A Constitution for Teenage Happiness...........

  The taut cable of high expectations has been slackened, and the result is the current mood: listlessness.

-Ruby LaRocca, from this award-winning essay

Checking in......................

 ...................................with James Clear:

Good systems........................

Leaders understand that a good system involves doing something on a regular basis to improve your odds of good outcomes, even if you don't know exactly what the outcome will be. . . .   
     When it comes to your personal life, business life, and political opinions, it makes sense to favor systems over goals whenever that is practical.  A goal gives you one way to win, whereas a system can surface lots of winning paths, some of which you never could have imagined.

-Scott Adams,  Loserthink:  How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America

Color me.................................

....................................................................a winner!

Good advice............................

"Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning"

-George S. Patton

Fifty years ago..............................

Super Bowl 3.................Namath and the Jets win Super Bowl 3

Just crown him Champ......................

On what is important.......................

     At Colonial that year, I was in a playoff with Johnny Pott, and at the ninth hole I found myself in a greenside bunker.  I led by a stroke and desperately wanted to get down in two for a par to keep my lead.  As I was standing over the ball ready to play the shot, I heard the voice of a small boy behind me.  I backed off the shot and laughed as his mother shushed him.  Then the boy began crying, so I backed off again.  When I settled over the ball a third time, I heard the boy's muffled cry, and when I turned around, there was this little boy turning red because his mother had clamped her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.
     Finally I said the the mother, "Hey, it's okay.  Don't choke him.  This isn't that important."  Then I went back to the ball, blasted out, saved par, and went on to win the tournament.

-Arnold Palmer,  A Life Well Played:  My Stories

Our man in Augusta...............

................................has earned the right to gloat for a few days.

Ouch..............................

.......................................................Seriously, this has to sting:

"Ted Cruz is Mathematically Eliminated from winning the GOP nomination outright and has fewer wins than Bernie Sanders."

via

When you think about it, we already have....

cartoon via

Bill Russell..............................

Sports Illustrated, celebrating their 60th year, is re-running 60 great columns.  In 1999, Frank Deford, who I have always thought of as a really good writer, featured Bill Russell, who may be the greatest winning athlete, as well as the best teammate, ever.  The essay is worth your time.  A wee excerpt:

What do you remember your father telling you, Bill?

"Accept responsibility for your actions.... Honor thy father and mother.... If they give you $10 for a day's work, you give them $12 worth in return."

Even more clearly, Russell recalls the gritty creed his mother gave him when he was a little boy growing up in segregation and the Depression in West Monroe, La. Katie said, "William, you are going to meet people who just don't like you. On sight. And there's nothing you can do about it, so don't worry. Just be yourself. You're no better than anyone else, but no one's better than you."

You can't win them all.........................

........and sometimes there is incredible value in falling short:




thanks

Will......................................

The will to compete and the will to win..............

There's a lot to admire in human nature......................

via

Every hand's a...............................

"Life is like a game of cards.  The hand that was dealt you is determinism;  the way you play it is free will."
-Jawaharlal Nehru

thanks todd

Beauty......................................

Accepting the win-win only............................

Cultural Offering shows how it is done.   Sometimes you just have to change those silly rules.

Ed. Note:  I've added a new "label," creating a category for "Hall of Fame posts" found around the Blogoshpere.  This is my first entry.  Feel free to send suggestions.

Fifty years ago.................

Sports:  On March 23, 1963, Loyola (Chicago) beats the University of Cincinnati to win the NCAA men's basketball championship.  The final score was 60-58.  Story revisited by Sports Illustrated, here.  Video (without audio?) is here:

Will.................................

"It's not the will to win that matters - everyone has that.  It's the will to prepare to win that matters."
-Paul "Bear" Bryant