Lee Trevino, The Incurable Optimist

Lee Trevino, one of the all-time money winners in professional golf, is one of Denis Waitley's heroes. In his book Seeds of Greatness (Pocket Books), Waitley tells us why he feels this way about Trevino.
On that fateful day, when he and two other professional golfers were hit by lightning, he was heard to say after getting up from the ground: "Wow, I'll get my act together!" When a physician told him he shouldn't play in the U.S. Open because his flu might get worse, his reply was: "Might get better...might even win." (He came in second.)
As a boy, Trevino had been a caddy in San Antonio, Texas; he speaks fondly of his financial position then: "We were so poor when I was a boy...if my mother threw the dog a bone, and the bone had any meat on it, the dog would have to call for a 'fair catch.'"
When asked how he thought he would do in the Canadian Open, he quipped: "Are you kidding, that's my tournament!" That year an inebriated spectator who was desperate to get Trevino's autograph jumped into the water hazard on the final hole and started swimming across the pond toward the green. It was obvious to everyone that he was in no condition to make it. Lee Trevino stopped studying the break of the green for his putt, strolled down to the water, pulled the drunk out, gave him a soggy autograph, ran back up to the green, and sank his putt to win his third Canadian Open in four years.
Some people think Trevion is lucky. You and I know better. Luck lies at the intersection of preparation and opportunity. Since opportunity is always available, the individuals who are especially prepared always seem to win or reach their goals. The people who are unprepared rationalize their failure as a "run of bad luck," while labeling the winners as "lucky." Lee Trevino is one of those "lucky" individuals who is among the best-prepared golfers ever to play the game, with a strong faith beyond himself. He is the most incurable optimist I have ever met.

From: Leadership...with a human touch, November 18, 1997, Pages 10-12