GOATs

“There’s got to be more than this…”

     –  Tom Brady, 7-time Super Bowl® Champion quarterback (in a 60 Minutes interview from 2005)

The inspiration for this quote came from Mike Housholder Sunday morning.  And, like Mike virtually always does, he got me thinkin’…

He got me thinkin’ I hope Tom’s closer to finding whatever it is he was seeking – to whatever he may still be seeking.  I hope Tom finds who I hope he’s seeking.

He got me thinkin’ how short-term accomplishments are cool, but not eternal.

He got me thinkin’ about the sheer joy of watching excellence, and how last night it was evident on both sides of the “Big Game.”  (In case the trademark symbol by the descriptor in the quote wasn’t good enough for the NFL’s attorneys…)

He got me thinkin’ about how rarified the air is at the highest level of any competition, about the whole concept of GOATs.

Most of you know it’s an acronym for “Greatest Of All Time.”  In sport, that’s the time-honored debate.  Would the 1927 Yankees have beaten the Cincinnati Reds of the 1970s? Jordan or LeBron? Jack or Tiger? Pavarotti or Caruso?  Hendrix or Clapton?  Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven?  You get the drill…

On the topic of GOATs, he got me thinkin’ about the “T.”

Time.  Time changes perspectives and morphs our memories.  Time filters our perception and alters context.  Time, in the big sense, is imposing and hard to grasp — yet in the moment, it’s the most tangible asset at our disposal.

What if we set out each day to be the greatest at this time?  The GATT?  Or if we focused on being the greatest in this moment?  Is that the GITM?  What if we simply focused on being the best we can be, now, in the moment?

Comparisons are dangerous, and usually not productive.  Comparisons get us into this idea that good enough isn’t good enough, and that perfect is somehow attainable.  It can, if we’re not careful, put us in a cycle of never feeling adequate, of not ever smelling the flowers along the path.

Of course, we want to get better every day.  That is probably why Brady, who’s older than his offensive coach, is as good as or better than he’s ever been.  And, consistent, intentional improvement is part of what making a difference is about, over time. Still, we ought not to lose sight of the fact that there is a difference to be made multiple times every day.  That regrets don’t change outcomes, they simply consume energy and focus, suck out all the joy and dilute the sense of accomplishment in whatever might come next.

Someday, if we’re lucky, someone may say we were the GOAT — in some way, in some measure, in some consideration.

Today, if we’re intentional and PRESENT, someone may say “He / she made a difference for me today.”  How cool will that be?

Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, maybe someday Patrick Mahomes — whomever we believe the GOAT may be, let’s be the GWCB — the greatest we can be — today, one hour, one conversation, one interaction at a time.