Ok so I am an avowed soccer nut. I love the game and I live a lot of my life around it as a coach, referee, administrator, player and soccer parent. The game is wonderful because it takes skill, fitness, team work and passion to make it all work. And you can play the game from the time you are a tiny kid until you cannot run anymore.

So today’s post is aimed at making a point from today’s amazing match. The USA national team played Spain today in the Confederations Cup in South Africa. (don’t worry if you don’t know what that is…) Spain is the top dog in the world right now in international soccer. They are numero uno. They have been dominating for two years. They were favored to in this cup and frankly they would have to be picked for next years World Cup as well. They are a wonderful team of talented players who play with flair.

The USA team has been dogged of late. They have not been impressive. Either they have not beaten teams by enough that they should , or they lose ugly as in the first two games of this tournament. They have taken some beating on the home front by fans who wonder if they can get their act together.

So they pull off a miracle victory over Egypt the other day to get to the semis against Spain. Everyone says victory to Spain, game over.

But you know what? The USA team came out hard (must have had quite the pre game talk) and stood tall against the mighty Spaniards. They scored first and then dug in against the mighty Spanish offense. Shots rained down on the USA goalie and defense. But they stood firm. They fought with unusual vigor the whole game. Then they scored again and the game was over. The Spaniards looked stunned. The US delirious.

The lesson learned. A team game is just that. If you work as a team, fight hard, never give up, and dig down deep for that something extra you can overcome just about anything. This victory was just such a game of teamwork.

So if you are running a business, working to build a business take this lesson and apply it ot your operation. Find that extra gear, give your whole effort, work with a team and make it smooth, and you will find a victory yourself even if it is against a big foe (current economy…).

Sounds corny I know but inspiration sometimes is and you still need to find it in order to achieve great things.