Running Uphill

  "Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."  I Corinthians 9:24-27
     I started running a little over a year ago and know it has become a regular part of my weekly workout regimen. Of course my first motivation for running was health related, I started by walking only and have built up to where I can actually run a decent amount of distance. That was my other contributing factor, our school started a 5K run/walk last year and I wanted to be able to participate in it without falling over exhausted before I even completed the first quarter of a mile.
     The Storm Chaser 5K, as it is named us being the Tornados, is a little different from many normal runs due to the number of uphill challenges coupled with the obvious downhill accompaniments and nestled in the middle are two nice stretches of flat, straight pavement. In training for this run slatted for early April I am preparing both physically and mentally by running a similar practice route near my home that includes the same type of uphill challenges along the way. Each time I encounter an uphill section of the trail I have to dig deep to not give up and stop along the way and a tool that I have used frequently has been a big help. I find marks along the way such as a tree, a road sign, a rock, whatever happens to be available and as I reach each landmark I am encouraged that I made it that far and now I just need to make it to the next, and the next, and the next until I have ultimately reached the peak of that uphill ascent. Then after reaching the top of that hill there is invariably a down hill jog to recoup my breath. You have to train yourself to relax and take in some long, deep breaths as you go down the hill as to prepare for the upcoming hill in sight. When I make it to a stretch of flat ground then I am on cruise control and that is where you actually can make up some ground because of the easy grade of the flat terrain, knowing all along that this stretch is allowing you to get ready for the next uphill climb that is guaranteed to be right ahead.
     According to our scripture from above, Paul said you have to have a purpose in life's 5K. If we just go out to run without a purpose then it will soon feel as though we are running in vain with no goal visible. The uphill challenges will appear overwhelming, and we will run out of energy and endurance before we reach our destination. Even if we do make the pinnacle of an uphill challenge then we easily misinterpret the ensuing downhill accompaniment as a negative instead of an opportunity to prepare for our next challenge. Then when things are on cruise control in life we fail to take advantage of the place we are at and we don't give thanks for all that we have made it through and all that we have overcome that has created more endurance and perseverance in our minds, bodies, and soul. Life my friend is an uphill climb. If you aren't climbing a hill then you are sitting in a valley. Just a hint, the view gets better as you reach the top of the mountain!
     So having a purpose is of the utmost importance whether it is in athletics or if we are talking about life. Don't let yourself down by giving up on your run in life. Referring back to I Corinthians 9:24 paraphrasing Paul he says everyone is running the race, but only one will win the prize. Then he said, run or practice in such a way that you will be in contention to win. Have a purpose. Paul goes on to say that he isn't just going outside and running around in circles he has a goal, a purpose in his preparation. In your life you have got to do the same thing. If you are just going through the motions of getting up, getting ready for work, and then going to work, going through the day, finishing the day and then returning to home all without a sense of purpose or a goal accomplished you are probably feeling defeated and exhausted before you hit mile marker one in your daily 5K.
     In Angela Duckworth's book entitled "Grit The Power of Passion and Perseverance" she quotes Kat Cole, former president of the Cinnabon bakery chain as saying, "When I am around people, my heart and soul radiate with the awareness that I am in the presence of greatness. Maybe greatness unfound, or greatness underdeveloped, but the potential or existence of greatness nevertheless. You never know who will go on to do good or even great things or become the next great influencer in the world-- so treat everyone like they are that person."  If you feel like you don't have a purpose in life this would be a great place to start each day. Set your sites on helping one person realize their importance today and you my friend will be on the way to realizing your own purpose in life. I'm encouraged by the lyrics sung by the band Third Day in the song "The Mountain of God",
Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God
Run your 5k in life with a purpose and always remember you are never alone on the journey, run hard and run uphill! Coach Carter

