The trying is yours. The score isn't.

Your kick is yours: how hard you practise, how carefully you aim. The goalie, the wind and the scoreboard are not. Do your best, then let the score go.

Talk to yourself like you'd talk to a friend.

There's a voice in your head that talks all day. When you miss the kick or spill the milk, it can be a bully or a friend. Let it be the friend.

Leave footprints worth following.

Everything you do leaves a footprint: what you say, what you laugh at, how you treat people. Other kids see them, and some will follow. Make yours worth following.

Share before you're asked.

When someone has to ask you to share, the sharing comes late. Offer first. It's the same snack, but it feels twice as good.

Every mistake is a brick.

Nobody is born knowing how to read, ride or tie a shoe. Every mistake is a brick, and your brain builds with them. A wall with no bricks is just air.

Hard first, good later.

Some things are yucky at the start and great at the end: practice, vegetables, early bed. Candy is the other way round. Pick hard first.

Finish what you start.

A half-built thing can't do anything yet. The last bit is the hardest part, and it's also where it gets good. Finish it, then start the next one.

Not every fight is yours.

Some fights are worth having, and most aren't. Before you push back, ask if this one is really yours. Walking away can be the strong move.

Same face when you win and lose.

Watch the best players at the end of a game. You often can't tell from their face if they won. Winning and losing both come and go, and you stay you.