Position Your Perspective for Success

Have you ever given much thought to the phrase "in the right place at the right time"? Basically the presumption is that a person just happens to be in a particular position at exactly the right time for something with a positive outcome to occur. Call it luck, good fortune, or plain old coincidence, but the premise with that line of thinking is that good things just happen by chance. Pastor Hilton shared a totally different perspective during one of his recent sermons. His story involved his son playing basketball, and when his son shot and missed he had the potential to get discouraged and his shoulders would slump. Pastor Robbie continued, the problem with that isn't that he missed the shot, but now that his son's shoulders slumped in disappointment he would not be in a ready position to make the next shot when the ball came his way again. In other words, making the shot isn't just about being in the right place at the right time, open shot, but it is more about being in the right position at the time when opportunity knocks on the door. 

Mindset is everything to me. To be successful isn't about luck or good fortune, it is about grasping opportunities and making the most out of them. Before we go any further I need to lay out a disclaimer, to me opportunities come in many different packages. Misfortune can be an opportunity just as much as it is found in a "being in the right place" mentality. I equate mindset to perspective. Our mental approach to life's circumstances will have a tremendous impact on the outcome of a situation. There were a few other key phrases that came out of Pastor Robbie's sermon that I just had to jot down and I want to be sure to give credit where credit is due as I share them today. "Complaining clouds creativity" which was followed by "Your mind moves from creativity to captivity and confusion." At another point in the sermon the pastor stated we have to take our thoughts captive so that we can get to the mindset of "placement over punishment".  Now that one is tough for many people. The victim mentality shifts our thinking to one where we think along the lines of a "being in the wrong place at the right time" way of looking at our current position in life. One last tidbit of insight from this particular sermon, "It isn't the storm happening around the boat that causes fear, it is the mental state of the person steering the ship". To which I would refer back to today's title and offer the idea that our outlook or perspective is going to predicate our mindset in adverse situations, which in turn will have a tremendous impact on our success or our demise.

I suppose this would be a good time to ask the question, "What does it mean to be mentally tough?"  Well, I believe the Apostle Paul would explain it like this, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." II Corinthians 4: 16-18. Going back to where we started today, an athlete who only sees the missed shot that just occurred, will not be able to envision the next shot or the next ten shots going through the hoop. Instead it is necessary for us to think through what went wrong on that particular shot and then correct the mechanics and be prepared for the next ten shots to hit nothing but the net! Perspective puts us in a position to be successful. 

For the person navigating the storm, regardless of whether it is a literal storm at sea or if it is any of the myriad storms of life scenarios, your perspective will have a great deal of impact on how you weather and overcome the torrent winds and waves that are bashing on the bow of your ship. James 1:12 tells us, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." Don't ever give up, never quit, and always give your best. I'll shout out those three phrases until the day I die. On giving up Thomas Edison offered this perspective, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." For Edison, failed attempts meant he was one attempt closer to success. To see things in that manner takes a tremendous amount of perspective positioning. You have to maintain a never give up mental state of being. Instead of slumping your shoulders after missing the shot, you have to have a "Give me the ball, I'm ready for the next shot" mental perspective. 

As we close today I want to clarify that this way of thinking isn't easy to accomplish. When the waves are crashing all around or when you have missed the last twenty shots, it is easier to get discouraged than to have a positive outlook for what is going to happen next. It isn't easy if you are attempting to go it alone. The key to having a success through adversity mentality is to partner with the One who walks alongside us through adversity (John 16:33). As we prepare to welcome 2026, I challenge you to draw near to God in the midst of life's daily struggles. When life happens, as it most certainly will, you will be faced with a choice. You can mark another one up to "bad luck" or you can position your perspective for success and seek the strength and resilience of Christ. He is there. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31. Whatever 2026 holds, I am prepared because He walks with me, bring it on!

Coach Carter