You Can Lead a Horse to Water and You Better Make Sure it Drinks

     There's an old saying that goes something like "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." Well, if the cowboys in the old westerns I grew up on would have lived by that motto, I would feel safe to bet a great many of them would have never made it across the expansive, dry prairie of the late 1800's. I can picture John Wayne preparing to head out on a round up across the unsettled U.S. and as he is getting ready to saddle up he leads his steed up to the watering trough and then watches as his horse stands there and refuses to drink. Well the Duke being the wise man he was would have known that the next watering hole could have been a great many miles away, possibly even a day or more out, so not getting a good, long drink would have not been an option as much as it would have been a necessity for survival across the vast, dry wilderness. I believe John Wayne or any real American cowboy would not have dared starting out across that desert like expanse without hydrating himself properly and making sure his mode of transportation was as hydrated as possible  as well. It just wouldn't make for much of a movie if the cowboy pulled up at the water trough, dismounted, and then as the his horse stands there defiantly denying the opportunity to store up some essential water, the cowboy says "please drink some water" and then "well if you're not going to drink I guess we'll just go ahead and move on anyway." Not sure if that movie would have sold many tickets at the box office. No, men and women of the "old west" were tough and determined, filled with grit and resiliency, not much in them in the way of giving up especially when they knew that the resulting outcome in such a case as this watering hole example would most certainly result in possible death of the horse and inadvertently create a life or death situation for the cowboy himself.
     My interpretation of this old saying is that you can provide someone with the right example, the right answer, the correct way of doing things, or even the means to a better end, but you can not make them accept it or receive it. Well as the title of today's FTM thought suggests, my take on this old adage is that if we know the importance of what we are attempting to accomplish in someone's life then we better have more persistence about us than just saying well I led my horse to the watering hole, but he didn't drink so I did my job and then move on into the desert of life unequipped or unprepared for what lies ahead.
     Being in education this example is evident in the story of many a child over my 25 years of experience. Educators are faced with "hard" cases where a child just isn't responding to the instruction provided and appears to not want a drink of water from the education well. Whether it is being obstinate, unmotivated, uninterested, or just plain old lazy there are students that appear to be content to not hydrate their minds before entering their journey of a lifetime of wildernesses and prairies they will most certainly encounter. Have we done our job if we provide the material to this child, possibly multiple times, and maybe even in several different formats and this  student refuses to accept it and embrace this education we are offering? What is our responsibility in this situation? We led them to the water, but we can't make them drink? Or knowing what lies ahead do we strive on, look "outside the box", accept the responsibility that we know this child is thirsty and that it may just take a straw, a bucket, or maybe even a swimming pool of water to get this young mind to accept what we are offering. The point is, it is too important to ever just say, I made it available and they refused to take it.
     This same principle is not restricted to the realm of education. In so many situations in life we want to do our "due cause" in helping someone get a hand up and then when it doesn't take or the person fails to succeed we feel justified in saying "Well I did my part they just didn't want to help themselves." Whether it be an education, a job skill, fighting an addiction, changing a habit, creating a change, or maybe even instilling hope we have to decide do we want to see this person be equipped for the desert that lies in front of them, the one that we all have to cross, or are we satisfied that we did our part and now it is up to them to take that nuturing drink?
     Well if we know what lies in front of these challenges and we settle on "we did our part" I think we need to ask ourselves did we do all we could do or did we do all we should have done? What if we had held on one more day, what if we would have tried one more time? When is enough enough? I guess each of us have to ask that question in the situations we are in and the circumstances we each encounter as we journey the trail of life's wilderness. But I would contend that we can't give up, especially since most of us have traveled some of the same trails that others are about to travel and we know what lies in front of them without the proper amount of "hydration" applied to the situation. It is too important, too critical, to give up, we must persist and apply the amount of grit necessary to see the situation through to the other side of the great expanse. Sounds like a calling, but how do we continue to support someone that apparently doesn't want the drink of water we are offering?
     First we never give up, we look at things through a kaleidoscope of options and adopt a mindset that I have more will power and perseverance and I won't give up on you. We look outside of the normal methods or practices and realize that an alternate route will get them to the same destination it may just take a little more time or effort. Understand that a drink of water is what we are attempting to accomplish and some will drink it through a straw while others need complete immersion to supply what is needed. And most importantly we have to have faith. If you are attempting to help someone or a group of someones and you don't have faith it will be that much harder to stay the course and see it through. Faith is unwavering in the face of adversity, it is accepting during a drought, and it is relentless when it looks like the desert is unending. Faith tells me that if we pray, if we ask for an answer, if we believe even when it seems impossible to believe that resolution is possible, then we will see success. Matthew 21:22 "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (ESV) It is too important to let that horse cozy up to the water trough and stand there without getting a drink and excusing ourselves by saying "you can't make it drink". We must be relentless in our faith and hope that if we stay true to the course and we continue to seek a way to assure that horse gets hydrated, the deserts of life will be that much more conquerable and a cool drink of water will eventually be achieved.
Coaching you up and praying for a week of purpose and fulfillment of that purpose! Make the most of it, it's all you've got so don't waste a minute of it!
Coach Carter

