Most of us in our lives have a mountain to climb. At some point we ll be faced with something that will test our will. It might not be an actual mountain (to some it may be) but for us its something that looks impossible to overcome at first. Now if you don't have a mountain to climb, life is going to be kind of boring. That means theres nothing in your life to challenge you, and if that's the case how will your best YOU ever come out? When faced with a challenge we either rise to the occasion or fall on our faces. It gives us an opportunity to see what we're actually made of.
Whats your mountain? It might change on a daily basis. Your mountain today might be getting up and running five miles. It might be taking the first step to stop smoking or finally mailing in the college application to start taking steps toward your degree. Whatever the case may be its important to understand how crucial having that mountain in our lives is. This may sound strange to some (except for the people that know me) but I look for new mountains to climb all the time. Right now one of my mountains is playing guitar. Now that might not seem like a huge mountain to some, but if you take a guy who played trombone in middle school and no instrument since and then put a guitar in his hands you'll see what mountain climbing is all about.
I love challenges. I love standing at the base of the mountain, looking up at it and thinking, this is going to be tough. It's a special feeling when you accomplish something that you didn't even think was possible. And at that moment it doesn't matter if a thousand people saw you do it or if you're all alone, you climbed a mountain that you never thought you could, and that's one of the most gratifying feelings in the world.
We live in a society that loves its hero's. Every other movie that comes out in theaters has one, why not be your own. The definition of a hero is the following "a man/woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his/her brave deeds or noble qualities". I think the most important word in this definition is courage. That's what you need to climb a mountain. Courage gives you the will to want to face that challenge, no matter how big the mountain is.
"Sometimes in life its not about how you finish, or when you finish, sometimes its just about finishing!"
Failure is not defined by whether or not you reach the top of the mountain, failure is not trying to climb it at all.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
TIME
Life can be summed up by just using some simple math.
168 hours in a week
672 hours in a month
8,064 hours in a year
And this last number might surprise you just as much as it did me. Say we live until we're 80 years old which is a pretty long life. This is the amount of time we're on this earth.
645,120 hours
That's it. Doesn't seem like a lot does it? At first I was thinking at the very least we'd be on this earth for a million hours. But I wasn't close. Now some people live past the age of 80 and hopefully we all live well into our hundreds but the average life expectancy is around 80 years old. So it poses a good question for us. How are living our lives?? Are we happy? Are we making the most of every day? Are we wasting time feeling sorry for ourselves? Are we waiting for the clock to run out or are we seizing each day that we have on earth?
"Tomorrow will eventually come and yesterday has already passed so concentrate on today and make the most of it"
Me and one of my friends were talking about facebook status's (true story) the other day. If you want to start your day off feeling depressed just read some of your friends postings. "FML" "I hate Mondays" "Work sucks" "Just broke up with my boyfriend/girlfriend I feel so lost" "Wish everything can fade to black" "I hate everyone don't message me". Some of these are obviously cries for help but is life really that bad? I've talked before about how theres always someone in a situation worse than your own, and some of those people are trying to make the most out of the hand they were dealt and improve their situation. Why waste time feeling sorry for yourself? Are Mondays that bad? How about when we didn't have Mondays? When there was no calendar did cavemen wake up one day grumpier than another day? I don't get it and I don't think I ever will. Mondays to me mean I have another day on this earth to improve on the last one.
Now that doesn't mean we don't have bad days, everyone does. But a bad day sometimes turns into a bad week and then a bad month and the next thing you know you're having a horrible year. Don't waste time sweating the small stuff. When you wake up be happy that you just accomplished something that about 145,000 other people didn't do that morning. (that's around the number of people who die each day around the world) I'm positive some of them would love to be in your situation right now.
"There are no guarantees in life except for how you decide to live it."
As we get older we start to reflect back on our lives, we start saying things like "If only i would of did this when I was younger" or "I wish I would of put more time into this". Well what if we started doing some of those things now while we can. You don't have to be 80 to have a bucket list. Start writing down things that you want to do or places that you want to see in your lifetime. I've never been to Europe before and until recently I never really had any interest in going but now I ask myself, how could I not go? I would love to see the history that I've always read about in school and get a chance to experience different cultures. So that one is up on the list.
"Time will make dreams become memories."
Enjoy your life. Even the most difficult times have a silver lining, and maybe that silver lining is that you got a chance to live another day.
