10 May Spurs, Lucas Moura and the goal that said I’m-possible

As you held your breath

If you were anywhere near a Spurs fan last night, you would not have missed the sonic BOOM as Lucas Moura put a goal into the net in the 5th minute of injury time. The internet lit up with tweets and messages across the globe. Spurs are now on their way to the Champions League finals in Madrid. COYS!

GOALLLLLLL!!

It was the final minute of overtime, and all looked lost. But he still rushed at that goal like he had a chance. And in one second, he changed in it all! He made the impossible possible and changed the fortunes for his team, and the travel plans for thousands of fans the weekend of June 1, 2019.

None of this takes away from Ajax who played fabulously in both games – and whose skill and pressure had placed Spurs in this position in the 95th minute.

It’s not done till the end

Don’t count yourself out until the very end.

How do you approach the finish? Are you just waiting for your project to be done? Ready to move on?
Or are you engaged till the very end, and even after?
Do you believe in your ability to deliver? How do you persevere? What motivated you in that moment?

It is a personal preference. There are those of us who love the start of a project but fade when the novelty wears off.
And there are others who need to be pulled into the excitement and possibility of the event, and then take over and carry the momentum to the finish. In a rare instance, you’re a little of both.

Understand which you are, and then partner with your opposite type so that together you get more magic moments like Tottenham Hotspurs. That is the beauty of being a team, a collection of different personalities.

We gave everything

I loved the moment in the video where he gives credit to his teammates – “I’m proud of my teammates. We gave everything on the pitch”.

And he is right. The team kept up their energy pumped up. Someone else set up the shot. And he kicked it in. They all kept at it. They each kept hope alive – separately and as a team.

HOPE

Are you the fan who hangs out in the arena or the ballpark till the last minute, in the hope that your team will make that heroic comeback? Or in a hospital, waiting for a glimmer of good news? There are moments when it is important for us to keep on trying, keep hoping, giving it our all until we are sure it is done.

Share your story

Have you had your life change in an instant? What caused it? Did you have the support of others? How have things worked out since then? Share these stories – either in conversations with someone close to you or in a comment below.

Especially with GenZ

These messages of commitment, resistance and resilience are necessary for a younger generation to hear. Stories, both, where your dream did not deliver and those moments of pure glory where they did. Stories of staying engaged even when it seems pointless. This hope is the bones, the underpinning, of resilience.

We used to transfer this experience and knowledge around campfires in times long ago. First griots and elders would sing or tell the stories of adventure, challenge and bravery. Then poems, sagas and more made their way onto paper and books. These tales – told regionally from Japan & China to Sweden, North America & Africa – engage their eager listener and discuss the moments of despair as well as the moments of loss or triumph.

And it turns out that these stories of human resilience are really important for young people to hear. And in an increasingly digital world, where the algorithms send us more of what we are already interested in, our comments on events such as the Spurs win allow those around us to learn our greater thoughts.

So my challenge to you – share your thoughts on this win, or around some other moments of last-minute despair or glory. 

Link to my podcast TILT the Future if you would like to hear about ideas such as this that affect the way we behave, the way we condition our minds to think, as we approach Life, Work, and the Future of Work.