A recent post over at Art of Manliness entitled, “The 35 Greatest Speeches in History,” caused me to think the other day of some of my personal favorites. One that immediately stood out was the words of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi on what it takes to be No. 1.
Several years ago, in high school sometime, a parent of one of the players on our football team printed this out for each of us before a game. I stuck it on my bathroom mirror and it has traveled with me since then, always finding it’s way to a prominent place in the house. This morning I share these great words with you. While they are spoken about football, I think you’ll see that they are applicable to everyday living as well:
“What it Takes to be No. 1″ by Vince Lombardi
Winning is not a sometime thing; it´s an all the time thing. You don´t win once in a while; you don´t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that´s first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don´t ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.
Every time a football player goes to play his trade he´s got to play from the ground up-from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That´s O.K. You´ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you´ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you´re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he´s never going to come off the field second.
Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization-an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win-to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don´t think it is.
It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That´s why they are there-to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules-but to win.
And in truth, I´ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn´t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.
I don´t say these things because I believe in the “brute” nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man´s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.
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What I question is not the inspirational value, but the context. You can compete, play with all your heart, never throw in the towel, but what’s the playing field? Is it football, the army, a company?
Words of motivation can come from many sources but more importantly one must define their playing field. You’re never going to have full control no matter what you choose. And if football’s your thing, then so be it. But if its a cigarette company, things get a little more hairy. Or maybe its fighting a war not everyone agrees in.
Life is filled with gray areas and while you need inspiration to get through at times, if you’ve thoroughly thought about which team you’re going to play for, the inspiration will become secondary.
Schaefer’s Number One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!