What’s all this Resistance?
As we work our way through the red-zone we will encounter resistance.  In football, it comes in the form of 300 pound linemen who are determined to push us back.  In life it comes in four forms: 

• We carry disappointments
• We are tired and believe we deserve a rest
• We have lost vision        
• We have enemies

These are all serious conditions so let us investigate them one at a time.

Every Yard is Gained with Difficulty
Even with leverage the way forward is not easy.  Nothing meaningful and significant has ever come easily to me and I suspect the same is true for you.  Any large goal whether in business, family or marriage comes at a price.  In an interview, the late Steve Jobs, speaking about passion, said he would have never accomplished much at Apple unless he had been passionate about it.  Personally, I have found that passion is an inward drive that tells me what I “must do.”  It is the energy that gets me back up when I fail in an attempt to accomplish something meaningful.  Equally important to leverage, passion is an essential component in penetrating the red-zone.

Prepared for the Red-Zone 
At a recent seminar the presenter talked about how life can prepare us to have our greatest impact in our second half.  What he presented I have put in the form of a mathematical equation: Raw Ability + Gained Wisdom + Influence or Position = Leverage.  Raw ability is the gifts and talents we are born with.  Gained wisdom is what we learn over the course of our life.  Influence or position is the recognition by others that we are competent.  Added together we get leverage.  Leverage is our total-self which is expressed in our increased ability to influence and bring about change.  I would argue that leverage is one of our greatest asset in successfully penetrating the red-zone.