I found it exciting to watch the women of the USA and Japan play their very best game against each other last Sunday.  Both teams had reached their peak.  When it was over and Japan had won, despite the disappointment, the USA team members were champions to us all, too.  They congratulated the Japanese women and returned home already planning and preparing for the next World Cup event.  They were leaders.  Both nations looked to these women as examples of courage and commitment to their sport, team and country.  They demonstrated how people with different talents can work together to achieve success.  And, while our team achieved second place in the world, it is still an incredible victory.

In the meantime, as I watch our leaders back home in Washington, I pray they will learn from the soccer teams’ example of how to come together to make a positive difference and be the best in the world.  The sensationalism in the media has programmed people to expect disaster and thrive on drama.  The media focuses on our government leaders acting out of self-interest and only addressing their view of a problem.  They highlight stories of phone-hacking from media giants and watch angry mobs stalking a young mother acquitted of murder.  Instead, I prefer to focus on the positive things that are going on in the world.  Thank God for soccer.

If you are finding yourself anxious and worried about our nation’s challenges, concerns at work, or personal trials, remember the Japanese.  In a country that suffered a massive earthquake, followed by a tsunami and then a nuclear meltdown, people are cheering because their women who play soccer won the World Cup.  And, our own women demonstrated how perseverance, practice, and teamwork brought them to the game.  We can each take lessons from these leaders in our world and apply them to our own communities, businesses and lives.  Perhaps, you can live with the belief that life has a FREE KICK planned for you. 

What can you learn from these women and soccer that will make a difference for you?  I’d love to hear from you!

Warm Regards,

Sylvia 
www.convergencecoaching.com