The Shin Bones Connected to the Knee Bone

     In today's world it seems some of us are having a hard time understanding it takes each of us to make all of us complete. The old spiritual song "Dry Bones" aptly describes how it takes all the bones in the body connecting together to create a whole, complete body. Take away one of those components of the song and the body does not reach completion. It would go something like this, "Well the toe bone connected to the foot bone, foot bone connected to the heel bone, heel bone connected to the ankle bone, ankle bone connected to the knee bone?? Well now wouldn't that make a funny looking person? We all know and understand that it takes a shin bone to come in between the ankle and the knee, yet in some circles the world would be a better place without shin bones.
      Hey, this isn't just me doing my elementary anatomy lesson, consider the words of the apostle Paul as he wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Let me paraphrase, it's going to take a whole village to get this thing done! 
     When I meet a person I don't see race, I don't see religion, I don't see a different political party, I see a flesh and blood person. I see a person with a purpose to fulfill in life. I see a person that may be the very person that makes the shin bone connect to the hip bone in my own life. What would the world be like if we had no shin bones, well for sure we would all be about a foot shorter than we are and we wouldn't be reaching that top shelf at the grocery store! It takes all of the bones in our body to make it function properly and to do the job it was created to do efficiently. 
      Throughout the Bible we are instructed to love thy neighbor as thyself, and in 1 John 4:20-21 the author presents a thought provoking concept as he wrote, "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." As the song "Dry Bones" concludes the final line says it all, "Now hear the word of the Lord". Have faith and stay the course, you may be the only God someone sees today what will they see? 
Coach Carter

"One Thing is for Sure, It Isn't About You"

