A rookie end on a pro football team desperately wanted to get into the game.  He practiced diligently beyond the regular drill sessions and believed he deserved a chance to play.  But week after week he sat on the bench.  Finally, his moment came.  It was the final quarter of the game, his team was behind by three points, and they were in good field position.  The coach motioned for him and called his name.  He threw off his warm-up coat and ran to the coach for instructions.  “We’ve run out of time-outs,” yelled the coach.  “Go in there and get hurt!” [1]

That may not have been what the rookie wanted to hear, but he knew what the coach meant.  To win in anything is to believe enough in the game that you’re welling to get hurt for it.  To win in life is to determine what you want, to ask yourself if what you want is good for others as well as for yourself, then to be willing to spend yourself for the cause.

But another question arises.  Is what I have been hurting for worth it -- or is there a greater good which I should be serving?

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1. Donald J. Shelby, “Moving In and Moving On,” November 15, 1981.