Thursday, July 13, 2017

Meet a Champion Who Gives New Meaning to Never Ever Ever Give Up




There are people in life who amaze you, and then there are people who are so far beyond amazing that there are no words to describe them.

Such a one is 17-year-old Kobey Pritchard from Indianola, Iowa who is a state-level competitive wrestler. He’s eying a future NCAA championship—and doing so with only one leg. Yes, you read that correctly, Kobey trains like a fiend to achieve with one leg what many athletes dream of with two. And that’s without the benefit of a prosthetic.

Kobey’s leg was amputated when he was six due to cancer. When he found the prosthesis uncomfortable, he switched to crutches. Which means he trains--sprints, lifts weights and works out--on crutches.

Why did I choose to introduce you to Kobey? Because he gives new meaning to “never ever ever give up!” I don’t care which goal you have in mind, most of us fall down, not on dreaming our dreams, but on keeping-on keeping-on when the going gets tough. Can you imagine the number of challenges, not just physical, but mental and emotional that Kobey has faced as he’s worked his way ever closer to his wrestling championship dreams? Yet none of them have deterred him from keeping-on.

So what’s the secret? How can you develop a Kobey-like “never give up” attitude?

1. Don’t listen to other people’s nay-saying.
Whenever you go for a significant goal, there are bound to be people who will say “You can’t do that, you’re too young/old/short/tall/lazy/etc. (fill in the blank)” or “What makes you think you can do it?” or “You’ve never managed anything like that before” or any number of other “You can’ts.” The one thing you can’t do – is listen to them!

2. Hitch your wagon to a star.
Whatever you dream of doing/being, someone else either has done it, possibly in another field, or has come darn close. Someone you can admire, be inspired by, and in a sense, pulled forward by. Look for such people – alive or long gone – to help you remember that whatever it is, you can do it!

3. There’s more than one way of doing things.
Kobey has had to develop techniques and skills that are different from the more traditional wrestling holds in order to win despite his missing leg. This is not a “one size fits all” world. There are as many ways of doing things as there are individuals on the planet. Have the courage to go outside the usual ways of approaching your goals whenever you feel stymied by the ways most people have adopted.

You truly can achieve whatever goal it is you have in mind, as long as your passion for that goal fuels you, and your absolute faith in your ability to somehow, some way, accomplish it is unwavering.

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