"What is the meaning of life?" Even more importantly what is the meaning of YOUR life? In his book "Man's Search for Meaning", Viktor Frankl posed that very question to mankind. Frankl, a Holocaust concentration camp survivor, chillingly describes how men that lost hope while living under such traumatic conditions would just shut down and give up fighting to survive. Frankl himself almost reached that point several times during the years of mental and physical abuse, malnutrition, and adverse conditions he endured while imprisoned by the Nazis in World War II, yet Frankl said he had to hold himself accountable to the belief that he had a purpose to fulfill in life. To Viktor Frankl if he had given up on this concept, if he had lost the vision of his life having meaning, if he gave up and  died in that prison death camp his purpose in life would not be established or completed. He held on to the will to live because he knew that if he died before he accomplished his purpose in life, the lives of others would be impacted and the course of their lives would be altered forever. You see Viktor Frankl had an "AHA"moment like no other while he "existed" in the horrific conditions of Auschwitz, Frankl grasped the thought that one thing was for sure, your life is not about YOU!
     If Viktor Frankl had thought that his life had no meaning and that if he died in that prison camp it would not matter in any way I am certain he would never have survived. If he had not survived he obviously would never have written his book "Man's Search for Meaning" and he never would have impacted millions of people that have read his book and were inspired to find their meaning in life and then fulfill it. Frankl went on to speak about his experience and his epiphany of life having a purpose around the world motivating and inspiring people to search for their life's purpose. Frankl's message was very clear, your life's meaning is definitely not about you, it is all about how your life will impact other lives.
     Our church has just recently started a series entitled "A Purpose Driven Life" based on the book by Rick Warren, pastor and founder of Saddleback Church. One of the first things Warren emphasizes is that your life is not about you. I love this mindset and I want to pose the question to you today in our time together, "What is your purpose in life?" To me I believe we have multiple purposes and we fulfill one each day as we work, play, and live with the people we are to impact with our life's purpose. Problem is we have to first realize our life has a purpose, then we have to understand that we will impact the lives of those we live and interact with each day, so what type of impact we make is completely up to us. We can have a positive impact and fulfill our life's purpose, or we can have a negative impact on those same people and provide one more negative instance that they will have to overcome in their life to eventually fulfill their life's purpose. I personally do not want to be the wall in someone's life that they have to scale to reach their destiny, I want to be a bridge that provides a pathway to cross into that same destiny. I want to be a light that shines illuminating the pathway for as many people that I can share this light with in the days that I have been given to live.
     How can we be that bridge? How can we be that light each day? We have to consciously understand that every word we speak and every action we make will impact someone today. We will either build up or tear down, we will either inspire or we will create despair with our words and our actions. If we give up hope or we display a hopeless attitude we may at that same instance be dashing the hopes of a loved one on the rocks of pessimism and defeat. When we look at a situation and want to throw our hands up in disgust and frustration, God wants us to instead dig in and march forward confident that you can make a difference and by so doing you have already made a difference for the cause of perseverance and persistence.
     In life we will all face struggles, challenges, adversity, and affliction that is for certain. The question to be answered here is how will you handle these life events so that others will be impacted by your response in a positive manner. Are you going to quit and give up, or are you going to get up and stand up? As you ponder your answer just remember today's FTM subject, one thing is for sure, your life is not about you! In Colossians 3:23 Paul encourages us to remember that whatever you do, do it with all your heart because you are ultimately doing it to benefit God and thus
mankind. You have a purpose in this life you are living. Your life matters and it will change the course of the lives you cross during your lifetime. The question is will the change you instill move them closer to realizing and understanding their purpose or will your impact create an obstacle that was placed in their life that they must overcome to fulfill their destiny?
     Ask yourself these questions today, "What is my purpose in life at this very moment?"  "What am I doing to assure I am making a positive impact on those I encounter daily and those I happen to cross paths with each day?" "Will the world be a better place to live because of the outlook I share and the life I am living today?" Your life matters and one thing is for sure, your life isn't about YOU!
If you are not sure what your purpose in life is, or if you have been living your life without purpose then today is the best time possible to begin living life focused on what you can do to make the world you live in a better place to be. Choose to live your life fulfilling the purpose you were created to fulfill. Be the key not the lock! You are important and your life matters! Live it! Love it! and Leave it better than you found it!
Coach Carter

