The Battle in Gettysburg

This past weekend, I was in the greater Washington D.C. area. This included attending the final collegiate volleyball game of my cousin’s daughter. She goes to a small private college called Gettysburg College. The college is just outside of town, set in the rolling hills of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The town is the site of one of the greatest battles in our nation’s history and Abraham Lincoln’s legendary Gettysburg Address.

The volleyball team had a good year going 20 – 8 and winning their last match three games to none against a tough opponent. They missed the playoffs by only one game, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened for them to get so close, yet just miss the playoffs. I sat next to her dad at the match and he filled me in on the season.

Challenging Season

The team started out strong, going undefeated initially and optimistic about the upcoming league season. Perhaps they could knock off the perennial winner in their league, Johns Hopkins? Then adversity hit the team. Players got sick and the injury bug started to spread. Some of their key players (my cousin’s daughter included) were out for extended periods of time. To top it off, the coach had a death of a close relative. What started out so positive turned negative and into a big challenge.

At that point, there was a decision each member of the team had to make. The decision was whether to keep battling despite the setbacks they experienced or just ride it out. The seniors made the decision to lead by example. How? By showing up every practice, putting the time in to get better, adjusting to new players in the rotations, by not giving up. They chose a winning mindset.

At the end of the season, they could hold their heads high. They were not perfect, but they also had no regrets. Yes, they ended up one game shy of their goal but they also proved to themselves, the school, their parents and their competition that they would not go quietly. Accomplishment is not just measured by wins and losses.

What Will You Do?

How did your year start? Did it start off strong? Were you able to maintain it? If not, what did you do about it? How did you respond?

Have you worked hard? Do you have an understanding of how the game is played? Are you a problem solver? Do you practice hard? Have you taken risks?

As we head into the last couple of months of the year are you still battling or are you just riding it out? Are you closing as much business as possible even though you know you won’t hit your number, or are you sand-bagging deals to roll into next year? Are you putting the effort in to get better every day and fill your pipeline with new opportunities, or are you just waiting for deals to come in?

Don’t make excuses about the holidays being a bad time to sell or give yourself an out like “I just need to get 2017 behind me.” Get out there and compete, struggle and win.

What decision will you (and your team) make? Will you go quietly or battle until the end?

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Finish Strong in 2017