Life is like...

a basketball game. But not just any game. That game where something is on the line - an undefeated season, a scoring record, a championship or even just the ability to say you beat a certain opponant. As March Madness is in full swing, basketball movies fill the cable stations and while wathcing "Glory Days" last night, my own childhood glory days quickly fill my mind.

It's 1989 and our 8th grade team has gone undefeated in conference play - a first in school history. Being only 13, a girls mind is already spinning, but the pressure to win and not let anyone down was incredable. As we headed to the state championship tournament our coach said something that I will never forget. He said, "This opportunity only happens to most people once in their lifetime. You should remember every moment and be extatic that you have made it this far." At that time we had no clue what he meant. Again, we were 13 - we thought we knew it all and we were SURE we would see a winning season like that again at SOME point in our lives. Little did we know. What we were also sure of was how incredibly nervous we were to be playing against the best teams in the state. Against girls that would go on to be leading scorers and all time blocking champs in high school, not to mention the future college and even WMBA stars (the WMBA didn't even exist then). We knew we were out of our league, but we played with all our hearts. When our leading scorer got hurt, we fell apart as a team.

I think back to how scared I was. How mortifying a loss in the first round was going to be. But I also remember how helpless I felt because I couldn't contribute to the win any more than I already was. At that moment I vowed never to let one player cause me to not reach my goals again.

Little did I know that my future would be much like that basketball competition. Today is quite similar in that I am a bit out of my league trying to take a company national in an industry full of giants and companies with more history. But this time there will be no one to depend on but me. This time my destany is in my own hands and my ability to sprint up the court and hustle is the only limiting factor. I am still nervous, terrified and sick to my stomach on a daily basis. But then I remember my coaches comment about this only happening once in a lifetime. And he was right - this is a once in a lifetime deal that I have. And I don't intend to lose this time.

Good thing I have been practicing.