He hoped they wouldn’t call his number.

There’s a story behind that.

This is your daily message from Chad number 1225 to upgrade your mental game today by telling yourself a better story, because the most important story you hear is the story you tell yourself. This message is dedicated to Madyson Noelle Smith.

It helps the algorithm when you like or subscribe, so please connect to this episode in whatever way your podcast player gives you.

Here’s the upgrade:

You didn’t choose the moment, but upgraded thinking knows the moment chooses you.

Here’s the story:

Saturday morning, College GameDay was in Provo, Utah for the first time since 2009. Pat McAfee was running his “Kicking is Easy” contest. A fan gets a shot at a 33-yard field goal, live, on national television. The first fan drawn didn’t have ID. He couldn’t kick. So they drew again. Then they called Carter Smith’s number.

Carter is a freshman at BYU from Honey Creek, Iowa. He’s a biology major who wants to be a dentist. He had played soccer most of his life and a little bit of football, but he had never been the kicker. He had only tried a couple of field goals recreationally.

Carter and a friend wore matching Spider-Man suits to GameDay specifically so they’d be recognizable in the crowd — and then he stood there hoping they wouldn’t call his number. He dressed to be picked and prayed not to be chosen. He was thinking, “I hope they don’t call my number. I don’t want to make a fool of myself.” Then they called it. He had not trained for this. Suddenly everyone was looking at him. But there was no going back.

Then he learned what was on the line: not just a million dollars, but three million total—two million for him and one million for charity. McAfee told him he would get one shot. His kick was a squib, low and to the right. Everyone saw it. That’s a bad moment, live, on national TV. Then came an unexpected second chance. He took off his shoes, aimed higher and farther left, and took his time. He told reporters he didn’t really know what to expect. He kicked it barefoot and the ball went through. Afterward someone told him, “You are the most recognizable Spider-Man in Provo today.”

Here’s how this applies directly to you. You are not going to choose most of the moments that test you. The call comes. The number gets drawn. The meeting lands on your calendar. The diagnosis, the layoff, the phone call from your kid. You don’t get to pick the spot. You only get to pick what you do once you’re standing in it. The better story to tell yourself is, “I didn’t choose this moment, but this moment chose me.”

Now tell me a story of a time you were put in a spot you didn’t pick to fromchadsmith@gmail.com. Send someone a text and ask them, “What spot did you not choose that you made the best of?” You can get a free copy of my book, The Most Powerful Story in the World, by going to fromchad.gumroad.com. The transcript of this message and hundreds of others are always available at http://www.fromchad.com.