DETERMINATION!

I would like to break this winning formula down into "easy to chew" bite-sized chunks. In doing so, we will look at four smaller nuggets of truth. The first nugget is: "THE ROAD TO SUCCESS," the second is: "HARD WORK," the third: "DETERMINATION," and the fourth nugget worthy of a closer look is: "PERSONAL SACRIFICE." For our conclusion, I will ask, "Who will answer this call?" Let us get started with the first nugget of truth, "THE ROAD TO SUCCESS." The road to success starts within a heart that wants to be the best at something--a heart, mind, and soul that does not want to be ordinary, but extraordinary. These words of hope come from the roots of our country's heritage where ordinary people, who have a dream, work hard to achieve. Let these words of truth breathe life into the core of your bones. Winners never look for the easy way out. They simply look at the impossible, and say to themselves to set their heart upon this lofty dream and chase after it with their whole heart. The road to success is narrow, and many will miss it because the road to failure is broad and easy. Plant your feet firmly upon the rock of your desire to become the best. It is easy to fail; do not work hard, and do not have a dream--that is all it takes. However, that is all right, because somewhere out there is an ordinary person hoping that is exactly what you are doing--nothing. Yes, the road to an average, mediocre life is easy, but for those who have a dream, the road to success is another story. Count the cost before you start down this road; for in a month, or in a year will you still be fighting to become the best? Oh, but the road to success is filled with life, happiness, and sweet, sweet victory! Are you ready to travel down this road to success no matter what the price? Learn to enjoy the journey and be committed to the long haul to achieve your heart's desire. Let us now turn to the second nugget of truth, "HARD WORK." It will take hard work on the part of anyone who wants to be the best. How much work will it take? That depends on your final goal, or the greatness of your dream. If you want to be the best, then you are going to have to do more than others do. Kobe Bryant, in the off season, shoots 2000 times a day. Are you willing to work that hard to be the best? Any ordinary person can stay ordinary, but those who will work hard, doing a daily routine, will become extraordinary people. Ordinary people do not just wake up one day with large, strong arms or legs; they use hard work to build their muscles. There is no secret here and definitely no short cuts. No one is born looking like Mr. Universe. Do you want to be bigger, stronger, and faster? You must buy into this daily work ethic. You must learn to carry this method of success into every realm of your daily existence. If you will learn to reflect a spirit of excellence in everything you do, the hard work will become second nature to you. Make a name for yourself by being the best at everything you set your mind to master. Become a daily learner, a daily reader, and educate yourself in the area that you want to be the best. "HARD WORK;" there is no easy way to accomplish what no other has done. "HARD WORK" built America. "HARD WORK" is one element which will help you achieve your greatest dreams. The problem with our human nature is that we want everything right now. We have become a "microwave society." We want success the same way; we want it right now and we want it the easy way. Sorry, wrong answer. If you buy into this type of method for success, then you are the one who probably buys lottery tickets, hoping for your millions. The odds of that happening are stacked against you; those people make a lot of money from those tickets. There is nothing that pays off better than good old fashioned HARD WORK! A farmer goes out and works hard to plant his crop. He waters it, weeds it, and even fertilizes his field. His, "HARD WORK" will pay off at harvest time. If the farmer did not water, weed, and fertilize his crop, it would yield very little. If the athlete will not plant a crop of "HARD WORK" he, too, will yield nothing for his effort. All of this takes time; the farmers, as well as the athletes, earn great rewards from their continual effort. With "HARD WORK," you can expect to get bigger, stronger, and faster. Let us chew for a while on the next nugget of success, "DETERMINATION." Another word that fits this section is tenacity. Never give up your dreams. Set your mind, soul, and heart upon doing everything necessary to become your best. Notice I said, "Your best;" learn how to become the best you are capable of. "DETERMINATION" means that you look at yourself and make no excuses. As you find your weak areas, attack them to better yourself. One of my weak areas of life was reading. I gave up all my excuses and started reading everything in the area of my interest; now I love to read. One might have very weak arms; get over it and get busy correcting the problem area. Are you out of shape? Get over it and be determined to change that problem. Do you have problems in Math? Get over it, ask for help, and learn. Never let your emotions have the best of you. Control your emotions and do whatever it takes to be the best. A young man won a gold metal in the Olympics on the pistol rage using his right hand. He went home after the competition a winner, but he had a dream to win a second gold metal in four years. While at work, his right hand was crushed by machinery to the point surgeons had to amputate his shooting hand. Our young man was "DETERMINED," and left himself no excuses. Our athlete went to work, developed his left hand, went back to the following Olympics, and won his second gold metal. This, my reader is "DETERMINATION" to the extreme. He did not have a right hand. What is your excuse? Another high school student lost his leg, yet he plays on the line for his team. What is your excuse? I had a friend who had polio in his legs, making them both useless; however, he was on our wrestling team at my school. He would crawl after his opponents, then he would pin them. He became a wrestler for a college team. Do you have DETERMINATION? "PERSONAL SACRIFICE" is next on our agenda on which to meditate. What will it take to become the best? This section is really all about making daily choices to stay on the narrow road to success. Instead of another video game to exercise your thumbs, buy equipment, which will help you become the best. I am sure that Kobe Bryant bought a basketball instead of video games. I am sure the man who lost his hand wanted to give up and quit, but instead went out and bought a left-handed gun. Instead of doing what you want to, do what is necessary to become the best. I wanted to become a better athlete at one point in my life, so I set a daily routine and stuck with it, even when I did not feel like it. I asked my father to build me a goal post in our back yard. I would go to the neighbors and kick from their back yard, day in and day out. I won the kicking position that year on the varsity squad. This is "PERSONAL SACRIFICE." Make the right choices about your diet, your sleeping habits, and your friends (yes, even your friends.) Place around you people who will help you achieve your dreams. Spending time with those who do drugs and want to get in trouble will carry you far away from your dreams. After working with youth for over 22 years, I see those who have no vision or plan for their lives perish. However, those who will make the plans and make the personal sacrifices necessary to succeed, go on in life to be successful. I started to speak life into the world of an eighth grader on the road to destruction using drugs. Since then, she has become a highly successful artist, graduating from an art college with honors. There was a freshman, though once devastated by her parents' separation, has now become an elementary school teacher. My daughter, Leia, set aside her love life until she reached her goal of becoming a registered nurse. Keep your focus on the prize. Set your dream, your goal in front of you, and then stay focused on it. My daughter will graduate from college this May, and at the age of 22 is willing to think about her love life and place someone in her life with the same type of dreams. "Who will answer this call?" Those who dare to be the best and are positive will answer the call. Those who answer the call are not afraid of trying to become someone special, someone important, and someone successful. It is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried. Those will answer who want their life to mean something and want to be remembered for their achievements. "Who will answer this call?" There is a call going out to all. Will you step up and answer the call to be someone of excellence? Will you, can you, or are you going to step on to the road which leads to success? It does not matter where you step on to that road; it only matters that you step on to it, and are determined to never get off the road once you are there. "Who will answer this call?" Few people answer this call. Will you be the one that will overcome all obstacles in your way as you travel long and hard down this narrow road? It does not matter if others will answer this call; what matters are your own deep convictions. Will you answer this call of life? One additional benefit is others may follow if you show them the way through your example. I have answered this call in my life to be the best I was created to be. I have been on this road since 1981, and have led many down the same road. Enjoy life by enjoying the process of success. Enjoy those around you as you see them progress down the same road. Rejoice with them as they rejoice with you in the triumph of overcoming all the odds to become the best you can be. Coach Duane Lee Bemis M.Ed.