# 2

We all go through times when we question whether staying with something is really worth the effort. Regardless of the field of endeavor (young athletes, coaches, businessmen, teachers, etc.) there comes a time when we all face this question. This morning as I was getting ready to do the Motivational Moments #2 I received an E-mail from my daughter. She has loved playing soccer forever. As a Freshman in high school she was talented enough to make the varsity team. However, in her e-mail she questioned her desire to continue playing after this season. Her e-mail gave me food for thought for this Motivational Moment and is dedicated to Kaitlin.

Never, Never, Never Give-up*
Winners are just ex-losers who got mad. The battle belongs to the persistent. The victory will go to the one who does not quit. Refuse to let friends or circumstances defeat you.

If you have been defeated, remember that from the ashes of defeat burn the greatest fires of accomplishment. Your past is the fertilizer for the future.

God made you to climb and not crawl. God made you to fly and not fall. God made you to swim and not sink.

You were not made to dig in the dirt with the chickens, but to soar in the clouds with the wings of an eagle.

Go for it!

Today is your day.

*Adapted from Stay in the Game--It's Too Soon to Quit, Van Crouch, (Tulsa: Honor Books, 1989)

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must--but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow--
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup
And he learned too late, when night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint to the clouds of doubt--
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
Author Unknown

The first time I heard this poem it was recited by Stan Kellner. Stan was my high school basketball coach and mentor. He runs the "Yes I Can" sports camps and is affectionately known as Uncle Stan. Later, as I was leaving a coaching position at Kansas Wesleyan, a

former player, Lisa Tripp gave me a card with this poem. And, today as I was getting ready to do the Motivational Moment, I saw it again in a book by Coach Dale Brown, "Words to Lift Your Spirits".

While cancer was in its final stages with Coach Jim Valvano he said: "Never, Never, Never Quit". A friend of mine, Kevin Saunders, crippled in an explosion went on to be a World Champion wheel chair athlete, motivational speaker, and author (There's Always a Way). He is a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports says, "There's Always A Way"; Never Quit!

Contact Tom at: tomhughes@motivationNmore.com

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