Nothing Happens Till Something Happens

     "Nothing happens until something happens", well now that sounds all philosophical doesn't it? It also sounds pretty obvious when you read it, yet many times just because we know something that doesn't mean anything is actually going to happen or change. We have to put "legs" on our ideas as an acquaintance recently told me before anything will happen, until then it's all words and thoughts in our head or on a piece of paper. Nothing is going to happen until YOU make something happen.
      Planting season is fast approaching us here in East Tennessee and farmers will soon be planting seeds, sowing crops, and creating beds for other plants and crops. Most farmers would probably agree that the easy part is planting the seeds in the ground, yet that is only the beginning and actually nothing much is going to happen if planting the seed is all the farmer does. Each tiny seed must first experience a dramatic change before growth ever happens. The seed must first "die" or cease to exist in it's previous form before the plant can begin to grow. What happens to the seed when it "dies" is the beginning of life for the plant that will produce the "fruit" it is intended to provide. You see nothing is going to happen with the seed if something doesn't first happen to change the seed.
     Our ideas, plans, and goals are just like those seeds the farmers are planting in the soil. We may have an out of this world idea for a new business, a book idea to write, a community event to sponsor, or an organization to create but it won't happen until something happens to change your idea into an action. You may need to ask someone for forgiveness, or you may need to offer forgiveness to someone, but that won't happen until something first happens inside you. Just as my friend offered me the piece of advice, "sounds like you just need to put legs on that idea" our plans, our ideas, our need to do lists won't become reality until we get up and start making them become reality.
     Like the seed, each of us have something or several somethings inside of us waiting to burst out of our shells into action. We have gifts that need to be shared and fruits that need to be nurtured, yet until something happens inside us that forces those internal thoughts and ideas to become reality they are just like the seed sitting in the bag, nothing more than bean bag filler. A seed has so much more to offer in life. Some of the tiniest seeds become vines that produce juicy melons spreading out across fields, others stalks of corn that stand tall and produce fruit that is then turned into a multitude of everyday commodities. Still other seeds produce trees that provide shelter, homes, fruits, and most importantly oxygen for us to breathe. Seeds are invaluable to the process, yet unless something happens to that seed after it is planted in the ground it will sit there and eventually dry up and wither away never fulfilling it's purpose in life.
       YOU have something or many somethings that you are supposed to do in this life. YOU have ideas that could spread out across the world and provide help to hundreds or thousands of people if only you will nurture your idea. YOU have people you need to reach out to and possibly say "I'm sorry" or "What can I do to help?", but that won't happen unless you do something about it. YOU just like a tree have fruit to bear, don't let your gifts sit cramped up in a seed eager to burst out into action yet forever imprisoned inside a mindset of the fear of failure or the unknown.
     Here is the deal maker of today's motivational thought. We plant the seeds, we water and fertilize the seeds, we weed the garden so that the seeds are not choked out, and we manicure and shape the plants as they grow from a seed so that the plant will have the best opportunity possible to produce it's fruit, yet we do not make the seed grow into a plant or tree. That is the responsibility of our God. Paul shared his acknowledgment of this with the church in Corinth as he wrote in I Corinthians 3:6-7 "6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." We must place our trust and faith in our Creator. We must turn our thoughts and plans into actions always trusting that as long as what we are doing is in line with God's plan for our life that He will assure that it grows as long as we keep nurturing our plans with hard work and earnest service to those our plans impact.
     Sow your seeds today, there is no better time to plant your garden than today. But just remember, nothing is going to happen to that seed until something happens to that seed to turn it into what it was created to be!  Dig deep! Sow abundantly! and then Work constantly to see that what you have planted has the necessary nutrients to allow God to grow it into a mighty cause for His purpose in you!

    

