OfflineDo the math. We live in a time and age where the average American and Canadian lives better than any king in the past. The amount of things we have at our disposal is amazing. Of all the people who have ever lived, we are living in a time of tremendous wealth and opportunity. Yet many are unhappy. Why?
We should never surrender our dreams to anyone. A young man several years ago was told he was too small and too slow to play college football. He went to Vietnam and was wounded badly. He now not only had his size and speed working against him, but his wounds would be a big detriment in becoming a pro football player.
His name is Rocky Blier. He became a great blocking back for two Hall of Fame Team members. He blocked for Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw. As members of the Pittsburg Steelers they won several Super Bowls.
Rocky Blier may not have been the most talented of those great Steeler teams, but there was no one more determined to play. He was on a team that had more that its share of Hall of Famers. None of those talented football players would deny the vital role Blier played in the success of the team.
Go out and meet your dreams.
Roy Voeks
Official RE Coach
Another great story to go along with Roys of perseverance and over coming obstacles. I love listening to this guy!
Og Mandino was once the editor of a high school paper and planned to attend the University of Missouri's journalism school. But in the summer of 1940, before Mandino was able to enter college, his mother died suddenly from a massive heart attack. This happened while Mandino's mother was in the kitchen preparing his lunch. After the incident, Mandino decided to work in a paper factory until 1942. Afterwards, Mandino joined the United States Army Air Corps where he became a military officer and a bombardier. He flew for thirty bombing missions over Germany on board a B-24 Liberator during World War II.[1] It was also during this time that Mandino flew with fellow pilot and movie star, James Stewart. Mandino kept a personalized 8 X 10 photograph of Stewart. This photograph hung on the wall of his home office where he wrote his books.
After his military duties, Mandino discovered that few companies were hiring former bomber pilots. As a result, he became an insurance salesman. Traveling on the road and sitting in bars at night, Mandino became an alcoholic. He was unable to keep a job. As a result, Mandino's wife, Miriam "Mimi" Stidstone, together with their only child, left him. One wintry November morning in Cleveland, Mandino almost tried to commit suicide. But as he sorted through several books in a library, volumes of self-help, success and motivation books captured Mandino's attention. He selected some titles, went to a table and began reading. Mandino followed his visit to the library with more visits to many other libraries around the United States. He read hundreds of books that dealt with success, a pastime that helped him alleviate his alcoholism. It was in a library in Concord, New Hampshire, where he found W. Clement Stone's classic, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, a book that changed Mandino for the better.
Mandino eventually became a successful writer and speaker. His works were inspired by the Bible and influenced by Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, and Emmet Fox. He was inducted into the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame.
Randy Bailiff
Dean Graziosi Life and Investment Coach