Bjcorbin's Blog

I recently saw a quote that someone gave one of my kids that said, “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breath, then you will be successful”.  According to the internet, a motivational speaker named Eric Thomas came up with that sentiment, and I have to admit that I’m not particularly impressed with it.  Maybe it somehow works within the greater framework of his message, but it certainly doesn’t ring true as a singular thought.  Everybody wants to win.  Everyone wants to be successful.  Simply wanting it more doesn’t make it happen, and encouraging the kids to desire more “success” isn’t going to make it so.  As a parent, I want them to realize that they can only expect to reap in proportion to what they are willing to sow.  If they are not willing to invest themselves in the process of preparation, which is ultimately the seed of success; and to water those seeds with endurance, then they have no reason to expect a harvest of success.  It is not as simple as changing our attitude about success and winning, it’s about changing our pattern in regards to preparation and working together as a team.  For kids raised on a steady diet of trash talk, “SWAG” and “Just Do It”, that is a message they really need to hear.