"What sacrifices are you making today that will benefit you 5 years from now?"This week I had the honor to speak to the Darby High School Cross Country team. As I prepared for the talk, I reflected on my own running experiences. 1.) I dislike running very much. 2.) I only ran cross country in middle school, which also happened to be the same time frame of my life in which I spiked my hair and wore sweater vests to school. I made many poor decisions during this time frame. With all jokes aside, I looked forward to adding value to this group and was honored to be asked to speak to the team. I had the team watch a video by motivational speaker, Les Brown. The video was titled "Chinese Bamboo Tree". ***Fun fact alert*** It takes 5 years of daily watering for the bamboo tree to break through the soil, and then within five weeks it grows 90 ft. Les prompts the listeners with the question, "Does it take 5 weeks or 5 years to get to that height?" I challenged the team to consider the sacrifices they are making today that will benefit them tomorrow, next week, and five years from now. I also gave them two questions to consider. 1.) If you were no longer on the team, would there be a void? 2.) What more can I do? Having the opportunity to speak always allows me to personally reflect. Am I "watering" daily my marriage, my relationships, my work, my passions, myself? What sacrifices am I making today that will benefit others or myself 5 years from now? It's easy to put in the work when you first start a journey. Do I have the discipline, perseverance, and grit to achieve my long term goals even when I may not receive instant or comfortable results? What more can I do? If I was no longer here, would there be a void? Let's get to work!
1 Comment
Mr. James Smalley
9/14/2018 06:49:52 pm
Great advise ! my elders and mentors have always taught this and is very wise to learn discipline to get it done.I love the bamboo analogy!
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