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Hello
everyone,
Well
now that summer is coming to an end
and fall is about to come upon us (winter
ending and spring coming for our
friends in the southern hemisphere),
things start to change with the
seasons changing. Everyone should
start the new season with a new
drive to succeed.
I am
sitting here writing and thinking
about the many ways I can improve
myself, but I am hurting badly these
days as I need my other knee
replaced. Unfortunately I have to
wait because this is the time of
year that I need to be available for
our two sons. My older son plays in
the high school band and my younger
son just started playing high school
football as a freshmen. They're
both great kids who work hard and
put a lot of effort into what they
do.
That
being said. I have to tell you a
short story about persistence and
determination
Recently, my youngest son battled to
be on the football team.
You
see, he has never experienced what it
takes to play on a football team, or
for that matter any high level
sport. Last spring he decided
that he wanted to play football, so
for months I told him he needed to
go and workout to get his body
ready. He chose not to until the
last few weeks before football camp.
Even then his workouts were short.
So he
showed up to tryouts not knowing
what to expect. Well he worked his
heart out. Often in 90 to 100 degree
heat. He came home with so many
aches, pains and bruises we lost
count. Like I said before, he
had never experienced anything like
this, so it was all new to him.
For
two weeks he would come home every
day hurting, and would often ask us
if he could quit. Since I'm an
ex-high school football coach, I
didn't let him because I knew if he
did, he would find it easier to quit
other things in life when it got
tough. Even his mom would not let
him quit, and Katharine was not big
on football in the first place.
So we
kept sending him for practice. Even
when he developed a major blister,
we just taped it up and sent him
along. Often, I would go to the
field and watch. I noticed he was
always last and running slow, but
never quit once we got him there. He
worked hard. The coaches and other
players who believed he would quit,
started believing in him in the
second week because he persevered
through possibly the hardest thing
he had ever done in his life ... and
the little guy is only 14 years old.
(Katharine calls him little guy but
he's actually 6 feet tall and
about 230 pounds).
In the
third week he
stopped asking to quit and was
always up and ready to go. He loves
it now and wants to play more and
more. The coaches are noticing him
more as he is working hard
now, sprinting hard, getting faster
and learning. We are so proud of
him, just like we are so proud of
our older son, who puts in tireless
hour honing his craft.
He has
always been a determined little guy.
I remember when he was about 8 years
old we had an ice storm. Everything
was covered with sheets of ice and
snow, which of course lead to some
happy children who loved to sled in
the snow and ice. I was sitting in
my office when my younger son
decided to go sledding with his
older brother. I watched him
as he left the house
with his sled and proceeded up the
cul-de-sac. As the road had a small
hill to it (and was covered in ice),
he slid backwards and ended up back
where he started. He did this a
dozen times! Over and over he would
climb the hill, only to fall
backward to the same spot. He even
tried crawling on all fours, only to
slide back. I laughed until my sides
ached. He never quit though. He
would just sit there, look around,
think a bit, then he would give it
another go. In the end, he finally
looked to his left and saw the snow
on the grass area on the side of the
road. After taking a breath, he then
proceeded to crawl over to the
grass, stood up and carefully picked
his way up the hill.
You see he did two things here ...
he did not quit and found a solution
to make it work for him. Even
at 8 years old he persevered and was
successful.
Not
everyone can do that. It takes a lot
of work, effort and most importantly
it takes a lot of drive. When you
think you can't do something or you
cannot handle something, know that
you can and you will be successful.
Even if you have to make adjustments
and do things differently than you
wanted, it will work out and you
will succeed. Reach out for help
when you need it and reach out to
help when you can, but always
persevere.
My
young son taught me (twice) that
determination and perseverance leads
to success. You can do it too!
Have a
wonderful September and remember
drive safe, children are back in
school.
Also
think about attending the ICLMA
Conference, It will help you both
personally and in your business. You
will make great new friends and
learn from some of the best in the
business, plus you can make it a
mini vacation. Don’t miss this
year’s conference, you will not
regret coming.
Regards,
Ron Giovanni
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