By Sourena Vasseghi
With Rich Finley
USCRipsIt Guest Bloggers


"We're Trojans, that's what we do." - Matt Barkley immediately after USC's 18-15 win over Ohio State.

Was there ever any doubt? Ummm, well...for a while there, I won't lie to you, it was nervous time. I had a group of good friends at my house on Saturday for the Ohio State game, and by the time Matt Barkley was facing a 2nd-and-19 from the USC 5-yard line, we were all frustrated, yet hopeful, that somehow, someway, the Trojans could pull it out. Well, by now, you all know what happened. Joe. Matt. Anthony. Damian. Stafon. Defense. Plane ride. So, I won't break down the game, nor tell you about how rowdy my place got -- but it DID, let me tell you.

But Matt's post-game quote got me to thinking, how many times in life do we have daunting odds pile up against us? We can all feel momentum in life, good and bad. And the challenge in life often times is to recognize momentum and not get swept up in it. What do I mean by this?

Well, we've all been having a great day, a great week, whatever in the past and it seems like nothing can go wrong, but invariably, it does, either because that's life or, possibly, you rest on your laurels and stop doing the things that got you going in the right direction in the first place. I think it's easier in life to take steps to maintain positive momentum, but the most difficult thing in life to battle is negative momentum. When things are going bad for you, and it feels like everything you're trying is in vain, the most challenging thing is to proceed with a short-term memory. It's like a quarterback 'shaking off' an interception. If you linger on what WENT wrong, and start drawing inferences from it about what MIGHT go wrong in the future, that's how self-fulfilling prophecies and losing cultures get established. You HAVE to keep moving forward, always charging ahead, and never looking backwards. You ever see those people that look back after escaping the psycho killer? What happens every time? That's right! Splat!

Give it to the guys for never resting on their laurels (that's how you win seven straight Pac-10 titles and have seven straight top-5 finishes) but also for never losing faith, even when things look their bleakest.

"We're Trojans, it's what we do."


• Sourena Vasseghi, a motivational speaker and writer, has addressed the USC football team on several occasions over the years. His book, "Love your life and it will love you back," is available here.