“Then he reaches into his shepherd’s bag for a stone, and at that point, no one watching from the ridges on either side of the valley would have considered David’s victory improbable.  David was a slinger, and slingers beat infantry, hands down.”

–     Malcolm Gladwell in “David and Goliath; Underdogs, Misfits and The Art of Battling Giants”

Once we decide we are beaten, we are.

And once we decide we won’t be beaten, we most likely will not.

Underdogs, it seems, aren’t always the underdogs.  It’s just that we see them that way.

The 1969 New York Mets were seen as the bumbling, horribly unsuccessful franchise they’d been since their founding in 1962.  But they had two future Hall-of-Fame pitchers, guys named Tom Seaver (my baseball “idol”) and maybe-the-best-ever, Nolan Ryan, and another starter named Jerry Koosman, who would go on to win 222 games.  But because they’d been the laughing stock of baseball for their entire existence, and were facing the dominating Baltimore Orioles of Earl Weaver, no one, except, perhaps the 25 young men on the Mets’ roster, thought they had a chance.

The Battle of Salamis, wherein fewer than just over 380 Greek boats defeated more than 1,200 Persian ships.  Note the use of the terms “boats” and “ships.”  Boats are little.  Ships are big.  1200 ships are supposed to win if they have 3-to-1 odds against much smaller boats.

Susan Boyle’s audition in front of Simon Cowell.  (If you can watch it without tearing up, you’re not human.)

Ya see, we’re inspired by the underdogs, but for the wrong reason.  We see them as random benefactors of chance.  We consider their feats failures on the parts of the Orioles, the Persians and the snarky judges and smirking prom queens in the audience.

The moment David picked up those five smooth stones and strode toward the battle, he knew he was prepared (by practice and Divine providence) to win, and he knew he would win.  The Mets expected to win, and the talented young “misfits” prepared to win.  The Greeks had a superior strategy and executed it flawlessly as a result of preparation.  Susan Boyle had sung for 39 years, imagining in her minds’ eye that stage, that audience, that opportunity, and thus, in preparation to blow us all away.

It ain’t what we expect that makes a difference.  It’s what we prepare for.

“We come in to this world head first and go out feet first; in between, it is all a matter of balance.”

–     Paul Boese, Kansas born American author

Admittedly, for me to write about balance is sorta funny, as my greatest challenge is this very topic.  In fact, I sorta suck at it.  But, I’m better than I was a few years ago, despite whiffing badly on the “Daily” part of the Daily Difference these past couple weeks…but I digress.

On the drive home Monday night, I got to thinking about new beginnings.  The Middle got his cast off this week.  The Eldest hooked up with a new church group that shows promise.  The Youngest…well, there’s something new every day when you’re seven.   Even at work, you do the best you can.  You decide.  You move on.  You learn whether it was a good decision or not, and then you decide again.  As my dear old friend, Dr. Graf says, “It’s neither good nor bad, right nor wrong.  Most things just are.”  The key, it seems, is keeping as much of it as we can in balance.

So, where do we find it in a world hell-bent on keeping us off-kilter?

Maybe it’s in a book.  Maybe it’s in the Book.  Maybe it’s in a walk with the dog.  Or without, for that matter.  Maybe it’s in an extra-long hug or kiss when you walk in the door, or a smile and a wave when you walk out.  Maybe it’s in taking the time to thank the desk agent at the airport, when others are berating them.

If happiness is a decision — and difference makers believe it is, then so is balance.

And, it’s a decision worth making.

“If I can slow it down in my mind, everything will be all right.”

–     Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packer Quarterback

Rodgers spoke these words just before his first start, several years ago, following a legendary, long-term starter for a franchise that knows great quarterbacks.

The Packers lost their playoff game to San Francisco on Sunday, but watching Rodgers, particularly in the latter part of the game, you could just tell that the game was moving VERY slowly in his mind, even while 300-pound goons were, literally, grabbing his head.  Calmly, methodically, he would put his feet, his eyes and ultimately, the football, in just the right place to make a play.

Under pressure.

Maybe we’ll know we’re closest to making a difference when the scenario is playing out very slowly in our minds, even as those around us are moving at a frenetic pace.

Win or lose.

“He who breaks a New Year’s resolution is a weakling.  He who makes one is a fool.”

–     F. M. Knowles

It’s not that I don’t believe in goals, it’s just that I don’t think January 1 should qualify as a forcing factor.

And, because I’ve seen too many of them go up in smoke — both mine and those of people I know and care about.

Being resolute?  Count me in!  Sticking through the tough crap to the conclusion?  Sign me up!

Making a list of things I hope to do more better (“more better” is a technical term, buy the way…) in this calendar year than the last?  Not so much.

If we resolve every day to make a difference by improving, learning, committing, growing, forgiving, acknowledging, altering or continuing, isn’t that better than making a big deal out of it?  Especially when we get it right…

Reprised from 24 Dec 2011

“Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy…”

     –     Christopher Shea, as Linus van Pelt, in the 1965 Classic, “Charlie Brown Christmas”

     –     Some guy named Luke, in a letter to some guy named Theophilus

OK, OK, risky topic, thin ice, blah, blah, blah…

For those who can/will, let us remember the first six letters of the holiday on December 25. Let’s remember the Reason for The Season in between trying to find all the danged stocking booty and under-the-tree-booty.

Where was I? Oh, yes…

Whichever version you picture in your mind, the Ricky Bobby version (“sweet, little, 8 pound, 6 ounce baby…”) or another, He’ll celebrate His 2043rd birthday on Wednesday. Awesome!

