Heisman: Win or lose? Which is actually better.

I wrote this blog a few years ago, and was thinking the same exact thing today as I wait to hear who is named this years winner.

You wanna be the next heisman winner? Really? Have you thought this through? Little boy in the backyard that just juked your unathletic friend past the maple tree for a TD, stop and think before you strike that iconic pose. If you have a dream of playing in the league someday, or the NFL for those that are behind on your hip lingo, you better hope you are the runner up at the downtown athletic club. You better hope that when Chris Fowler gets to that podium your name isn't behind that manilla folder. Why? After all the trophy is the defining moment of a college career? Thats exactly why. It's the defining moment of your college career, and your career there after. Lets take a look at the previous 20 year winners. Stay with me. (other than Cam and Tebow now)

Cam Newton - bucking the trend for the Heisman winner. I love what he's doing.

Mark Ingram - currently playing for the Saints. I would say his career is off to a good start.

2008 Sam Bradford Oklahoma QB- Broke his shoulder like a cheap pair of velcro shoes. twice. Lost a guaranteed $20 million in first round money. His career is still up in the air.

2007 Tim Tebow Florida QB- The most hated man in college football, why? He's great in all aspects of football, life, and being awesome. Now look at him.

2006 Troy Smith Ohio State QB- Blew the championship game against Florida, is now a career back up to a guy that played Div. I AA. Now playing at Omaha. That's not in the NFL.

2005 Reggie Bush USC RB- Not even the feature running back. He's a slash player, a gimmick guy. Since writing this, he has started to turn it around.

2004 Matt Leinart USC QB- HA. Really?

2003 Jason White Oklahoma QB- Not even in the league anymore. Really?

2002 Carson Palmer USC QB- Could of would've should've

2001 Eric Crouch Nebraska QB- Retired after 2-3 seasons. For injury you ask? Oh no, because he sucked.

2000 Chris Weinke Florida State QB- This guy pulled social security as soon as he won this award. He might be a backup right now, or a AARP rep.

1999 Ron Dayne Wisconsin RB- Had a decent start to his pro career, but where is he now?

1998 Ricky Williams Texas RB- wedding dress. marijauna. now the wildcat. Ricky might be back. Or not.

1997 Charles Woodson Michigan DB/WR- The only Defensive player in the last 12 years. This dude is still making plays, very impressive, plus my high school beat him in high school.

1996 Danny Wuerffel Florida QB- HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAH

1995 Eddie George Ohio State RB- THE MAN. FINALLY A TRUE WINNER THAT WENT ON TO A PRO CAREER.

1994 Rashaan Salaam Colorado RB- Oh man....how bout this guy? never made it. ever.

1993 Charlie Ward Florida State QB- Hilarious. did he get drafted? Honestly, he didn't.

1992 Gino Torretta Miami QB- Do you hear his name with Brett Favre? No, me neither.

1991 Desmond Howard Michigan WR- He's great on college gameday each sat. enough said. His pro career is like his old college now.

1990 Ty Detmer Brigham Young QB- Loved this guy. Had one year in the pro, or was that his brother Koy? I can't remember.

1989 Andre Ware Houston QB- 5-8 as an NFL starter. Ha

So do you want to be the next heisman trophy winner? Go look at the list of runner ups, I'll be on that list anyday. Forget the SI curse, someone start talking about the Heisman curse. If I have a son, I'm going to teach him to strike the runner up pose when he scores a TD, stand there, clap and nod in approval.

realizations, from my perspective.

my realizations about my job as of 10:00 this tuesday night.

Jobs are better when you have established relationships that increase your drive and desire to be there and do well.

Jobs are better when you take time to play. Intentionally fitting in time to find joy at work makes for a better version of your work self.

Jobs are better when you muddle through some bad times to only find the better times, are in fact, better.

Jobs are better when you can walk away from it, return, and know that everything is ok. You didn't just crash a plane like an air traffic controller.

Jobs are better when you know for sure that your future is truly unsure. The unknown is exciting, keeps you evolving.

Jobs are better when you earn recognition for your accomplishments and at the same time challenged with your shortcomings.

Jobs are better when you know your product will always be there in some form, so you're needed.

Jobs are better when you wake up in the morning and don't feel like you're going to a job.

here endeth the lesson.

Hats

I haven't posted something in forever. I'm not naive enough to think that shook your world, but here we go again. Remember getting a new hat? I know that when Brad and I would get a new hat it was an art form creating the "perfect" hat. We would rubber band the bill around a baseball over night, soaking the brim in water so it would dry in a perfect curve. The inside front of the hat always had that plastic layer that would make the hat stand up flat, we hated that, so we removed it. Painstaking process of cutting out the plastic, but you had to be careful because it was very easy to poke the inside of the hat and cause a hole, thus ruining the hat. Then there was the front tip of the bill, sometimes it looked good all frayed, other times we took a lighter to it because it looked better scorched a little. We would literally beat the hat into the wall, against brick, whatever we could do to break it down so it fit perfectly.

The reason I bring this up is because I often think about how many hats I wear "job" wise. In a given day I could be a teacher, department head, DC coordinator, Mentor to new teacher, team leader, middle school ministry leader, high school ministry leader, app salesman, father, and husband. That's a lot of hats. Each one is unique it's in own way and brings both joy and stress. I spend a lot of time mentally beating these hats into a comfortable fit. I want to bend them to fit my life better, because I live with the idea that "I'm needed" to do this job. Then today I woke up from a nap and read a blog by Steven Furtick. The blog basically said "stop kidding yourself that you think you're job is so important that the bigger purpose of life, God, can't be, and won't be carried out". You know the hat that I wear the most? sleeper. 1/3 of our lives we will be asleep. Why do I put so much stress on myself over these many jobs I hold? Because in my mind the stress comes from me believing what "I" do matters the most, instead it should be I do my best and God takes care of the rest. If you haven't seen the movie Facing the Giants I recommend it, especially if you have little kids. Ignore the poor acting and focus on the point.

Line from the movie

“Grant, I heard a story about two farmers who desperately needed rain,” the man said, “and both of them prayed for rain. But, only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?”

“Well, the one who prepared his fields for it,” the main character replied.

“Which one are you? God will send the rain when He’s ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it.”