168 hours in a week
672 hours in a month
8,064 hours in a year
And this last number might surprise you just as much as it did me. Say we live until we're 80 years old which is a pretty long life. This is the amount of time we're on this earth.
645,120 hours
That's it. Doesn't seem like a lot does it? At first I was thinking at the very least we'd be on this earth for a million hours. But I wasn't close. Now some people live past the age of 80 and hopefully we all live well into our hundreds but the average life expectancy is around 80 years old. So it poses a good question for us. How are living our lives?? Are we happy? Are we making the most of every day? Are we wasting time feeling sorry for ourselves? Are we waiting for the clock to run out or are we seizing each day that we have on earth?
"Tomorrow will eventually come and yesterday has already passed so concentrate on today and make the most of it"
Me and one of my friends were talking about facebook status's (true story) the other day. If you want to start your day off feeling depressed just read some of your friends postings. "FML" "I hate Mondays" "Work sucks" "Just broke up with my boyfriend/girlfriend I feel so lost" "Wish everything can fade to black" "I hate everyone don't message me". Some of these are obviously cries for help but is life really that bad? I've talked before about how theres always someone in a situation worse than your own, and some of those people are trying to make the most out of the hand they were dealt and improve their situation. Why waste time feeling sorry for yourself? Are Mondays that bad? How about when we didn't have Mondays? When there was no calendar did cavemen wake up one day grumpier than another day? I don't get it and I don't think I ever will. Mondays to me mean I have another day on this earth to improve on the last one.
Now that doesn't mean we don't have bad days, everyone does. But a bad day sometimes turns into a bad week and then a bad month and the next thing you know you're having a horrible year. Don't waste time sweating the small stuff. When you wake up be happy that you just accomplished something that about 145,000 other people didn't do that morning. (that's around the number of people who die each day around the world) I'm positive some of them would love to be in your situation right now.
"There are no guarantees in life except for how you decide to live it."
As we get older we start to reflect back on our lives, we start saying things like "If only i would of did this when I was younger" or "I wish I would of put more time into this". Well what if we started doing some of those things now while we can. You don't have to be 80 to have a bucket list. Start writing down things that you want to do or places that you want to see in your lifetime. I've never been to Europe before and until recently I never really had any interest in going but now I ask myself, how could I not go? I would love to see the history that I've always read about in school and get a chance to experience different cultures. So that one is up on the list.
"Time will make dreams become memories."
Enjoy your life. Even the most difficult times have a silver lining, and maybe that silver lining is that you got a chance to live another day.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
RAY
Mentor: A wise an trusted counselor or teacher.
It would be tough for anyone to say in this day and age that they went through life without having anyone they looked up to, or that they've never had someone help them a long the way. I was thinking about all the people throughout my life that have helped me on my own personal journey and have also help mold me into the person that I am today. Most were good influences but some were also bad, and from the latter I learned attributes like mental toughness, dealing with adversity, and believing in myself even when others don't.
Out of all my mentors I have to say that one continues to stick out in my mind. Mentors usually are around in someones life for an extended period of time. Your english teacher in high school, your college football coach, or maybe your first boss. But my first mentor was only with me for about 6 hours. Granted I saw him throughout a year period from time to time but it was only 2 days, 1 in particular that I will never forget and those days ignited a spark in me that has shaped my life and at that time completely changed my path.
As I touched on in earlier blogs, I started playing basketball at the age of 16. Which is a very late age. We train kids right now as young as 8 years old and I'm sure some of them have better skill than I did at 16. No one in my family played basketball so when I decided to start trying I didn't have anyone to show me the ropes. So I decided to be my own coach. I would walk down to the basketball court about 2 miles away from my house and throw the ball at the orange circle (i found out later it was called a rim) and pray that the ball from time to time would go in. Needless to say I didn't have great success doing that right away.
One Saturday during one of my "shooting sessions" it started to drizzle a little bit. I had a 2 mile walk home in the rain anyway (this was the age of pay phones, no way to call mommy to come get me) so I decided I might as well stay and continue to shoot. Across the street from the park I was shooting at, were some houses and behind them woods. Literally like out of a movie my first basketball mentor came walking towards the court. He introduced himself and said his name was Ray. He asked me if I would mind if he showed me a couple of things. I couldn't believe it!! After I got over the fact that Ray magically appeared out of the woods, I couldn't believe he was going to actually show me how to play.
