"It's not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena."

Teddy Roosevelt

We have all experienced stage fright. Whether it was in that 7th grade speech class, or the time we had to shoot free-throws in front of hundreds of screaming fans at the end of a tight game, or that crucial business presentation we could not afford to mess up, we have all experienced that same feeling of dread: It's that fear of failing in front of others and being criticized or, even worse, being laughed at.

We admire those who do not seem to worry about what others are thinking. We see the ones who have achieved a measure of success in areas that are important to us and think that they must have some sort of magic that allows them to succeed where we think we would fail. The thing we often miss is that those who we admire for their successes are no different than us. They had the same fears of being criticized and laughed at that we have, but they found a way to overcome it. So what is their secret? I believe that it is in their ability to focus on the task at hand and do everything they can, then to simply trust everything else to God.

After coaching for a number of years, I have noticed that only a small percentage of people have the courage to take the crucial shot at the end of the game. Even though everyone dreams of making the shot that wins the game, few dare to even try because most are afraid of missing. The ones who achieve success are not the ones who make the shot every time, rather, they are the ones who are willing to take it. They have learned to block out the possibility of failure and ridicule from the critics and simply focus on the task at hand. They know that if they give their best and trust God with the rest, then they have done all they can. That's a pretty big statement, when you think about it.

It's that way with all the important tasks that God gives us in this life. He has placed within each one of us an incredible potential for success because He wants us to succeed. It is when we come to this realization that we can focus on the task at hand, rather than on the critics in the stands, give our very best, and  truly achieve those important things that our Maker has created us for.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13, NKJV