When you coach as long as I did, you can't help but miss those Saturdays - dealing with the players, the game preparation, the challenges, the excitement

Have a spiritual basis which guides you in life. Have a philosophy of life to live by.

I still miss the players and I miss the game and the strategy. The first couple years were really difficult. Now I realize I'll never coach again. It's still hard to go into the stadium on a game day, because it's hard to just be a fan. But it's easier now than it was the first two or three years.

I'll bring in outsiders to evaluate state agencies. They can sometimes see what we can't.

Is success just about winning? Acclaim? Trophies? Wealth? Our personal happiness or satisfaction? I have been blessed to experience some of these over the years, and I can answer without batting an eye: No. Accomplishments, applause, awards and fortune are rewards that often come as the result of hard work and a determined spirit, but there is something bigger. Something better. Something that will outlast the winningest season, the plushest corner office, the heftiest bonus and the loudest cheers. That something can only be found when we look beyond the final score.

It is important that voters be as informed as possible when they enter the polls May 9 to determine who has the experience, integrity and vision to lead Nebraska to excellence.

Know how to win and how to lose and be able to handle adversity.