Sports defines many lives

I've always said that we can learn a lot from sports.

Brian Kilmeade, cohost of Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel, recently interviewed me along with 90 other people for his new book, It's How You Play The Game: The Powerful Sports Moments That Taught Lasting Values to America's Finest. Kilmeade interviewed superstar athletes, CEOs, actors, politicians and studied historical figures. He writes about how a defining moment in sports changed each individual's life. Many talk about how the discipline and rules they learned on the field prepared them to handle life and overcome adversity with dignity and sportsmanship.

Sports dominated my young life. For a couple years in a row, I was the St. Paul (Minn.) City high school golf champion. I was captain of my baseball and basketball teams growing up. I was the state junior table tennis champion.

My story in Brian Kilmeade's book goes back to when I was 15 years old playing in the St. Paul Open golf tournament, which was one of the top professional tournaments in the country at the time.

I was playing well when I reached the short, par 5, 18th hole. Sam Snead was in the group behind me. I looked up and saw several thousand people surrounding the green. I had a 2 iron in my hand, and I rimmed the cup for what would've been a double eagle. I heard the crowd's tremendous roar, and I knew that something special had happened. As I approached the hole, the ball was just 10 inches from the cup. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to seem like I had to think through what would have been an automatic gimme in a social game, so I just went for the tap-in...and I missed it.

I often think about that day. It taught me a lesson that I still adhere to today: Never take anything for granted. I learned not to worry about how other people think I look. I should have gone into my stance and sunk the putt for a 74. Instead, I shot a 75 and missed the cut.

One of the other valuable lessons contained in the book is the power of visualization. NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West always dreamed of "hitting the last shot...I wanted the ball at the end of every game," he said. "I was never nervous because countless times in my head I already imagined what it was like to take and hit the last shot."

Sen. Bob Dole talks about the work ethic he learned from playing high school football and basketball and running track. "...playing sports made me a better man," he said. "...my days as an athlete helped make me a tireless campaigner...if there is one thing I knew I'd always have, it was endurance."

Soccer great Mia Hamm told one of her coaches that she wanted to be "the best player." The coach told her, "It's a decision...to be the best you means being the best every single day." Hamm learned about true dedication and commitment. She learned to push herself as hard as possible in and out of the spotlight. Some of her teammates were even intimidated by her intensity.

Simon Cowell, from American Idol, talks about several embarrassing moments in his sports career playing soccer and running track. He was asked if he would advise his kids not to play sports. "They absolutely will," he responded. "Play—win or lose—but play. Know your limitations...and you'll learn about yourself. Most of all, sports teaches communication and teamwork. Find me a TV show without good teamwork, and I will show you a bad show."

Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, tells about how sports "taught me a lot about being a leader. I learned that in order for me to be successful, my teammates had to be successful. I also learned how to adapt to the coach's style to be successful, which has helped me today."

Supermodel Beth Ostrosky said: "I treat the modeling business as I did team sports. I show up on time. I show up sick. I stay late. It's just in my blood from my days on the court."

"Regardless of who you are, what era you played in, what sport you chose or how much success you achieved, playing the game is all about getting you ready for life," Kilmeade writes. "Winning or losing has little to do with who you will become. Instead, it's how you prepared for the game that determines whether you'll be a winner or loser in life."

Mackay's Moral: There are no gimmes in life.

Harvey Mackay http://www.harveymackay.com/