We watched a lot of football this weekend. Even when we weren’t watching football, we were watching football when We Are Marshall came on TV on Sunday morning after church.
One consistent theme seemed to continue to pop up in the stories we heard and the successful teams we watched.
It was articulated best by a commentator quoting Golden Tate. Someone asked him about his motivation and his response was just perfect. He said he loved the game. He had been playing it since he was five years old. He didn’t need any extra motivation. He gets to play the game that he loves.
I knew Golden when he was a high school senior. I was a new teacher and football coach at his high school that year. He was almost always smiling. He truly did love the game and he was better at it than anyone I had ever seen. More than ten years later, he is still playing and still thriving. Why? Because he loves the game.
You can tell watching the teams that love to play the game and the kids that are just trying to win. The latter’s play looks forced. Those who play for the love of the game first and the outcome second, showed some unseen motivation that led them to victory.
This is a universal principle.
Write for the love of the craft.
Work for the love of the work.
Learn for the love of learning.
Play for the love of the game.