But, the topic of the DD today is F/faith, with both an upper and lower case “f.” In the 1965 TV Classic, Linus, for the only time in the entire run of the cartoon series, dropped his security blanket and then delivered his speech on the real meaning of Christmas. For the only time in the history of the cartoon, he didn’t need the blanket, because he “just knew”and that’s what Faith does for us.

I have faith (lower case “f”) in friends, family and — thanks to Faith (upper case “F”) in myself and my work.  I also have faith in the people I work with.  I have faith in the dysfunctional industry we serve.  I have faith in our business. I have faith in y’all, as difference makers. No security blanket needed. For me, the Source of Faith is indisputable.

Without faith, without belief, none of the other skills and talents add up to “a hill of beans” (thank you, Dick Heston!) And without Faith, there ain’t even any beans with which to make a hill…

Be safe. Celebrate with abandon. Call your parents if you can’t be with them, and know that while hard work, great teamwork and faith in one another get us through each day, Faith will get us through anything.

God Bless you all, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

The Daily Diff returns on January 6th, unless a cool idea strikes me while I’m enjoying the Holiday with Mrs. Heston and The Three Who Will Not Be Tamed.

“It is impossible to conceive how things would have turned out had that birth not happened…”

–     Frederick Buechner (b. 1926), Presbyterian American author and theologian

And that is why it’s called “Faith.”

This is the time of year when, as easy as it can be to forget, it’s good to remember.

“Close out the year strong!” runs counter to considering, peacefully, how we’d respond if we were the innkeeper.

“Get the budget right!” can cloud the consideration of how we’d handle an unattended birth in a manger.

“No excuses.”  One could argue that this admonishment runs closest to the reminder of the Season.

Whether or not one believes that 2043 years ago, a guy walking alongside his pregnant bride, who was uncomfortably riding through the desert on a donkey, were headed for a town with no room at the inn, and that they would, among the animals in a manger, and without earthly assistance, experience a birth of unimaginable significance, it is a good time of year to consider Faith.

And, whether it is possible to conceive a life without it.

“Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot.  Others look on it as a cow they can milk.  Not enough people see it as a healthy horse pulling a sturdy wagon.”

–     Sir Winston Churchill, as quote in the book, “Ronald Reagan; The Notes”

One of the senior leaders on my team gave me the book as a Christmas gift.  It’s pretty danged cool.  (Thanks, Ed!)

Reagan carried 4″ x 6″ note cards with him, and captured the most compelling sights, sounds, sayings and wisdom he encountered, for sharing at a later time in the right context.  “The Great Communicator” was not an accidental moniker.

And, at a time of year that the DD will contemplate Faith in its next couple postings, “commerce” seemed an ok variance, even during this celebratory time of year.

Because we ought to celebrate free enterprise.

More importantly, though, and as two of the greatest leaders of all time remind us above, it’s not prey and it’s not bounty.  It’s a precious asset, an advantage that must be nurtured, cared for, fed, sheltered and exercised — EXERCISED — in order to gain maximum benefit from it.

“At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.”

–     Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949), Belgian poet, playwright and essayist

Think about that for a second.

How many crossroads did we face today?  Decision points?  Paths to the future?

And how often did we join forces with the 10,000 guarding the past?

We simply can’t go forward effectively if we’re focused on the rear-view mirror.  It’s not safe.  It’s not advisable.

At every crossroads, we have choices on direction.

Forward is the way of difference makers.

“Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”

–      Albert Einstein

“The method of the enterprising is to plan with audacity and execute with vigor.”

–      John Christian Bovee, mid 19th century American author

Orville and Wilbur Wright were audacious.  Edison was audacious.  Karl Benz, who invented the automobile – was audacious.  Peter Durand was audacious when he invented the capability to can food, but it took the even-more-audacious audacity of Ezra Warner to invent a device that allowed you to open it without a chisel and hammer.

Too often it might seem “safest” to proceed with something less than audacity.

If making a difference is our goal, often times the opposite is true.

“What if we ___________________________?”  might be the question.  If the answer is “No one’s ever even tried that!” we might be on the right track. 

“What would it take to ___________?” if answered by, “Well, there’s no way you’d consider ________” might be just the outcome we want.

Why?

Because then we can respond by saying, “What if we would consider _______?”  And in that moment — in that tick of the clock, the conversation changes from one about what we have done to one about what we could do, given the opportunity.

Possibility thinking is a learned behavior – and it is a behavior, not a skill.  Probabilities matter less during ideation than possibilities.  Possibilities are all we have, if our goal is to change the game dramatically, and that’s my goal.

Audacity will serve us well, especially since danged few of the conventional answers make sense anymore, in case you’re wonderin’…  Just sayin’…

“Focus on your potential instead of your limitations.”

–     Alan Loy McGinnis (1933-2005), Christian author and counselor

I can’t remember who it was, and my attempt to research it came up empty.  But some Olympic hurdler (Renaldo Nehemiah, perhaps?) was quoted years ago, saying, “Hurdle?  What hurdle?”

So focused on the finish line that he never saw the “obstacles,” the thought never occurred to him that anything could be in the way.  The same is true of world class golfers.  Water down the left, sand on the right, a creek crossing the fairway?  Never even registers with them, because they’re hitting the ball to this green thing called the fairway — the target —  the best place to hit it.

We all have limitations, right?  The budget sucks.  The competition prices “unfairly.”  The customer is unreasonable.  The _______ department dropped the ball.  Our spouse doesn’t (or does) something that makes “it” harder.

Wrong places to focus.

Outcomes.  Positive direction.  The best potential path.

That’s where difference makers focus.