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Inspire Me (February 2007)True stories, quotes and information on inspiration, leadership and kindness to provide hope and direction in your life. The Gift There
was a blind girl who hated herself just because she's blind. She hated everyone,
except her loving boyfriend. He's always there for her. She said that if she could
only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend. Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to God for a companion. Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too early to heaven. Before you complain about your children - Think of someone who desires children but they're barren. Before you argue about your dirty house, someone didn't clean or sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets. Before whining about the distance you drive - Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled and those who wished they had your job. Before
you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one
of us are without sin and we all answer to one maker. FALL
2004 ATHLETIC BANQUET Before
I get started, I just want to thank everyone who has made my football playing
days possible. Coach Walton, Coach Moses, Coach Tock, and all the other coaches,
thank you for bringing out the best in me. Trainer Deb, thanks for always keeping
me healthy. To all my teammates, thanks for all the memories, and a special thanks
for taking my money in poker games at our team sleepovers. Oh, and when I say
“money” Mr. Algrant, of course I mean monopoly money. Thank you, Mom
and Dad for your endless support, for washing my uniform, and for putting up with
me after losses. Most importantly, I would like to thank G-d for giving me the
opportunity to play football, and for keeping myself and my teammates safe. And
also, thank you Mr. Long and my fellow fall sports captains for giving me the
great honor to speak at this banquet. I even shaved. I
couldn’t decide what part of my football experience I should share with you
tonight. I was tempted just to talk about all the fun I had, because that could’ve
easily filled up a speech, or twenty speeches for that matter. I could’ve
told you about the feeling of scoring a touchdown, or the amazing camaraderie,
or the team dinners. But I have decided to talk about other things tonight. It’s
a commonly given piece of advice that when you’re giving a speech, you should
speak about what you know, and this year, what I’ve gotten to know –
and all too well I might add – is losing. Therefore, what I am going to talk
about tonight is the many valuable lessons I have learned in losing and throughout
my career in Hawken athletics. I
think that our society has a tendency to overprotect kids, to try and shelter
them from pain, and from heartbreak, and from losing, as if those things don’t
really exist in life. But of course they do exist, and thankfully we have sports,
which, if nothing else, teach us how to overcome adversity, and how to fall down
and get back up again. This
past season the football team had its fair share of falling down, to say the least.
We had 2 wins and 8 losses. It was a difficult year. But as much as I hate to
admit this, I think I learned a lot more in losing than I probably ever could
have in winning. I never before realized what a truly positive experience losing
can be. If
you only look at wins and losses, there have definitely been more successful teams
in school history. In fact, I think just about every team in school history has
been more successful by this measure, but never in my life have I known a group
of guys with more heart than the members of this year’s Hawken football team.
We had plenty of chances to give up, but we never did. And although we didn’t
take away as many wins as would have liked, we took away things that are much
more important. Although
this might sound like I’m reading off some corny Hallmark card, it’s
true so I’m going to say it anyways: we made friendships and memories that
will last a lifetime. I’ll never forget our four, goal-line stands in a row
against Berkshire, or watching Stewart Raulston catch passes with his broken thumbs
taped up like crab claws, or crying together in the post-game huddle after we
lost our last home game to Cardinal. We
learned so much about each other and about ourselves. Victory does not require
you to reach down inside yourself and find qualities that you never knew you had.
But losing does. It is in defeat, in the anguish of coming up short that we are
faced with opportunities to grow as athletes and as human beings. Losing is the
ultimate test of character, and it’s a test that I’m proud to say we
passed with flying colors. Our team had a lot of character. Athletics,
in general, can teach us so incredibly much. There are the more obvious lessons,
like the value of competition, the importance of discipline, and the true meaning
of teamwork. Then there are the slightly less obvious ones. You learn time management,
for instance, when you get home after practice at seven-O’clock exhausted
and hungry, and you have three hours of homework to do. You learn persistence
when you have to practice hard for three years just to play on the Varsity field
for one year. And most of all, you learn about adversity. At the end of the day
it’s not about the scoreboard. It’s about finding the Page 2 confidence
to overcome setbacks, about persevering in the face of hardships, and about turning
challenges into positive opportunities. I
think that we misuse the term “Student-athlete.” It implies a person
who is on one hand a student, and on the other an athlete. But this dichotomy
is misleading. The term “student-athlete” is, in fact, redundant, because
in sports you learn so much that every dedicated athlete is without question an
incomparable student of life lessons. The
unfortunate thing is that a few misconceptions make us want to separate the words
student and athlete back out again. For instance, the “Dumb Jock” stereotype,
which is largely unfounded, especially in a community such as Hawken’s, makes
us apprehensive about the role Athletics should have in our lives and in our schools.
Sometimes we get scared that success in our sports could come at the cost of success
in academics. Often we think that learning and playing sports are two separate
things that you can’t always have together, when in reality, they are one
and the same thing. Playing sports is learning, and we need to appreciate it that
way. Hawken
has a great opportunity to place more emphasis on sports. Why do we go to Hawken
after all? To get an outstanding education that will prepare us for life. And
the practical lessons that we learn on the playing field are essential complements
to what we learn in the classroom. For a truly complete learning experience, we
need to stress athletics more in this community. Whether it’s a once-a-year
pep rally, or more support for all our teams, or modifying our policy of anti-recruiting
good athletes, I think we need to somehow show more appreciation for sports, for
the sake of the education that athletics offer and for the sake of the time and
effort that Hawken athletes commit. You
may be wondering what I exactly I mean when I say Hawken could place more emphasis
on sports. So here’s an example of sports and academics not quite happily
living together at Hawken: Many of my friends and teammates have had to choose
between committing themselves to their studies or committing themselves to their
sports, because the rigorous academics here make it exceedingly difficult to do
both. I think we need more of a balance, an environment where more students can
excel in both. I understand that this is a learning institution, and that is precisely
why we can never put Hawken students in a position where they have to make this
choice between sports and textbooks. Some people might say it’s a choice
between an education and some silly game, but it’s not that at all, rather
it’s a choice between learning about math or history or science and learning
about life. And so to deprive someone of the opportunity to play sports because
you’re worried about their learning is missing the point of education all
together. All
this seriousness aside, I had a great time playing football at Hawken and I would
not trade it for anything else in the world. I had an absolute blast. After all,
sports are still fun. And that is the ultimate beauty of sports, the simplest
reason why we need more of them our community. Athletics is this rare phenomenon
where you can learn meaningful lessons, and yet at the same time have more fun
than you ever thought possible. As a departing senior I leave you all with one
piece of advice: Sports are very, very special, and they should never be taken
for granted. Thank
you An
Inspirational Story, Motivational Story - Don't
spend major time with minor people.
"Birds
of a feather flock together. An
Inspirational Story, Motivational Story - A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone." Sometimes
it's not the wealth you have but what's inside you that others need. |