"Theres no shame in asking someone for help that has traveled the road you have yet to discover"
Ray was probably in his mid thirties at that time, he was a 5 foot 10 Asian guy, and completely different looking than the guys I watched playing on T.V. For the next 2 hours Ray showed me everything he knew about shooting. He told me that I had to flick my wrist down when I shoot, how to hold the basketball, he talked to me about different basketball terminology. I found out that when I spaztically dribble to the basket and jump to put it in its called a "lay up". I was amazed how much patience he had with me. I knew I wasn't good and he did to but he praised me for every little thing I did right. He never said anything negative when I did mess up, he just showed me the right way to do it.
After me and Ray worked out I practically glided home. I had this old run down hoop that I tried to put up in my driveway and when I got back I continued to work on what Ray had showed me. Over and over I could hear his voice as I shot, missed, watched the ball roll down the hill and ran after it. I repeated that process for another 2 hours. I was hooked, I had someone that believed in me. I wanted to learn everything I could about the game of basketball but more importantly I wanted to make sure that when Ray saw me next time he could tell that I've been working on what he showed me.
About a week went by before I saw Ray again. He could tell that I've been working on what he showed me and he had the most genuine smile on his face as I tried to show him that I was. It's probably the smile that teachers have when a kid thats struggling works really hard and gets an A, or when a coach has a player that he never thought would make it on the team, and the next year he or she does.
Sometimes people come in and out of our lives at the perfect time. I think the combination of Ray's patience and my desire to learn is what made it work. For Ray to do such a selfless act for someone he had never met says a lot about the kind of person that he is. That push made me want to get better and in turn set me on a path that I might not of discovered until later on, if ever.
"Your impact on this world should be measured not by how much money you made but how many people you affected in a positive way."
I only saw Ray about five more times after that. It was usually in a pick up game, and every time I would see him he would tell me how much I had improved since the first time we met. Granted I knew that I still had a long way to go but for him to say that meant a lot to me, and also made me strive to get even better. As the years passed I found out that Ray was a mailman in the area, and that he also lived right down the road from the court (which explained how he just appeared out of nowhere)
After I got out of high school and went to junior college, my basketball game started getting a lot better. At this point I had a number of people that I came across that had helped me with my game at some point or another. But I always found myself thinking about Ray and our first lesson. When I received a full scholarship to play at a four year college Ray again was on my mind. About a week after I got the scholarship I was in the mall, as I was walking I looked and saw Ray walking right towards me. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't seen him in 4 years and here he was right in front of me a week after I just signed a full scholarship to play the sport he first taught me. I introduced myself right away (even though he remembered me) and told him all about the scholarship. I was so excited I don't know how much of my sentence was even coming out the right way. He smiled just like he did when we first met and told me, "I knew you would make it".
As I thanked him again and started walking away I wondered if he knew the impact that he had on my life. I had no idea if he fully understood what those few sessions did for me. My life now consist of coaching and training kids. I do what Ray did for me every day. Sometimes parents are amazed with how much time I put into working with their child no matter what his/her skill level is. A big reason is that I will never forget that someone did the same for me, and that person will forever be in my heart because of it.
Maybe one day one of the kids I work with will say that I was the reason that they got into coaching or training kids. Or maybe they'll just see me in the mall one day and thank me for changing their lives. I couldn't think of anything more rewarding than that.
"When you re gone what legacy will you leave behind? Did you spend your whole life helping or wanting to be helped"?
It would be tough for anyone to say in this day and age that they went through life without having anyone they looked up to, or that they've never had someone help them a long the way. I was thinking about all the people throughout my life that have helped me on my own personal journey and have also help mold me into the person that I am today. Most were good influences but some were also bad, and from the latter I learned attributes like mental toughness, dealing with adversity, and believing in myself even when others don't.
Out of all my mentors I have to say that one continues to stick out in my mind. Mentors usually are around in someones life for an extended period of time. Your english teacher in high school, your college football coach, or maybe your first boss. But my first mentor was only with me for about 6 hours. Granted I saw him throughout a year period from time to time but it was only 2 days, 1 in particular that I will never forget and those days ignited a spark in me that has shaped my life and at that time completely changed my path.
