Don’t Let Up and Don’t Give Up.

Two lessons today…

First: when you are on top of the world, everything seems to be going right, and as the church says, you’re blessed — don’t let up.  The situation can change quickly, crap can come out of nowhere, and next thing you know, you’re fighting, struggling, desperate to get back to where you were.  So, when things are great, keep working on it, make it greater.

Second: when you’re at the bottom of the pit, everything seems to be going wrong, and as the church says, you need a miracle — don’t give up. The situation can change quickly, a lucky break can come out of nowhere, and next thing you know, you’re fighting, rolling, confident that you are where you want to be. So, when things really suck, keep working on it, you can be great.

Background:  I grew up in New England and Larry Bird was my first sports hero. Kat and I lived in LA when the Lakers were on their roll of championships, she loved showtime basketball. We lived in Chicago when the Bulls were unstoppable and Phil Jackson was their coach and I did lots of work with ESPN and witnessed many of Michael’s magic moments. So our house is not united on basketball. That being said, LA fans, don’t hate me.

Tonight the Lakers were leading the Celtics by the largest margin in NBA history at the end of the first quarter. The Celtics were still down by almost 20 points at halftime.  The expert commentators had already given the game to the Lakers who had not lost a game at home in the entire postseason. The Celtics had the largest comeback from a halftime deficit in NBA history and beat the Lakers by six points.  One more game and they are the world champions.

When you’re ahead, don’t let up.  When you’re behind, don’t give up.