Epic Failure
Ever hear that term? Have you ever lived that term?
When I was in college, I played a lot of tennis, I had a partner and he and I played almost every week for two years. We were competitive but mostly not really talented, but our skill levels were very similar, so our matches could be very hotly contested and the more we played together, the tighter the games. It has been 36 years now that Tony and I quit playing together once we graduated, but I can remember one match as if it were yesterday. If you are not familiar with tennis scoring, generally you play up to 5 games or sets as they are called, and you must win at least 6 games in a set to win, and the best 3 out of 5 sets wins the match. I won’t go into the scoring in a game but to those unfamiliar, it is like trying to understand a bowling score. Anyway, on this particular day, I am just on my game and I can’t lose, I win the first set, 6 games to nothing, I win the second set 6 games to nothing and I am in the third set and I am up five game to nothing, and in the sixth game, I am up 40 love which means I only have to win one more point to win the game, set and match and I am feeling like Roger Federer, nothing is going to stop me. I wind up to serve the last point knowing victory is mine, but Tony for some reason does not know this, and smacks the return right past me and wins the point. I wasn’t worried, but I should have been because after winning 17 games in a row, not only did I not win another game, I did not win another point the rest of the match. An epic failure.
Epic failures are epic, not because someone wins who should have lost, they are epic because victory was so certain and the turning point is so minor. When Tony returned my serve, it was one shot out of hundreds we made that day but that shot made the difference, just one shot. In your life, if you are thinking you can’t lose, don’t become complacent until victory is completed, not just at hand, and if you are on a losing streak, keep returning serve because it can take only one shot to turn the tide. Don’t be the epic failure.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Ed
