THE GATEKEEPER

Jan Oblak, the new goalkeeper for the Atlético de Madrid, stopped by our house for a few minutes last month.
We knew in advance that he was going to stop by. Isabela, my youngest daughter who is an Atletico fan, had planned to get autographs, pictures, and to give him a souvenir!
Oblak, a young man with a great attitude, established a great rapport with Isabela, and she was able to accomplish all of her objectives.  Before he was ready to go, Isabela gave him a souvenir: an I Love Failure t-shirt…
A great and exciting experience for her….
- Anyway, his visit made me think… how tough must it be to be a goalkeeper.
In soccer, what do you do when all else fails?
You hope that your goalkeeper is ready!
A goalkeepers’ job is to prevent the other team from scoring; whether he punches the ball, catches it, or kicks it out, as long as the ball does not go past the line, no point is scored. A goalkeeper is the gatekeeper of the team. When everything else has failed he/she is the ONE!
In life, at home, at work, at school, and among friends, we all have a gatekeeper.
A gatekeeper is the person that guards an entrance; he/she is the one that keeps a cool mind, stays focused and finds a solution. The gatekeeper is a leader that we can count on.
In life, we should all aim to be some type of gatekeeper: the person that has the confidence and is prepared to do the right thing!
Oblak is the person that Atlético has chosen and they are counting on him. We wish him all the best in his new venture. 

"Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." -Tom Landry

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