Certain things in your life can be taken away from you. Others rely on other people or depend on outside circumstances. When you have been around for awhile in the world of sports and in life you begin to realize that all that you have at the end of the day is your effort. I played football and many other sports for years, basketball, rugby, bodybuilding, marathons, strong man to name a few. I was very fortunate to win and win a lot. Not just in sports but in life, I have a career that I love, great family and friends, I have a beautiful wife and two amazing healthy kids. Yes not sports related but still all big wins in my book. But in with those wins there have been loses both on and off the field. I’ve lost big games, I’ve failed in achieving goals, lost relationships, not gotten jobs, missed opportunities and more. But out of all of it I have always had one thing, my hard work, my effort. That’s all you can control. The one single factor that you can always control at all times is your effort. Win or lose, rain or shine it cannot be taken from you. It is always there. Your effort is who you are, it is your foundation. After all what good is a belief system that is not backed by the effort to carry it out. It’s just talk and no walk. If I have learned anything in my life to this point it is that you cannot pick and choose when to work hard and when to mail it in. You either work hard or you don’t. That’s it. I know because I have made the mistake. It is simple when my effort wasn’t high the result wasn’t great. When the result wasn’t great it spread to other aspects of my life and had a negative effect. In the words of the great Vince Lombardi, “Winning is a habit, unfortunately so is losing.” Does effort guarantee victory? Of course not. But it gives you an opportunity and it ensures the quality of your being. Do not make excuses why you can’t, instead find a reason to get it done. Work hard, put forth the effort in everything you do. In a time when people find a million different ways to try and define themselves it’s the only definition of yourself that really matters. Put the effort in to work hard, to be a good person. At the end of the day it’s what you hang your hat on. It’s all that you have.
