Might As Well Win

by Bob A Clifton

I accepted the job. Then I told Lance something shocking. “I think we should focus on the Tour de France,” I said. “Okay,” said Lance. “Which stages? I can win a few stages.” “No,” I said. “I want to see you on the podium. I want to win the whole thing.” Lance said nothing for a moment. Years later he would tell me, “I thought it was far-fetched, but at that point I had nothing to lose.” “Look,” I said, “If we’re going to ride the Tour, we might as well win.” Finally, Lance said, “Sure. Okay, let’s do it. Let’s win the Tour de France.”

"We Might As Well Win" by Johan Bruyneel

Anyone who knows me at all knows that July is my favorite month of the year. Starting at the top of July and ending 20 plus days later is the greatest event the world has ever known. The Tour de France! For most of us in the states, and especially Kansas, cycling is not a big sport. So, this makes me an odd duck out and few friends to talk to about this fantastic sporting spectacle. Since I was a kid I followed the great bicycle race. I remember Greg LeMond winning the Tour in the mid 90’s. Then the greatest Spanish cyclist won the event five times in a row named Miguel Indurain. Then along came Lance Armstrong which turned the world of cycling upside down. Not only would he go on to win seven tours in a row, but he would do it after defeating cancer.

Knowing that for some people Lance Armstrong has become controversial in his execution of this many wins in a row, I tell this story with caution. The point that struck me in his manager’s book is this idea of the win. Johan makes the comment at the beginning of the book that if we are going to do this we might as well win. Probably not knowing who Johan Bruyneel is; just understand he is the one of the greatest cycling managers and tacticians that has ever been a part of cycling. He has authored how teams go about finding cyclist to fill their team roster and win big races. So when Bruyneel says they might as well win, people now take note.

Do you ever think of your life this way? In a book by Andy Stanley he talks about ministry; specifically clarifying the win. If we do not clarify the win in our ministry we may not know what we are working towards. Not only we will not be sure of what we are working towards, but we have no idea to know whether or not we succeeded in what we are doing.

A new mentor relationship I have with a young man in our church has brought this idea back to the surface for me. He in an incredible witness for Jesus, and has brought some people to a relationship with Christ in the last couple months. He has an incredible ability to initiate relationships and invite people to church. For me, it has been a breath of fresh air to sit in Sunday school with him while we teach new believers what it means to be a new Christian. One of the things him and I work out before each class is to determine “what the win” would be for the day. This last week, him being new at teaching in this setting, it was to relax and be himself. He did it! He focused on that in his preparation before the class got there, spent more time just helping everyone else relax and then he was able to. I was super proud of the way he handled himself and executed his plan.

We won’t win every time, but it we still should know what we are shooting for. What plan do you need to execute? Clarify a win with your wife? What does your wife need from you right now? Clarify a win for the holidays. Coming through with gifts and ideas for our family can be a big step in building a relationship or encouraging someone.