Count Your Blessings -- Name Them One By One

On a recent flight, I read Michael J. Fox's take on "Coping with Adversity". He said "It was only when I could accept the fact that I had Parkinson's disease that I began to think, 'What haven't I lost?' I haven't lost my enthusiasm. I haven't lost my intelligence. I haven't lost my passion for life, my love of my family, my curiosity."

I love that -- when adversity comes -- it's easy to throw in the towel and give up, and ask the questions "Why me?" It's easy to throw a pity party and invite all our friends to it (we post it on FB, we text message, we make phone calls, we email and we carry that "woe is me" attitude with us everywhere we go). Michael J. Fox refused to be defeated. He got it. He counted his blessings. And that's what we need to do when disappointment comes knocking on our door. Yes, it hurts. Yes, it's embarassing. Yes, it causes us to have to take many steps back and have to start over again. But, like Michael J. Fox, if we'll refuse to be defeated, and we look at what we have, instead of what we've lost or don't have -- we'll rebound with "I may be taking a step back -- but get ready... I'm preparing for my comeback!"

Don't we want that to be the legacy we leave to those who are following behind us? Don't we want them to say "She/He never gave up. They gave their all -- when their all was all they had to give! They never knew the word "quit". They never knew failure -- because they kept trying."
I'm refusing the temptation to complain about anything.....rather, I'm counting my blessings right now....and naming them one by one! And, by the way, YOU are one of my treasured blessings!

Never, Never, Never QUIT

Have you been part of a project or had a great idea and someone said, "It can't be done"? Or with a group that despite the odds against them, they're "just doing it"?

Milton HERSHEY failed in his first two attempts to set up a candy business.

H.J. HEINZ set up a company that produced horseradish. It went bankrupt.

Steve Jobs got fired from APPLE, the company he founded. Only to return a few years later to turn it into one of the most successful companies ever.

During WW II Sir Winston Churchill led his country during its darkest hours. The British people leaned on him, drew strength from him, because his will and determination were like iron. He said time and time again, "Never quit!"

We all may start out flying high with ambition, determination, and enthusiasm. But, often we get tired and wonder if what we dreamed will come to pass. It's then that we should remember those who reached success because of their relentless ability to set their faces like flint toward their goal. It's time for us to follow their lead to declare our "Never Quit" attitude, regardless of the opposition... regardless of the circumstances... regardless of how we might feel... WE NEVER QUIT.

Yes, there are times when we must stop and reassess... we may need to take a detour....we may need to make course corrections... we may need to discover that missing key component...we may need to pick ourselves up from having fallen FLAT on our faces! I've been there all those times -- and one promise I made to myself, was to never allow anyone or any circumstance to steal from me this one determination: I WILL NEVER QUIT! In fact, QUIT, is not a part of my DNA -- it's not in my hard drive -- it's not in my vocabulary! How about you?