Rebound Time...

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past 36ish hours you know the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday night. The Patriots lost. No, this isn't a game-recap post, it's a what-can-we-learn post. And not just about football. One of the best articles I've read about Patriot's QB Tom Brady's reaction to the Super Bowl loss is here. Go read it. I'll wait.

Wowza! You're a fast reader.

I think what gets me about the article - and I'm not a Patriots or Brady or Belichick fan at all - is the reaction to that loss. Because we've all been there. We've entered that contest or sent off that manuscript to an editor or agent thinking we had it. There were four minutes left, we were ahead, we had the ball.

And then the unthinkable happened and we were left starting at the proverbial locker wondering what we'd done wrong. The thing is, it isn't always just one thing. It can be a number of things up to - and possibly most important - that the job of an editor or agent is to reject 90-something percent of the submissions they receive. Not because they're mean spirited. Because of the sheer number of writers out there who want their shot at glory - just like we do.

So I think the key is not the getting discouraged part of losing. I think it's the getting up, getting back to work and doing the job. No, Tom Brady isn't back on a football field today. But right after the game, he picked himself up, dusted off and went about his business - he fielded questions from reporters, gave the interviews. Just as when we get kicked around we have to go back about our business. We have to take a hard look at that manuscript that didn't make the cut - what can we improve? Or do we move on? What can we learn from this loss that will push us farther ahead next time we're on a decision-makers desk?

What do you take away from the losses that puts you ahead the next time out?