The New York Giants are not a particularly good team judging by their 2–7 record. They had been in many games until the end when they would be beaten by their opponent on a big pass, a big play, a turnover, something that would change the momentum of the game and cause them to lose by between one and three points.
In their game with the Washington Football Team, they were ahead by 17 points when the momentum shifted and Washington got within three. There were 2 ½ minutes left in the game when the head coach, Joe Judge, huddled his defense of players on the sideline and said, “Finish.”
In the next 2 ½ minutes, the defense intercepted two passes by the Washington quarterback and brought the game to a successful close.
Often at work in our lives, we start things strong, get bogged down in the middle, and deliver just so we can say we finished.
Telling someone to finish means that they summoned up their energy again and close out the project, a task, and effort, whatever it is as powerfully and effectively is when they started.
If you’ve ever been to a Broadway show and thought about what the actors do on stage, they put on eight shows over six days doing the same lines and motions repeatedly. It’s rarely as good as opening night (I’ve been to a few opening nights and the energy in the theater is incredible).
On opening night, the adrenaline is phenomenal and the actors are on a high from it.
Sound familiar?
Or maybe you are the tentative performer at the beginning who has to work up to peak performance and then he eases into a comfortable manner about yourself and coached away over the finish line.
What if you could elevate your game and finish strong?
Mohammed Ali used to talk about how he would try to influence the judges by finishing every round strong. He would try to deliver a flurry of punches against his opponent to influence the judges into awarding him the round in case it ever got to a decision.
Finish.
Finish powerfully and effectively.
Finish every day with your best effort, not your good enough effort.
If you’re in sales, one extra phone call.
If you are in a white-collar job, 15 minutes of focused peak performance.
If you are in a blue-collar or no collar job, during your final 15 minutes, concentrate on delivering your best effort every day.
Little differences, small amounts of effort done every day over time will help you become a champion performer what you do.
Isn’t that what you want?
And if you don’t, what does that say about you?
Ⓒ The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2020
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a career and leadership coach who worked as a recruiter for more than 40 years. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with more than 1900 episodes, and is 
a member of The Forbes Coaches Council.
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