Jamy Bechler

Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.

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Jul 01 2020

Second Half Comeback

“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” (Albert Einstein, really smart guy)

28-3…

Many football fans remember that as the score of Super Bowl LI when the Atlanta Falcons led the New England Patriots midway through the third quarter. The Patriots would end up coming back to win that Super Bowl in dramatic fashion.

28-3…

That was also the score of the 1993 AFC Wildcard game in which the Houston Oilers led the Buffalo Bills going into halftime. In fact, the Oilers would score a quick touchdown to open the third quarter and extend the lead to 32-points.

Backup quarterback Frank Reich would then lead the Buffalo Bills to the largest comeback in NFL history (ironically, he also led the Maryland Terrapins to the largest comeback in college football history, as well).

Games do not end at halftime. That is only the halfway point of the contest. It is a time to refocus, adjust, adapt, and remind the athletes of what needs to be done in the second half of the game.

July 1…

The halfway point of the year. It’s halftime for us. How are we going to approach the second part of the year?

2020 has been an interesting and challenging year thus far but that doesn’t mean it has to defeat us. 

We can be part of a great comeback. We can still keep our eyes on the goal and finish strong. 

Trailing at halftime. Struggling at the beginning of something. Getting frustrated with the way things are going. These all remind me of R.U. Darby…

The story is told about R.U. Darby, who went to California in search of gold and untold riches during the 1800’s gold rush. Everyday he got up early in the morning and walked to the hills in search of his “fortune”. He dug and dug with his simple tools. He found some gold here and there. But never anything to write home about. The story goes that he finally gave up digging because he was convinced that he could not find the “mother load” he was searching for. Hearing this, another prospector came to him and offered to buy all his tools. R.U. Darby agreed and sold all his tools for whatever money he could get for them.  It is told that the new prospectors went to work on the land Darby had abandoned and discovered that R.U. Darby had been literally three feet from where the real gold deposit was. Literally 3 FEET! The poor prospector who had given up was so close to the gold, he could reach out and touch it. But there was no way he could know this because he gave up too soon.

We still have a long way to go. We still have time to make a new ending to our story. We can finish strong. We can win the game.

Stay encouraged and make a historic comeback during the second half of 2020.

Jamy Bechler is a professional speaker and trains organizations on creating championship cultures. Bechler has worked with businesses and teams, including the NBA. He the author of The Leadership Playbook and The Bus Trip, a modern-day sports leadership fable. Bechler also hosts the Success is a Choice Podcast. He spent 20 years as an administrator and college basketball coach. To connect with him or find out how he can help your team, please contact speaking@JamyBechler.com or follow him on twitter at @CoachBechler. You can also subscribe to leadership insights by clicking here.

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Written by Jamy Bechler · Categorized: Personal Growth, Sports · Tagged: 2020, Adversity, Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Comebacks, Fail Forward, Failing Forward, Frank Reich, Frustration, Halftime, Houston Oilers, New England Patriots, NFL, R.U. Darby, Setbacks, Tennessee Titans

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