Too Risky to Play it Safe?

 

It’s dangerous playing “not to lose.”

A football team leads by ten points heading into the fourth quarter.  The coach just wants to survive for fifteen minutes.   He fears a fumble, an interception, or a blocked field goal.  So he plays it safe. The opposing team, on the other hand, escalates their strategic risk – scores – shifts the momentum – scores again – and wins the game.

 

A professional golfer walks onto the 16^th tee with a three stroke lead in the final round.  It’s less safe to hit it over the hazard and lay up with a wedge, so he chooses a more conservative shot.  The runner up takes the risk and birdies the hole.  The two players end up in sudden death and the player once behind wins the match.

 

A software company attains first to market status with a new product.  An initial marketing campaign produces huge returns.  They replicate the same campaign over and over, producing less and less results.  A few other companies enter the market with similar, but slightly more inventive features.  The first to market company – unwilling to change their strategy, enhance their Value Proposition, or create an exit strategy so that they can pursue another idea – continues to lose market share and eventually closes their doors.

 

A young man heads to college.  His heart and gifts point to international non-profit opportunities, but he chooses accounting to assure a steady job after college.  His potential entrepreneurial and service experience is at best delayed, but most likely decimated.

 

Renowned marketing guru, Seth Godin, states that today – whether in business or life – it’s too risky to play it safe.  Playing “not to lose” as opposed to “playing to win” produces a cancerous paradigm that permeates through the heart of an individual, a family, or an organization. 

 

Cinderella Man is the true story of James Braddock, a professional fighter in late 1930’s and early 40’s, who overcame the economic implosion of the Great Depression to fight for the heavy weight championship.  He entered the title fight as the overwhelming underdog to a much stronger and much younger existing champion named Max Baer. 

 

In this scene, Braddock, through shear bulldog tenacity and heart leads Baer in points as they enter the final round.  His manager exhorts him that the best way to win is to play it safe and stay away from Baer who will be looking for the knockout.  Watch Braddock’s strategy:

 

 

Why did Braddock choose to stay on the offensive, even when he was ahead?  Why do we so often choose to play “not to lose” as opposed to playing to win?   Fear of unknown?   Fear of pain? Fear of embarrassment? Fear of rejection? Fear of failure? Fear of success? 

 

I met an incredible man twenty-five years ago.  When I met George Constance he had completed 45 years in African field missions, and was currently involved in domestic ministry.  He and his lovely wife Helen helped churches around the country transition between pastors.  George was 83 years old when he served during our pastor search; we were his 33^rd church.  I’ve never met a man with more energy, devotion, and an incredible sense of humor.  George and Helen certainly could have chosen a less stressful occupation at their age or no occupation at all.  But they chose, as did Caleb in the book of Numbers, to “think differently”.   They played to win until the end.

 

We – as John Wooden states – need to maintain physical, emotional, and spiritual intensity despite how far ahead or behind we perceive our current condition.  We also need to train and encourage our young men to “play to win” in an age where mediocrity is the designated target.   Young men often leave high school with emotional and mental baggage as well as a “passion void” of a dream to achieve.  We must help them to think differently.

 

Application: 

 

What is the next decision your son needs to make regarding academics, sports, church, relationships, etc.  Is one of the available options the better choice, but more risky?  Encourage him to take that option and do what you can to support his decision.

 

The Towing Line

 

I’m a former competitive swimmer.  My older son was a Florida ranked sprinter and an All American Water Polo player in high school; he also played for the University of Florida.  Needless to say, we have a higher than normal percentage of chlorine coursing through our veins.

 

I heard recently that USA Olympic swimmers engage in an interesting training exercise called “The Towing Line”.  Swimmers who are fast but not yet world contenders are fitted with an apparatus that allows them full arm rotation, but pulls them through the pool at world record speed.  It’s like the aquatic version of a fighter pilot simulator.  The Towing Line gives athletes the “feel” of swimming faster than anyone else in the world.  As a result, they are able to visualize more clearly, perform better, and inch closer to achieving their dream. 

 

I have a friend who’s son, David, will soon enter engineering school with a focus on trains.  David is passionate about trains as well as the future of railway travel and commerce.  He is also one of the nation’s experts on model trains – the expensive scale model versions.  Not only does Disney hire David on a regular basis to design, setup, and maintain elaborate landscapes at EPCOT – he also maintains a thriving eBay business buying and selling these model trains. 

 

David’s father, also named David, enabled his son to experience the “Towing Line” over the past decade by taking him on numerous trips to ride and view working trains around the country.  Father and son will venture west this summer to ride some of the tourist locomotives, including the famous Silverton Train in Durango, Colorado.  These trips have expanded David’s dream of becoming an expert on train engineering, and improving rail transport around the world.

 

My younger son, Kyle, also has a dream.  He wants to be a singer/songwriter.  I’m helping him write his own music and filming him (amateur of course) singing at high school talent shows and open mic events. 

Although Kyle is more than capable of creating his own “Tow Line Events” I want to take every opportunity to let him experience what it feels like to move closer to his dream.

 

What is your son’s dream?  Is there a Towing Line you can provide to give him a simulated experience of the home run?

The Mystery Box

 

This week I watched a video of  J.J. Abrams (director of Alias, Lost, Mission Impossible III, and the upcoming Star Trek prequel) delivering a great talk from the 2007 TED Conference.  He titled his talk “The Mystery Box”.   The talk is 20 minutes, but well worth the time to view (caveat – he curses a few times) 

 

 http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/205

Abrams describes his love for mystery – which is evident in everything he produces.  He also discusses his love for his grandfather, who cultivated his curiosity and love for story.  On one outing, Abram’s grandfather took him to a hole-in-the-wall magic shop in Chicagor where Abrams purchased a sealed package entitled “$50 of Magic for $15”.  

 

 

 

 

 

Abram’s keeps the still unopened box on his shelf as a reminder of 2 things:

 

His love for his grandfather

The hope of unlimited possibilities

 

Abrams also describes how often mystery hides itself in movies like Jaws and Die Hard.  The real story of Jaws is not a shark – it’s about a guy finding his way in a new community and culture.  Die Hard is not about crazy action (however cool the action is), it’s about a divorced policeman trying to reunite with his wife.  

 

Abrams isn’t alone in his love for mystery; God permeates his Story with mystery every day for every individual.  But how often do we trust him for the contents of our “Box”?   I have determined that if I embrace the mystery and trust Him for what only he can do – namely “unlimited possibilities” (as Abram describes it) – then each day can become an Adventure. 

 

The catch is… the box may hold a porcupine or even a live grenade, rather than an all expense ticket to Fantasyland.  We (as Abrams also states) often don’t know what the Story is really about.  I can’t be sure of the contents in my box, pleasant or non, but I do know Who created the package and my Story.  Based on Who He is and what He’s already done, that should be enough.

 

So here’s a suggestion – cultivate a love for mystery, for yourself and your children.  How about this for starters – order a small leather bound bible from Amazon and have it shipped to your house.  Amazon allows you to include a personal note in the package, so write something similar to this:

 

Even though mystery of this box is over, trust the Author of  the book inside this box for His next mystery.

 

When the package arrives, draw a large question mark on the outside and place the box in full view.  Tell your kids the box belongs to them, but ask them to commit never to open the box as a reminder of God’s mystery and infinite possibilities.  If they nag you to the point you feel you are being nibbled to death by a duck – then let them open the box and read the note.  Either way, lesson learned. 

 

The mental image of the above picture provides a constant reminder for me to trust Him, and when I trust – I get excited about unlimited possibilities.