If You Could Not Fail

Have you ever heard this question......What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? Maybe you have heard some motivational speaker ask that question. Or maybe you have seen it on Facebook or some other social networking site. Have you thought of what your answer would be? Do you salivate over all the things that come to your mind? Do you see endless possibilities?

Maybe you would cure some disease or eradicate world hunger. Or possibly, you might become a professional athlete.....or musician.....or artist. Maybe you would solve the mysteries of the Universe. Maybe you go for that big promotion at your job. Whatever it is you would do, the question implies that you are removing  fears, removing boundaries that stand between you and your deepest desires. But there is something else that I take from the question.

When I see or hear this question, I think of.....boredom. Yeah, I said it. Boredom. How boring would life be if you went around knowing you could do anything? Where is the challenge? Where is the thrill and adrenaline surge that fear and possible failure bring? It reminds me of a story I heard a pastor tell. There is a fish....the name escapes me....that is caught on the east coast of the USA and then is transported by truck to the west coast. The fish are kept in a large storage tank with salt water to keep them fresh. but when the fish would arrive on the west coast they would be soft and mushy. They had lost their firmness. No one could figure out why. The water and salt combination was experimented with. That wasn't the problem. Other things were investigated but nothing could keep the fish from turning to mush.

Finally, someone solved it. These fish had a natural predator. So, the predator fish was put into the tanker truck along with the rest of the fish. Lo and behold, the fish arrived firm and fresh. How did this happen? With the fear the predator brought, the other fish were forced to be more active. With the potential failure resulting from being eaten, the fish swam for their lives. To the relief of the fishing industry, the problem was resolved. Want another example?

Have you heard of Michael Jordan? Arguably, he is the greatest basketball player ever. At the apex of his career, he quit. Yeah, he stopped playing basketball and went to play professional baseball. Now, he was ok at baseball. But he was the greatest at basketball. So why would he quit doing what he knew he could not fail at doing? Because he was bored. There was no challenge left for him in basketball. So he took the lure of fear...of failure...and played baseball. After a year and a half away from basketball, he returned and became the greatest player all over again. He was challenged by the comeback, by the naysayers, by the opponents who wished for his demise. When he knew he couldn't fail, he quit...no longer inspired.

And so, back to answering the original question. What would I do if I knew I could not fail? Nothing. That's right. Nothing. Not a thing. Zip, zilch, nada. I would be bored to death. I would be as uninspired as Jordan was. I love the feeling I get when I think of the fear in doing something. I like knowing that I might fail because it makes me strive all the more. So while the rest of you are effortlessly ending violence or constructing world peace, I'll be searching out something risky. Something that will make you shake your heads and laugh at me. Something that scares me a little. But in those somethings, I will find inspiration, exhilaration. I'll find the zest of life. And if I can't find that, then I'll find a nice body of water to lay beside and enjoy knowing that I won't fail at relaxing and enjoying myself.

Trouble at the University of Texas

These are crazy times at the University of Texas. I hardly know where to begin. I suppose I will begin with the women's track coach, Bev Kearney. Ms. Kearney was recently forced to resign due to her admission of an affair with a student athlete on her team. This affair took place more than ten years ago and lasted almost two years. I cannot condone the actions of Ms. Kearney and fully agree with her resignation. However, there appears to be a double standard in place. Just a few days ago, a story broke of assistant football coach and former UT football player, Major Applewhite, had sexual relations with a student during a trip to a bowl game.

The student was also a part of the football team in the role of student trainer. But officials at UT say Applewhite's case is different because the trainer did not report directly to him. Well, of course she didn't. Applewhite coaches the entire offense for the Texas football team. Only those players who are on the offense and the other offense coaches report to him. But she is still a part of the team and a line was crossed by their affair. Even Athletic Director, Deloss Doods agreed when he froze Applewhite's salary for eleven months and required him to get counseling. However, why the disparity in punishments between Kearney and Applewhite? Is it just a football bias? Is it a male/female bias? Or is it a racial bias? Kearney is African-American, Applewhite is white. The University of Texas does have a history of racism, as does many schools throughout the South.

Let's move on to the baseball coach, Augie Garrido. About two weeks after the Applewhite affair, Garrido is pulled over in downtown Austin and arrested for DWI. In this case, an actual law was broken. His punishment? Garrido received a four game suspension....with pay. Yes, folks, that's all he received. A head coach can break laws and receive what amounts to no punishment but another head coach is forced to resign while not breaking any laws. For the record, Garrido is a white man.

This past December, two players were accused of sexual assault while at a bowl game in San Antonio. The two players were suspended for the game. The police decided there was not enough evidence to charge the players and both have been reinstated to the team. One player was white, Case McCoy. McCoy is the brother of former UT quarterback and football hero, Colt McCoy. The other player is African-American, Jordan Hicks. I can only wonder what the outcome would have been if both players had been African-American? Especially since the woman involved was white, drunk and passed out. Oh, and who did McCoy have his wrist slapped by? Well, most likely it would have been the coach he reported directly to.....the above-mentioned Mr. Applewhite. It appears Mr. Applewhite is doing a fantastic job of leading by example. No wonder he recently received a promotion. The promotion also came at the exact same time Ms. Kearney was being shown the door.

Have I mentioned Cleve Bryant? Mr Bryant was the right hand man to the head football coach, Mack Brown. His title was Associate Athletics Director for Football Operations. Wow. Big title. Who do you think is THE director of football operations? It's the head coach, Mack Brown. Mr. Bryant was fired in 2011 for sexually harassing a female employee of the athletic department. Silly Cleve. If only he had sex with her all would have been well. Or maybe not, since Mr. Bryant is African-American.

And that brings us to the most recent arrest. Connor Brewer is a backup quarterback at UT. His coach is Applewhite. Brewer was charged with public intoxication and possessing a fake ID. Now, some will say this is standard college stuff. Actually, it is probably unlikely that the majority of the 50,000 students at the University of Texas all have public intoxication charges. Now, I Brewer's charge is very minor and I bring it up only because it shows the lack of leadership being given by Applewhite as well as the head coach, Mack Brown. Throw in Brown's boss, the Athletic Director Deloss Doods as well.

So we have two African-Americans in the athletic department either fired or forced out due to sexual indiscretions while a white football coach commits sexual indiscretions and is allowed to keep his job and is eventually promoted. We have a white head coach who breaks laws and keeps his job and only receives a four game paid vacation. Players are running amuck. And why not? They are only emulating the leaders of this athletic department. There needs to be a complete overhaul of leadership in UT athletics. Mack Brown and Deloss Dodds are the two who must go immediately.

PS    I didn't even mention Joe Jamail. Mr. Jamail is one of the most generous donors in school history. The football field is named in his honor. He is also an attorney in Houston who just happens to be currently consulting Mr. Applewhite during this firestorm. Mr. Jamail said that Mr. Applewhite had broken no University policy. Really? Then why would Dodds have frozen his salary or required him to get counseling? I didn't mention how at the time of Mr. Applewhite's indiscretions, his wife was within days of giving birth to their first child. I did mention, and it bears mentioning again, the possible racial implications of what is going on within the athletic department of UT. Now that head coach of the women's track team, Bev Kearney has been forced out how many head coaches of color does UT currently have? Well unofficially, one. Rose Brimmer is currently the interim head coach of the women's track team. All this from the rich, powerful, flagship university of the state of Texas. Sad.