Headed Downstream? Choose Your Destination

     I love the water, whether it's swimming or boating I feel at home in a creek, lake, river, or ocean. Over the past several years I have been introduced to the sport of kayaking and that has become my water sport of choice. Flat water kayaking around the lake is good for a workout or just to relax exploring the coves and islands of the lake, but nothing compares to floating or running downstream on a river. The appeal of a river and the unknown adventures it provides makes kayaking a new experience each time you put in and head down the rapids.
     My first experiences with whitewater were connected to river rafting trips. Eight to ten people loaded onto an inflatable raft, oars in and out of the water paddling and resting to the commands of the river guide situated in the back of the raft. Whitewater rafting is a fun experience, yet for the most part the guide is navigating the boat and the "crew" only provide the muscle to move the boat into position for a good run for the next rapid ahead. But as we traveled downstream I was always infatuated by the kayaks and the way they skirted in and out of the rapids playfully moving at their own pace and choosing which way they would each attack the upcoming rapid along the river's course. I knew this would be my next progression in running rivers.
     I learned pretty quickly that kayaking may look simple, but it is actually a very complex and challenging sport. That is if your plan is to stay on top of the water as you move downstream. In the early stages of my induction to kayaking I found an instructor, sage, named Dave Crawford of Rapid Expeditions on the Pigeon River. I was having a great deal of trouble staying on top of the water as I would near a rapid and Dave pulled me to the side and gave me a piece of advice that I will never forget. His training tip paraphrased went something like this. When a kayaker is headed downstream into a rapid it is easy to get distracted and get caught up worrying about the rocks on either side of you and the gurgling whitewater that lies in front of you. These obstacles in front of your goal can cause you to lose your focus on the goal of running the rapid and enjoying the ride as you go. Mr. Crawford's advice was to pick out a spot downstream and then stay focused on that spot and head straight for it. Pick out a destination, chart a course, and then stay focused on that destination. Don't get distracted by the rocks, obstacles, and whitewater capping in front of you, stay the course and you will be fine. Believe me that piece of advice made a difference for me as I moved into the sport of kayaking and that same piece of advice has made an impressible impact on my life.
     As Dave was explaining the downstream target tip to me, my mind instantly started comparing his whitewater advice to how we approach life and the goals we must set along our life's course. The analogous comparison of rivers and life motivates me anyway and here I had been given a life lesson right in the midst of my early whitewater kayak training. In life we are all headed downstream and whether we have an intentional goal or if we are just drifting along as we go, we are all headed in the same direction, not many of us are attempting to float upstream, I 'm just saying. When we set a goal in life whatever level of goal it is there is going to be obstacles in front of us that will try to hinder us, sidetrack us, and even some obstacles that will try to capsize us and leave us stranded in a whirlpool of despair and hopeless loss. If we aren't careful those obstacles will eventually drag us down to the bottom of the river and cut our journey short and keep us from reaching our goal.
     Just as my river instructor's advice helped me navigate and overcome my difficulty with running a rapid, so too can this same advice help us in life. When we decide on a goal we have to stay focused on it. We can't get distracted and discouraged with the obstacles that lie in front of us as we take the steps necessary to reach our goal. We have to stay focused and to do that we keep our eyes on the prize. Paul provided a lesson for us that applies well here in I Corinthians 9:24-26 as he wrote, "Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step...". Paul in our river analogy is saying we are all going downstream and along the way many of us are going to capsize our kayak, but if you keep your eye on the prize you will reach your destination. 
     As you set goals in life my advice today is to pick out a spot downstream and then go for it! Don't let people, circumstances or situations, doubts, fears, or anything else cause you to lose focus and make you feel that you can't reach your goal. Stay focused, determined, and have faith that you will reach your goal if you only keep your eye on the prize downstream! 
Stay strong and remember as long as we have hope we have a chance to see our plans become reality! 
Coach Carter

What Does It Mean to "Give It All You Got?"

