Rejected?
Broken?
You've been chasing your dream for quite some time now, aren't you entitled a break? Are your wheels spinning but you're not getting anywhere?
When I was in high school, I was really struggling with my grades and was completely unmotivated when it came to learning. My dad pulled me aside one day and told me something I'll never forget. At the time, I was a HUGE Rocky fan. I loved the story of a nothing boxer who got a shot at the title, busted his butt training and gave the heavyweight champion of the world a run for his money.
Anyway, Dad knew this and, being the cunning man that he was, used it against me. He said,
Josh, there are two kinds of people in this life. The kind who get up early, visualize their goals for the day and then go out and work hard to get them. That is the kind of person Rocky was. He saw his dream, he trained every day and he saw it fulfilled. The second type of people are the ones singing around the fire. (video to follow) They get up late because they've partied the night before, they don't do much but hang out with friends. The don't even work. They encourage Rocky as he runs past, but deep down inside, they want him to fail and become one of them. Perhaps they took their shot and failed. The difference is, when Rocky got knocked down -no matter how many times, he got back up.
Now, you have a choice. If you continue on your current path, unmotivated, stuck in a lull and indifferent about it all, you will be one of those guys standing around the fire. That is one choice. The second choice is to get up and see yourself as something more. Let your desire to be that person motivate you to do whatever it is you need to do in order to become that person. Failure is a part of life, do not be afraid of failure. If I were you, I would be more afraid of not trying at all. Those that don't try live hollow lives and end up singing around the fire watching the champ run by.
I cannot make this choice for you. It is yours and yours alone. What I can do is tell you that if you decide to take the easy path -the path where no effort or risk is required to reach your goals, then you will be a shadow of the person you could be had you chosen the other path. Everyone has potential. Everyone. It is those who push through the seemingly endless days of hard work, rejection and failure -who keep going despite being knocked down -those are the ones who succeed. Don't be one of those guys by the fire. Be a fighter. Be Rocky.
So, whenever I feel unmotivated to get up early, to do something -anything that will get me closer to that goal, that dream, I think of what my Dad said and I think of Rocky. Corny? Yes. But hey, everyone has their Rocky. Find yours, get out there and do it!
Sorry, I could only find the song the guys sang around the trash can fire on the corner.
I'll see ya out there!
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6-5-2012
I loved the Rocky Series! (Maybe a little too much, I have the soundtracks but oddly, not the films themselves) The underdog story really pulls at my heartstrings.
ReplyDeleteMe too...except for Rocky 5, which was a train wreck. Gotta love the underdogs!
ReplyDeleteThis post was brilliant and something that I truly believe! Nothing will ever be handed to you on a plate, you really have to work hard and push yourself or you'll never make it.
ReplyDeleteYour dad was a wise man :-)