Success Stories

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." - Vince Lombardi

Yes, this post does have to do with sports, but that's not what it's actually about. I promise I have something interesting to say if you keep reading.

Tonight, I was watching a little bit of baseball in the background and saw that the Saint Louis Cardinals came back from a 6-0 deficit in game 5 to win and advance to the next round. They were down 2 runs and to their last out, but ended up winning by 2, anyway, on one of the best comebacks I've ever seen.

If you're not familiar with this team's story, they just won the World Series last year. After that, their manager, one of the best managers of all time, decided to retire and leave the team scrambling for somebody to replace him. On top of that, their best hitter, Albert Pujols, one of the greatest hitters of all time and the team's clear leader, decided he wanted more money, and so he left them to go to the Los Angeles Angels.

They were left without a leader. They were left without a manager. The competition was getting better and they were seemingly getting worse. But, somehow, even with all the background noise going on, the Cardinals found a way to win. They didn't fall apart when it looked like things weren't going their way.

I hate being preachy when I'm blogging. It seems cheesy and fake to me. But, I do think there's something to be learned from a team that doesn't give up after seemingly falling apart. I think we fail to realize that our success is not indefinitely tied to our circumstances.

 It's possible to do just as much with less if you put in more work than those who are supposed to be better than you. It is possible, I promise. I know of a kid who wasn't considered to be the thinnest, strongest, or the coolest person in his school. Supposedly, he wasn't supposed to be able to be any of that. But, then he started to run everyday. He started to push himself, to lift weights. He tried out for the football team, joined the basketball team, and worked harder than just about every single person his age. What happened between then and now? He became one of the best football players on his team, one of the best basketball players on his team, and is the third best runner on his varsity cross country team in only his second year of high after sitting out most the first year with an injury. He had people tell him he couldn't do it, they laughed at him, but didn't let that affect him. He willed himself to be successful.

If you find that you've just lost the best manager and hitter in the league and you're struggling just to stay afloat, or if things somehow get bad enough that your girlfriend breaks up with you, you lose your job, and you fail three tests in the same week, you don't have to be affected by it. Things will get better for you. I promise. Just keep working hard and doing everything you can to better your situation. You may not have the success equal to being the best team in baseball, but you can and will make yourself successful if you want it and work hard enough for it.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate all your support and will try harder to keep up with this blog better than I have been.

I would recommend taking a few minutes to watch this video if you can. Probably one of the most inspirational videos I've seen.