Be all that you can be

"The brick walls that thwart us in life are there for a reason.  The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.  The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough.  They are there to stop the other people."

Randy Pausch, the late computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University

I love this quote.  At many times in my life, I've wanted to just stomp my feet at life's injustices. But through them all, I've realized that I've learned much more through the adversities I've faced.  And yes, sometimes, they are self-inflicted adversities, and yes, often things happen to us  that can kick our butts and keep us down if we give into them.  But you keep going.  You learn.  You strive to do better.  You set goals, you meet them and then you set bigger and harder goals.  

My dad and I love the movie, "A League of Their Own."  Tom Hanks, in a great role, reveals what I believe is one of life's secrets in a key scene.  He says to his pitcher, who is quitting because she says it's too hard:  "It's supposed to be hard.  If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it.  The hard is what makes it great."

I've been doing a lot of thinking the last few weeks over what I've learned and where I can go in life.  And yessiree, there are a lot of moments when it all seems big and scary and too hard.  And then I laugh at myself and think, Why not?  Why not try?  Let's shoot for the highest and hardest and see what can come of it.  Because for darn sure, if you never try, nothing will ever happen.  So here we go.  This roller coaster we call life sure is exciting.  Buckle your seatbelts and lower your safety bars, because we're about to fly high.