    "Give it your best shot", "Go for it", "Go big or go home", "Just do it", and "Give it all you got" are just a few of the inspirational encouragements you might here as you enter a challenging situation, athletic endeavor, or in pretty much any locker room speech that is being given to a collection of team members preparing to do battle on their chosen field of play. We have all heard it, more than likely we have probably even said something similar to any of the above subscribed cries, yet have we ever put thought into what it actually means and what "giving it all you got" really entails?
     When we want to encourage someone, a group or even a team, the tendency is to give them a little pep talk and then expect that they are automatically going to go out and "give it all they got" for the sake of accomplishing the very challenge you laid out for them to do. The truth is it isn't that easy for many of us. From childhood many people face defeat, loss, and other devastating life events that beat us down to thinking that, "it doesn't matter what I do, I'm just going to end up losing in the end, that's what always ends up happening. I'm just not lucky, talented, capable, ... ", you get the idea you fill in your adjective. That defeated type of mentality becomes a mindset in many people's minds, maybe it doesn't always surface as a defeated before I try attitude, yet deep inside it becomes easier and more common to say "I'll give it a try" or "I'll do all I can do", or maybe even " well I don't think it will matter but I will give it a shot". Or possibly you might be someone that gives 100% but when it isn't going your way or things just seem to still not be working out the way you imagined you throw in the towel, "No since in wasting more energy and resources on something that isn't going to happen anyway". I get it, life isn't a bowl of cherries and there is split milk and when the going gets tough some of us just want to go home. For me that type of thinking and the option of quitting just aren't available and are not in my vocabulary or my DNA for that matter.
     When we talk about the mentality of "giving it all you got" it has to become something deeper than what we say on the surface in conversation. Especially if on the inside we have doubts or reservations that what we are doing will actually work or that the task can actually be completed successfully regardless of what we do. No this type of mentality or mindset is something that has to become ingrained in you, it has to be something that you don't even think about outcomes you just know that you are going to give it all you got and that's just the way it is.
     If you are reading this and saying to yourself, "yea, so what's this guy trying to say, I know this and that's how I live my life already", congratulations you aren't someone that stands on the side of the pool, you are one that dives in to the deep end head first. I wish everyone was ready to try a back flip off the high dive , but the truth is that in life something or some things happen to many people and they just don't grow the right way from it. Instead of learning from their mistakes and growing from their adversities, those life events become traps of defeat and despair. In some cases it is the memory of someone telling them that they just aren't good enough or that they won't be successful anyway so why try? At the end of  the day what this person hears is "see I told you so" or "I knew it wasn't going to work anyway". Regardless of the source nature or nurture this is a mindset of defeat and it will never allow you to "give it all you got".
     Okay this is where I get to the point of today's thought. I don't live in the world of giving up. I have been knocked down and I got back up. I have coached for over thirty years and during that time period I have won some and I have lost some. I have had undefeated championships and I have had one season that our team did not win a single game of any set in any match we played. But you know what we kept going out, giving our best, working our hardest, and honestly never giving up and at the end of the season we were all the better for it, self included. In my professional and business life, I have faced what would appear to be insurmountable mountains, in some cases I reached the peak and in some situations I tumbled down to the bottom of that mountain, but even in those situations I have gotten back up and started back up that mountain again. I have faced giants, but just as David, I slung my rock right at the forehead of my obstacle and if that didn't work I attacked at the ankles and worked my way up! The bottom line here is I will not give up! You may beat me but you will have to do it. I may not succeed, but it won't be for lack of trying. You may even think I have failed, but I don't believe in the word failure until I quit or give up, then and only then will I label myself a failure. That is where you have got to go, that is who you have to become, and that is who you have to inspire those that you have influence over to become.
      If this is foreign to who you are, if you are reading this and are thinking that this is too impossible for you to do, then stop and start retraining your mindset. Start small, find a task, skill, or goal to set and choose to persevere through to the end. Whether it is related to your job, your family, your own life, or whatever it is you choose do not give up, see it through to the end. At the end you will either have succeeded and accomplished your task, or if for some reason it didn't turn out the way you envisioned it turning out, stop and reflect on the whole process. Flesh out what went wrong or what you could do differently the next time you are in a similar situation. Guess what you have just grown from a setback, and at the end of the day it will not be a setback but instead it will be the knowledge obtained that may equal success for you the next time you encounter similar circumstances. Remember it isn't over until you quit. You aren't defeated as long as you get back up and keep plugging away at what is in front of you.
     I'll end today's Flat Tire Ministries Thought with a story about a legendary United States Marine Corps legend, Lieutenant General Lewis "Chesty" Puller. Puller is the most highly decorated Marine in American History, having fought in World War II and the Korean War plus several other instances of fighting against guerrillas in Central America. During the Korean War Chesty and his platoon found themselves surrounded by North Korean and Chinese forces in what could have been deemed a no win situation. Puller gathered his troops together and provided them with this call to duty. Paraphrased but something to the effect, "Men we have been searching for our enemy all over this jungle. Now the enemy is to our north, to our south, to the east of us, and to the west. We have them right where we want them, they can't get away from us now!" If that doesn't get your blood pumping you may want to get to the ER and have yourself checked out! Don't ever quit, don't ever give up, and always do your best! I'm giving it all I got, how about you?
Coach Carter