March Madness, strangely enough, will come to an end in April this coming weekend. Four teams left with an opportunity to win the NCAA Basketball Championship.

In one bracket we have two teams representing programs that have a long history of being on the big stage: the University of Kentucky and not quite as long, the University of Connecticut. Both programs have won more than once with Connecticuts last win more recent.

In the other bracket, we have last years Cinderella, Butler University and to longest shot ever, Virginia Commonwealth University. Say who? Exactly. Yes, VCU. They even had to play an extra game to get there. It is too bad that they arent in opposite brackets so they could have the opportunity to play each other for all the marbles.

Have there been other long shots? Yes, but more they were underdogs. I dont know what the odds were at the Racebook in Las Vegas when the tournament began but I would have liked to have had a c-note on VCU.

One of those underdogs was the University of Oregon when they won the first NCAA championship played. Another underdog was the University of San Francisco with the great Bill Russell in 1955. That was the first year they won. Loyola of Chicago beat the University of Cincinnati in 1962. Texas Western won over the University of Kentucky in 1966. Indiana State was the underdog in 1977, playing in the finals against Michigan State. Oh yeah, that was Bird vs. Magic. And there are certainly other examples.

So why am I going on about this past history? It is a great reminder that in our lives, truly, anything is possible. I do not know who will win next weekend and neither does anyone else.

All week long you will hear the experts pontificate on the outcome of the championship game and someone will actually be right. But, they didnt KNOW. There will be a lot of œI told you sos floating around after the game is over. They didnt know either.

Being a keen observer for 50 years, I think the team that can most be themselves will win. There will be an ebb and flow to the game and the team that comes closest to maintaining their identity throughout will win.

Sometimes Cinderella wakes up and realizes she IS at the ball and she enjoys the dancing. Sometimes she panics and runs just before the Prince can ask her to dance.

In you life, anything is possible. It doesnt matter what the œexperts or the statistics say. It doesnt matter what the odds are. No one knows what is going to happen.

Be clear about where you want to go. Take the actions to move in that direction. Be yourself. Trust the people playing the game with you. You wont get where you want to go by yourself. Remember that others will judge you through their eyes. They just cant see what you see.

A reminder; my latest book, œThe Art of Losing”Coaching Athletics and Thriving in a Made-for-TV World is on-line at lulu.com as an e-book or you can order a printed copy. You may be looking for a competitive edge. This is it.