There are two types of energy: potential and kinetic. Potential is the kind of energy that has the possibility of doing something great; kinetic is when that possibility becomes a reality.
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to be one of 104,000 fans in Beaver Stadium who watched Coach Joe Paterno lead the Penn State Nittany Lions to their 400th win under his coaching. In addition to this record setting number of wins, he has coached the blue and white every year for 61 seasons.
At age 84, JoePa is a prime example of someone who understands the importance of transforming potential energy into kinetic energy. And his career has given us a message that we all need to embrace—compete!
If you don’t compete, then quite frankly, you don’t stand a chance. Every aspect of life is a competition, and if you’re not on the line of scrimmage, then you might as well not even come to the game.
This type of competition is easy to see in athletics. A bunch of guys or gals get together on a field to see who has more “eye of the tiger” in them. After the players push their bodies to the limit, one team walks away with eternal pride, while the other is plagued by defeat.
While the victors enjoy the spoils, it is up to the losers to capitalize on their loss and rise to the occasion next time. As they say, you haven’t lost until you admit defeat.
Off the field, though, this competition may not be as evident; but it is every bit as present. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of room for non-competitors…in France. In America, it’s a dog-eat-dog world, so wave your flag and get after it.
This week, my co-editor, Nicole Green, got a job with Teach for America (details in the Oct. 14 edition of “The Greener Side”). This was not a feat of heroic athleticism, but the competition was fierce. After a rigorous application and interview process, she came out on top and now has the opportunity to pursue her dream.
This is another example of someone who took potential energy and converted it into kinetic energy. It would have been very easy to let this opportunity pass, but in her book that just wasn’t an option. It is this spirit that defines us.
There will always be somebody to do everything. Your job is to ensure that somebody is you (at least for what you want to do).
There are several things you can do to help achieve this goal. Number one: Don’t die. Just like JoePa has done, make sure that you live forever. Number two: Commit. Once you set your sites on something (whether it’s Teach For America or taking names and numbers on the field) see it through to the end (whether that means teaching our nation’s youth or crushing your opponents’ dreams). Number three: Learn from defeat. If it’s your dreams that have been crushed, suck it up, figure out what you did wrong and be the winner that you want to be. And finally, no matter what your dreams are, don’t listen to Walt Disney. Wishing on stars is not an effective route to success. Compete and win!
And in the words of the great JoePa, “You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the mark of a true professional.”
