The discipline of success

The New England Patriots played this afternoon.  The score went back and forth throughout the game, so it was unclear near the end who was going to win.  Brady was his usual self - always poised, always positive, always disciplined, always working to effect a win.  The Patriots  happened to have the ball in the waning seconds of the game.  They needed a touchdown to win; a field goal wouldn't win the game.  They basically had to travel 80% of the length of the field to win.

So Brady - always poised, always positive, always disciplined, never quitting, had time to throw about 5 or six passes if they could make a couple of first downs .  He navigated downfield on 3 passes and then had only enough time for about four last passes.  The first one was exactly on target but dropped.  The second one was perfectly thrown to the receiver's hands, but he dropped the ball too.  A lot of quarterbacks would enter desperation mode at that point, but not Brady.  The third pass was completed for a first down and a few yards extra.  So, with only enough time for one pass and about 20% of the field in front of him, Brady dropped back to pass - poised, positive, disciplined, and working for the win.  The ball was exactly on target for the fourth time, right in the hands of the receiver in the corner of the end zone.  All the receiver had to do was to hold on to the ball and take two small steps in bounds before running out of the end zone for a Patriot win.

Oh yes, he did. Game over.  Patriots won.  Lovely, I couldn't help but let out a whoop.  

Brady epitomizes for me what it takes to be successful.  He has a fantastic work ethic, but there's more to it than that.  He knows that with proper execution the ball goes exactly where you throw it, and receivers catch it time after time.  Every practice is about execution.  Every play leads to the next well executed play, one after another, in order to have a lead,  and every touchdown leads to the next because they are executed the same way.  I hope that is the way I will be viewed after my record is complete - poised, positive, disciplined, and always working to effect success.

Even Brady loses now and then.  But no one really remembers those games since there are so many of the other kind.  I count on people looking at the big picture for me as well, seeing four qualities that saw me through lean times and characterized the many good times.