hands.

Nine times out of ten that tight end catches the pass and Notre Dame wins the game. On this one occasion, however, he drops the ball and Notre Dame loses.

Ten of the eleven players for Notre Dame had done everything required and expected of them. The play had been set up perfectly, the call was right, the throw was good, the blocking was excellent. Each one did his part — but somebody dropped the ball.

That's life.

That's going to happen many times throughout your personal, family and business life. And when it does happen, how will you handle it?

Will you moan, groan and complain that life is unfair, or will you understand that's just life?

How you choose to handle the "dropped passes" of life will determine just how far you go in all aspects of your life.

Will disappointments drag you down, or will they inspire you to push forward?

The choice is yours, and when you make enough right choices, even if someone else drops the ball, you will still achieve your objectives.

(To finish the story, the young man who dropped the ball did not give up on himself. Joel Williams went on to have several successful seasons in the NFL.)

You were Born to Win, so go ahead and Live to Win!

Tom