Avoid the Red Card!
It’s no secret that I love soccer. I played on teams in Mexico in my early school years, and later in the US in high school where I earned MVP. I then went on to adult leagues. While in high school, I also played linebacker on the school’s football team.
My sports ability earned me a scholarship offer from Fresno State, which I was tempted to accept, but turned down because I needed to get serious about my other love in life…the landscape business which could provide the steady income I needed. I’m pretty sure I made the right choice.
I have come to realize that all this competition in sports – especially soccer – has had a lot to do with how I think, the things that I do both in business and pleasure, and the decisions I make. The 2026 FIFA Tournament, hosted by the US, has rekindled my soccer fire to an even higher degree; and even though both the Mexico and USA teams have been eliminated, I continue to pick “favorite teams” in the various divisions formed by the teams that continue winning.
HA! I say “teams,” but in FIFA it is not TEAMS that are fighting it out on the field, but COUNTRIES, with all that national pride and exuberant love of country demonstrated by the millions of supporters you see on TV, or in person if you are lucky enough to score a ticket.
So, what things have I learned through all my years in soccer that now help me in my personal and business life? Here are a few of a very long list:
• You have to love what you’re doing. Business degrees and classes may steer that love in one direction or another, but they can never replace it. Neither can high earnings. If you don’t really love the part of your business you spend most of your time and energy in, pass it on to someone better suited for it, and find a part of your business you really like doing. If one doesn’t exist, create one.
• It takes a team. Pick your team, train your team, and win with your team. Trying to do it all or most of it yourself never works. That puts a strain on health, relationships and peace of mind. Sure, you might have to make some “player changes” on occasion, but no one said being the manager of your team would be easy.
• Have a good idea what your next move will be…and that of the opposition. Keep your eye on the ball, learn to make quick decisions based on experience and your entrepreneur’s gut feeling.
• Be ready to score anytime the opportunity arises. You procrastinate and you lose.
Last but not least…
• Never give up. I have been in several great come-back wins in different sports and am reminded of the expression: “three feet from gold” telling the sad story of the miner that gave up just a little too early. As a business owner, that would be a self-inflicted RED CARD…the killer penalty every business owner must avoid.
– José Robles, owner, Landscape Warehouse