I watched an interview with Aaron Smith, the All Blacks’ halfback, recently where he said Tony Brown said that he could be more of an attacking player. He had everything a good halfback needed, but he could also add the x-factor to his attack. And that’s what he did. If you watch him play, you can see that x-factor in motion, it’s really quite exciting to watch, if you like rugby that is.

Well, about 15 years ago I was playing for a team above my age grade (we did this often for the experience) in waterpolo. I recall one game where the coach was encouraging us to be more aggressive. I said I was going to score some goals, and I did just that, despite being a weaker player in terms of age.

I guess what I’m saying is that we all have the potential to do the extraordinary, but sometimes we just need a reminder of that. Sometimes all it takes is the right words at the right time, or sometimes it just takes a tiny spark of inspiration. Never forget that you have the ability to do the remarkable.