Tim is the son of John and Kelly, the closest friends we have. So Tim has also been our 'nephew' for longer than he can remember.
I wanted to remind you Tim of what I wrote to you just a few weeks ago. You were feeling down because you didn't win all your wrestling matches. You felt you were not successful in being as good as you really wanted to be. You had worked very hard and felt you had let down both yourself and your team.
I believe the message I sent you went something like this:
Tim,
You did NOT fail. You tried and you learned. Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed. I've just found ten thousand ways that won't work." Every time you wrestle, you learn something new whether you win the match or not. You have just learned some things that won't work. Don't give up, your education is not yet over.
Thomas Edison was a pretty smart guy for having had hearing problems and only three MONTHS of formal education. So I want you to pay attention to two other things Thomas Edison said:
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
Tim, I believe you decided to go back to 'school' and try one more time.
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
Aren't you glad now that you did not give up?
We are all so proud of you!!! Congratulations Tim to you and your team for winning FIRST PLACE in your wrestling competition! How does it feel?
(Remember that feeling because it only gets better the more you try)
Oh that's terrific! Congratulations, Tim!
ReplyDelete"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
Most excellent quote!
Tim's entire team was OUTSTANDING!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for that quote, it always struck me as ironic that Thomas Edison didn't learn to talk until he was almost four years old, he had three months of 'formal' school and at the time of his death, Edison had accumulated almost 1,100 patents. I think he knew quite a bit about learning and succeeding.
I think my boys need to hear this post. Even at this age it never hurts to help them 'remember' the importance of trying.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! Congratulations to Tim and his team!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, LemonLady. Our #3 son was always small. When he got to high school he decided to wrestle.
ReplyDeleteI'll swear, he wrestled 3 whole seasons before he ever won a match. Seriously, 3 whole seasons. Man, did it hurt to watch him go out there and lose time and time again. I honestly don't know how he kept from throwing in the towel.
His Senior season he started winning, finally. I actually cried the first time he won a match. I had to leave the gym, though, and collect myself before coming back in to high-five him. He won first place in that meet, too. The rest of the season he was about 50-50 in won/loss. But, I was so proud of him for sticking it out. He's a Reservist now, in college in ROTC, and a couple of years away from being an Army Officer.
I don't know how well he'll do, but I know one thing for certain. The Army will have one more officer that doesn't know the meaning of the word "quit."