As I touched on in earlier blogs, I started playing basketball at the age of 16. Which is a very late age. We train kids right now as young as 8 years old and I'm sure some of them have better skill than I did at 16. No one in my family played basketball so when I decided to start trying I didn't have anyone to show me the ropes. So I decided to be my own coach. I would walk down to the basketball court about 2 miles away from my house and throw the ball at the orange circle (i found out later it was called a rim) and pray that the ball from time to time would go in. Needless to say I didn't have great success doing that right away.
One Saturday during one of my "shooting sessions" it started to drizzle a little bit. I had a 2 mile walk home in the rain anyway (this was the age of pay phones, no way to call mommy to come get me) so I decided I might as well stay and continue to shoot. Across the street from the park I was shooting at, were some houses and behind them woods. Literally like out of a movie my first basketball mentor came walking towards the court. He introduced himself and said his name was Ray. He asked me if I would mind if he showed me a couple of things. I couldn't believe it!! After I got over the fact that Ray magically appeared out of the woods, I couldn't believe he was going to actually show me how to play.
"Theres no shame in asking someone for help that has traveled the road you have yet to discover"
Ray was probably in his mid thirties at that time, he was a 5 foot 10 Asian guy, and completely different looking than the guys I watched playing on T.V. For the next 2 hours Ray showed me everything he knew about shooting. He told me that I had to flick my wrist down when I shoot, how to hold the basketball, he talked to me about different basketball terminology. I found out that when I spaztically dribble to the basket and jump to put it in its called a "lay up". I was amazed how much patience he had with me. I knew I wasn't good and he did to but he praised me for every little thing I did right. He never said anything negative when I did mess up, he just showed me the right way to do it.
After me and Ray worked out I practically glided home. I had this old run down hoop that I tried to put up in my driveway and when I got back I continued to work on what Ray had showed me. Over and over I could hear his voice as I shot, missed, watched the ball roll down the hill and ran after it. I repeated that process for another 2 hours. I was hooked, I had someone that believed in me. I wanted to learn everything I could about the game of basketball but more importantly I wanted to make sure that when Ray saw me next time he could tell that I've been working on what he showed me.
About a week went by before I saw Ray again. He could tell that I've been working on what he showed me and he had the most genuine smile on his face as I tried to show him that I was. It's probably the smile that teachers have when a kid thats struggling works really hard and gets an A, or when a coach has a player that he never thought would make it on the team, and the next year he or she does.
Sometimes people come in and out of our lives at the perfect time. I think the combination of Ray's patience and my desire to learn is what made it work. For Ray to do such a selfless act for someone he had never met says a lot about the kind of person that he is. That push made me want to get better and in turn set me on a path that I might not of discovered until later on, if ever.
"Your impact on this world should be measured not by how much money you made but how many people you affected in a positive way."
I only saw Ray about five more times after that. It was usually in a pick up game, and every time I would see him he would tell me how much I had improved since the first time we met. Granted I knew that I still had a long way to go but for him to say that meant a lot to me, and also made me strive to get even better. As the years passed I found out that Ray was a mailman in the area, and that he also lived right down the road from the court (which explained how he just appeared out of nowhere)
After I got out of high school and went to junior college, my basketball game started getting a lot better. At this point I had a number of people that I came across that had helped me with my game at some point or another. But I always found myself thinking about Ray and our first lesson. When I received a full scholarship to play at a four year college Ray again was on my mind. About a week after I got the scholarship I was in the mall, as I was walking I looked and saw Ray walking right towards me. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't seen him in 4 years and here he was right in front of me a week after I just signed a full scholarship to play the sport he first taught me. I introduced myself right away (even though he remembered me) and told him all about the scholarship. I was so excited I don't know how much of my sentence was even coming out the right way. He smiled just like he did when we first met and told me, "I knew you would make it".
As I thanked him again and started walking away I wondered if he knew the impact that he had on my life. I had no idea if he fully understood what those few sessions did for me. My life now consist of coaching and training kids. I do what Ray did for me every day. Sometimes parents are amazed with how much time I put into working with their child no matter what his/her skill level is. A big reason is that I will never forget that someone did the same for me, and that person will forever be in my heart because of it.
Maybe one day one of the kids I work with will say that I was the reason that they got into coaching or training kids. Or maybe they'll just see me in the mall one day and thank me for changing their lives. I couldn't think of anything more rewarding than that.
"When you re gone what legacy will you leave behind? Did you spend your whole life helping or wanting to be helped"?
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