Take the Hit: The Breakfast of Champions <em>and</em> Great Leaders

Being able to "take the hit" not only separates great from not so great leaders; it is what separates champions from occasional winners in the world of sports. Occasional winners have talent and if it holds out, they might occasionally win a tournament. If however they run into a bad stretch, their talent is not sufficient to prevent the wheels from coming off. In other words, they can't take the hit.

Every PGA and LPGA golfer suffers from this, except Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam. Tiger and Annika are not just winners -- they are champions. When they run into some bad holes, they reach inside themselves and instead of coming up empty, as occasional winners do, they discover they have something known as "heart." This causes them to pause, refocus, become determined and then execute. Pressure and adversity cause them to play a different and better game.

Wayne Gretzky was once asked what it was like to be in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup, in overtime with thirty seconds left, and realizing that the puck was going to be passed to him. He flashed that great smile of his and replied: "That's what I live the whole season for."