“The Greatest Game Ever Played“, a 2005 biographical film based on the early life of amateur golf champion Francis Ouimet, who surprisingly won the U.S. 1913 Open. He was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open. Amateur golf in that era was supposedly only for the wealthy. On the contrary, Ouimet was an immigrant from a working-class family. His social status brought attention to some of his contenders about how his ambitions for the sport were misplaced with regard to where he came from. Ouimet's first victory in 1913 was against Harry Vardon, an English golfer from a completely different generation and social class. Not to mention Vardon, the world’s greatest player, was his idol.

Dreams do become reality somehow with the twist of fate. We see from this if you have watched the movie or will do so in the near future, how an extremely young man has an unceasing dream to be a golfer despite all the challenges and boundaries that stand between him and the game. With ambition and favor, he finds himself accepted into the impossible, not because of his social status but for his exceptional skill at playing the game.

For Francis Ouimet, it was not about the game and its preconceived standards; he knew well enough that he had all within him to compete and see victory even against the “giant.” He was not going to change the game; he just changed how he played it. If we believe in ourselves hard enough to lead others into that belief, we will surely win the favor that's needed to pave the way. Some things that we do in our daily lives can be faced as in a game, with grit, ambition, unceasing dedication, and vision combined with the exceptional skills you have honed. Although to some, “playing a game” would seem sinister. Then again, it points to the “game” aspects of how one should behave mentally. The end goal in a game is victory, but failure is welcomed as a pathway to victory. Like in the place of Ouimet, it wasn’t victory and ease all the way; his first attempt at the US Amateur was met with failure.

Since it was his father who lent him the entry fee of 50 dollars and made him promise to never play golf again and get a real job if he failed to qualify, he had no choice but to stick to the given word. Unfortunately at the game on the 18th, he turned to his onlooking father; being distracted, he missed, falling one stroke short of qualifying for the championship. As much as we think that was the end for Ouimet, it wasn’t. In fact, it was just the beginning. Right after that loss, he worked in a sports goods shop, keeping to the word he gave to his father. This is where Favor meets him when one day, the President of the United States Golf Association walks into the shop and gives him a personal invite to play in the upcoming US 1913 Open Championships. This was Francis Ouimet’s call to victory at the tender age of 20.

Francis Ouimet showcased his outstanding skill in playing golf at the U.S. Amateur. Radiating with a deep belief in himself. Nevertheless, that gaze from his father, someone whom he never wanted to fail, eroded that strong belief he had for himself, and he missed. Someone saw that in him and decided to give him a chance, against the odds and the fact that Ouimet was merely working in a sports shop as a young chap with no practice in sports. Oddly enough, that led to his first victory against the best player in the world. He never stepped away from the game. He never gave up, nor did he give in. He took space from it. But his mind was on the game. So much so that when he came back to the putt, he was stronger than ever. A pause in our lives does not and should not mean it is the end. In fact, it might just be the beginning of something greater. Keep that headspace to mentally recalibrate for your return to the game.

With a strong mind, no obstacles can stand in the way of victory. If met with failure, embrace it. It is only the stepping stone to something greater. Don’t change the game just because they told you that you can’t, just because you don’t match the social status, just because you are too young or too old, or just because you aren’t qualified for it. Stick in that game, whatever that game might be for you, build your grit, grow in dedication, and stay disciplined to your vision. Believe in yourself—change the way you play that game. With much certitude from all the stories we have heard and seen, victory will be the mantle you wear.

Giving up or giving in should never be an option. Rest is. Ouimet showed us that in rest we find restoration. Hope in the best that favor will find you even when it looks like it is all over. When you are finally back in that game, you will be a force to be reckoned with, and no giant will be too big for you to defeat!