Challenge creates Greatness!

Making life “easy” for children usually makes life “hard” for them in adulthood.

Del Smith, the millionaire founder and chairman of Evergreen International Aviation, has often said, “Thank God I was born poor; I learned how to work.” Like many others who made it to the top on their own, Smith believes that the greatest gift that can be given to a child is to teach him or her the value of work. It is a gift that can never be lost or stolen.

It’s a natural desire of parents to give their children material things they didn’t have as children. Such generosity, however, often deprives children of the greatest gift you can give them: confidence in their ability to take care of themselves. When you make life “hard” for your children by requiring them to learn the value of work, they will have a far greater likelihood of success as adults. The going is always hard on the road to greatness.

Anyone can quit when the going is hard, but a thoroughbred never quits until he wins. If success were easy, everyone would achieve it. NFL All-Pro lineman Brian Holloway recalled that when he was playing for the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Raiders, there wasn’t a single day when he didn’t feel like giving up because the road was too tough and the sacrifices were too great. He didn’t quit, of course; he was willing to pay the price because he was determined to succeed.

True thoroughbreds never quit. Competition only spurs them, and obstacles merely reinforce their determination to succeed. If you have not yet achieved greatness in your life, it is because you have been willing to settle for less. You may not cross the finish line first every time you try, but if you stay in the race, you will eventually prevail. 

No man is ever whipped, until he quits — in his own mind.