I feel like I’m running for office, or heading up a pledge drive on public radio!! Hey, you never know, this could be the start of something much bigger!–W

QUESTION:
What is it that separates the winners from the also-rans? More fanatic fans? Sexier cheerleaders? Better training?
Home team advantage?

I believe the answer to the question is WILL. In every contest or match between two individuals or teams, be it playground game, professional sport or award, one thing is absolutely certain: One person or team WILL walk away saying, “Did it!” and one person or team WILL walk away thinking, “Could have done more.”

In the contest known as the Jamaica Blog Awards, in the category of BEST OVERSEAS JAMAICAN BLOG, I believe I am in a contest of WILL with one other blogger. We’ve been neck and neck, taking turns passing each other in total number of comments posted on our respective voting pages. It’s been an exciting run, but as we near the finish line, one thought keeps running through my mind: never let it be said I didn’t do all I could have done!

The voting and judging phase of the Jamaica Blog Awards WILL officially, finally, and irreversibly end (with no “do-overs”) on Tuesday, January 11, 2011. It will then be buried in our memories, and become a part of history. The time to ask “What more could I have done? is BEFORE the contest ends. (A metaphor for life, perhaps?) http://jamaicablogawards.com/jamaican-in-china

Now, I know YOU are not directly competing. Yet, as trite as it may sound, a victory for “Jamaican In China,” WILL, in fact, be a victory for YOU, too. If you’re on this special email list at this time, it’s likely we’ve actually met in Jamaica, in the US, in Canada, on Saipan, in Laos, or in China! This is not a huge list. There are only a few hundred of us on it. So, every little action a single person takes will help. And since we are not privy to the actual vote count for the blog award nominees, it means that the ONE extra person you ask to vote for me today could make a world of difference.

Am I ahead by HUNDREDS? Am I behind by ONE SINGLE VOTE? Who knows. All we have (all we ever have) is the choice and opportunity raise the level of our game up as far as possible so that at least we can say, “We did all we could!” But on the upside, we might just get to say, “We did it!” Imagine! This could be a story of WILL that we can share with the world. (And you know I know how to tell a good story!)

You claim the WILL before the competition, before the final bell! When you walked into the ring, the WILL was already determined. When you approached the starting block, the WILL was already determined. Nothing changes. And so, AFTER the contest, the only thing that changes is that the rest of the world knows which WILL you walked in with. Which WILL will you claim NOW as your own before the final bell rings?

After Tuesday, January 11, 2011, I won’t be asking for your help again for this award.
After Tuesday, January 11, 2011, YOU won’t be able to help me even if you want to.
Did you do all you can do?