Then, with Gatorade still shining and leg pumping, he burst through the ribbon and his arms lifted in the thrill of victory. I felt like a total wimp since I had not one drop of Gatorade in me. I knew the idea was to get me to rush to the store and buy some. I know that Gatorade cannot make me into an Olympic champion and it cannot change my life. But the unearthly brilliant sweat, the tragic blue tear, and the phosphorescent stuff that powered the victor from within spoke truth to my soul.
Victory does come from within.
Your sweat and your tears can either be a part of your agony in defeat or your joy in victory. It all depends on what you have in you. And you don t have to run a marathon or pitch in the World Series to know what it means to sweat under the weight of a heavy load, ache after endless hours of backbreaking effort, or shed a blue tear after heartbreaking disappointment to understand the emptiness of defeat. If you had asked that question to Zacchaeus at the beginning of our story, the answer would have obviously been, No. He was a fine shell of a man with a very blue tear.