I was never much of a soccer fan. The low scoring never held my attention.
Then came this summer’s World Cup.
With matches being played across the United States, it was hard not to get caught up in the energy. I found myself watching… and something unexpected happened. I wasn’t waiting for the goals as much as I was watching everything that happened before them. Every attack. Every pass. Every missed opportunity. Every defensive stop. Every player who got knocked down and immediately got back up.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t watching success.
I was watching persistence.
Soccer may be the ultimate game of productive failure. Teams spend 90-plus minutes attacking knowing that most possessions won’t end in a goal. Shots sail wide. Crosses miss their target. Breakaways disappear. Defenders win battles. Yet nobody stands around dwelling on the last mistake. The next attack starts almost immediately. I saw one American player take (I counted) 10 shots before the next one finally went in for him. And the crowd went crazy!
I couldn’t help wondering how often we respond that way in our own careers.
One presentation falls flat. One job interview goes nowhere. One on-air break bombs. One promotion doesn’t resonate. One rating period misses the mark.
Do we immediately attack the next opportunity…
…or do we spend the next week replaying the last miss building up a fear of failure?
The World Cup reminded me that progress isn’t built on avoiding failure. It’s built on refusing to stop attacking after it.
Watching these World Cup teams taught me something I probably should have learned years ago.
The goal isn’t to avoid missing.
The goal is to never let the last miss become your last attempt.
Soccer isn’t a game that rewards dwelling on the last missed shot. Neither is life. Stay on the attack. Never stop.
