Last weekend I was watching some of the games of what has become an annual rite of spring passage, the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  The tournament has become a brand of its own, March Madness.

In just about every business office in the Country, there is some talk about how everybody is faring in the office pool.

But as I watched the games and stories unfold last weekend, something became very apparent to me. What happens to college students, who when looked at on paper and seemingly have no chance of winning, do the unthinkable?

I watched West Virginia topple Duke, Western Kentucky overcome Connecticut and what may have been the biggest upset of them all thus far, Davidson upended Georgetown.

What makes 12 young men, who are not being paid, overcome great adversity and perform at a level that no one expects them to?

How could a team from the mountains of North Carolina, with no big time college football experience, stroll into a stadium of 100,000+ hostile spectators emerge victorious when no one believed they even had a chance?

Courage, Pride, defiant Determination and instilled Confidence.

What motivates you? Every day we read stories that say the housing market is horrible, there is nobody buying, agents are leaving the business, foreclosures are at an all time high…you get the picture. On paper you look like you have no chance of wining. The deck is stacked against you and most wonder why you are even bothering to show up. In fact, many real estate agents don’t.

Can you blame them? Based on the stats and projections you are supposed to lose today. Everything you read establishes you as the underdog. There just does not seem to be any way you are going to win. You are matched against an overwhelmingly powerful adversary and it appears to everyone sitting in the stands that you are about to get your lunch handed to you.

In this position you only have two choices:

1. Succumb to your adversary before you take the field by believing you are over-matched; or,

2.  Show some inner pride, decide to be zealously courageous, defy conventional wisdom with spiteful determination, and enthusiastically accept and believe that you will NOT be defeated.

It’s not about your opponent, it’s about the game you will play and how well YOU will perform.

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” -John Wooden Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach

I can’t wait for this weekend’s games!