Being on the edge in all aspects of playing the game, in practice, meetings, walk throughs and the games is what makes the great great. It is what guides them as they go about the daily preparation and in the mist of the battle. Being on that edge, feeling that fire continually can be maddening.
There is the possibility of being driven insane by the energy that burns inside. Controlling that energy is the charge we face in our personal battles. Temporary insanity is what it’s called in the court of law. It has been that energy that we have been bequeathed by the Spirit. It is our task to learn how to transfer it from challenge to champion in our profession and our everyday lives.
Odell Beckham is one of the best receivers in the NFL. He has reached iconic status after his breakout rookie season with the New York Giants. He makes the great catches of the past look mundane. He is a man that has a burning desire to help his team be the best. That desire is the driving force behind his personal and pro-football greatness. Now he has taken a high portion of the blame for losing a game and his cool.
What is Odell’s charge in the matter? He must, as a player and as a man, take the energy that it takes to play the game and focus it. He should not have tried to justify himself in this situation. He must make himself right by realizing how he was affected.
To make himself right is to take personal all his actions. The thoughts that go into the depths of who and what he is must be reflected upon. What is the root of the energy that makes him special? I believe it’s a gift that will keep on giving. That gift that takes him to the level of “Kingsmanship” is the curse that can make him as hated as he is loved.
The outside must not be the determinant for him. Yes, listen to some the guidance that is given. Then he must go within to truly find the answers he needs. Let the spirit that has sparked him to where he is lead him to the next area in his life. That small voice inside will give him the truth of life.
To me, the breath is the key to the connection. I can remember having that fire. It caused me to lose it in some games. The play-off game vs the Oilers in 1988 was my crowning. I got two personal fouls called on me back to back in that game. I was playing with that energy and lost it, became temporally insane then got the sting. That sting drove me to the Redskins where there was the spiritual guidance to assist in my development to “Kingsmanship” and championship. We were in field goal range when it happened. We lost because of it.
The lesson is there and quite clear for this man that can be monster. He has been warned. Now the task has really begun.
Yes I had been warned before but didn’t have or wasn’t given the proper tools to grow out of it. I needed that thing that would help me be on that edge but still have that level of control needed to play the game at the level necessary. “The BREATH.”
That edge is where Odell needs to be. It’s what makes him the special player he is. The breath will guide him from his depth. The inner man. Gain your control. “Control the breath, control the mind.”
FORTHELOVEOFTHEGAME
