I am watching Game Six of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. Dallas had the 3-2 game edge on the Heat and can gain the World Championship with a win tonight.

All of a sudden I see players on both teams pushing and shoving each other at a timeout. I thought I was at Queen Anne playground in South Central L.A. They are risking disqualification from the game and suspension if the series goes seven games. So self-indulged that they are willing to sell out on a championship opportunity that may never come again. All over some macho bullsh*t.

Spoiled millionaires you say, rightly so. Most of them have been coddled their whole lives due to their special talents. Not all, but most. However, leaving it at the opinion they are spoiled might not quite address the problem I see.

I think that we have a couple of generations of people who have little to no experience in handling adversity. They have rarely been allowed to fail at anything or be disappointed or figure out for themselves how to bounce back from an upset.

The exception to this might be those who serve in the military who have certainly experienced adversity. But even there, were they really prepared? I am not judging them. I am just wondering if we havent made it even more difficult.

Bumps and chuckholes are part of any well-traveled road. Are we doing children a disservice when they rarely experience finding out that you dont always win and that when you lose you dont die from it. Perhaps you have some great opportunities to learn something about yourself if you arent too busy avoiding responsibility for your performance.

I certainly dont think winning is everything. It is also the point of the competition. Life is a game and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and once in awhile, you get rained out. Perhaps playing to win is everything.

Regardless, there is only one question you want to ask at the end of the days competition, œWhat did I learn? You also might want to add a second question. œGiven what I learned, what action will I take? What you learned will have little value without action.

Everyone knows that at the Olympic Games they only give three medals in an event: gold, silver and bronze. Given the magnitude of the event, just being on any countries Olympic Team is an honor. So, why dont we just give everyone a medal?
It is clear to me that if we did that we would be damaging a rare opportunity”TO FAIL BIG and on a BIG STAGE. To go against the world you need to put everything you have into it. You know that the 100% effort we talk about all the time is rarely reached.

Bouncing back isnt difficult when we know we put 100% of our skill, talent and ability to work. It is the woulda, coulda, shoulda that kills us. I think the only real problem is that we dont find a big enough game to play. Take a big risk-fail-learn. Take a big risk-win-learn. It takes everything you have either way.

By the way, congratulations to the new World Champion Dallas Mavericks. There is nothing like winning that first one. To the Miami Heat, œwhat did you learn?

Get your copy of Coach Todds latest book, œThe Art of Losing, Coaching Athletics and Thriving in a Mad-for-TV World on lulu.com