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“I am astonished at the negativity and
how everybody blames everyone else in what are undoubtedly tough economic times, but I live in a country where people are dying of AIDS and of hunger every day, a country where crime is rampant,
yet the motivation is built on what we can do and never on what we can’t.”
– John Robbie, Former Irish Rugby International
This quote came from a talk John Robbie gave at the President’s dinner in Greystones Rugby Club recently. (Co. Wicklow, Ireland)
One of Ireland’ greatest and most influential scrum-halves,
John Robbie emigrated to South Africa following the Ireland tour there in 1981
– a time of apartheid.
My Dad, who spent most of his life working in Guinness, told me that Guinness
had been told by the SA government that their contracts would be under
threat if any of their employees came on the tour – Robbie was one.
So he left Guinness and went on the tour. He ended up getting a job in SA and has never looked back. He’s now one of the top radio stars in that country.
A few things strike me on his story and also his quote above:
– It’s right to do the right thing , even when your job is on the line.
– When you go into the unknown, things have a way of working out.
– The Blame Game gets us no-where.
&
– Can do always trumps can’t.
Yet one thing puzzles me in life. I encounter people in business and life all the time
who blame everyone else for everything – yet they rarely look at themselves
honestl y and ask ‘What can I change?’
But the best of the people I know, always ask that.
Have a great week.
