Basketball is more than just a game but valuable experience too.

As many hours in a week as I’m working in front of a computer, I’m truly blessed to be able to be involved with my son’s basketball team. Last Thursday through Saturday, he played 6 games in his second tournament of the year and his team eventually won the championship! What a memory.

Throughout the competition, I kept hearing the parents complaining about the officiating (just like at NBA games!) and booing the coaching staff. I even tweeted right from the game a few times how disgusted I was at the audience’s participation.

What particularly caught my attention was the seemingly repetitive comment parents of players on the losing teams were making. They tried to justify their imminent defeat as the end of the 4th quarters drew near by saying as if almost programmed, “It’s only a game.”

Why do so many consider organized sports to be “just a game” I always wondered? Isn’t more? Isn’t any game or competition we are in simply “experience” to draw from later?

And, if we didn’t have that additional experience, whether we win or lose, where would we be then?

My friend, when it comes to our businesses and life in general, we play many games don’t we? Some we write off as “just a game” and others we consider far more important to be major tournaments. My hope is that you look at every game you play in your life and business to be thought of as valuable  experience you must earn so that you may one day too hold your trophy of victory so high in the air that it won’t even fit in the picture!