December 12, 2008
Notable Quotes #59
Good Afternoon!
I hope everyone is doing well. I know that people are extremely busy this time of year and I hope that these quotes and musings help bring a positive outlook for the days ahead! One more thing. I just counted and excluding today, there are 12 more shopping days before Christmas!!! Now that everyone is depressed and stressed here are the quotes!
I’m not afraid of failing. I don’t like to fail. I hate to fail. But I’m not afraid of it.
Vince McMahon
You can never give up because quitting is not an option.
No matter how dark it is or how weak you get, until you take that last breath, you must fight.
Wayman Tisdale
I know I have talked about failing in the past posts, but it has been a topic in the news quite a bit lately. “What companies are failing now…will the Big 3 auto companies fail, will I fail?” Failure is all around us and can often times seem like it is closing in on us. This time of year can also bring to light many of our failures and depression will often run rampant in the lives of many. However I choose to look at failure different than most. I look at it much like Vince McMahon does…I’m not afraid of failing…I don’t like to fail…but I’m not afraid of failing. Failure or the sense of failing can grip and seize us like nothing else; it will often paralyze the greatest of individuals. Instead of looking at failure as a bad thing, look at failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. Take the failure, embrace it, learn from it and then move on. DON’T DWELL ON IT!
For those of you who do not know who Wayman Tisdale is or his story may not find his quote to be a big deal, but here is an extremely brief look at a remarkable individual. Wayman Tisdale was a member of the 1984 Gold Medalist Basketball team. He was an All-American basketball player at Oklahoma and averaged over 15 points and 6 rebounds per year spanning a 12 year NBA career. In February of 2007 he fell and broke his leg…this led to the discovery of cancer in his right knee. In March of 2007 he underwent surgery to remove the cancer and begin chemo for the cancer. It didn’t stop there. In August of 2008 Wayman decided that the best way to ensure the cancer wouldn’t return was to have a portion of his right leg amputated. Think about that for a minute…here is a man who made a living off the ability to use his legs, and now he was having it amputated. Talk about failure creeping into one’s mind. He didn’t let this stop him. He fought through all the adversity and drew upon everything he learned growing up and his faith and learned to walk with a prosthesis. This is what his physical therapist (Sabolich) said…”Sabolich noted that it typically takes a new amputee from three to six months to acclimate to a prosthesis, while it took Tisdale a month. He proved to be equally quick in learning to walk on his new limb; a physical therapist Tisdale has been working with in Tulsa said that he was months ahead of a typical patient in that respect.”
Wayman didn’t take cancer as a death sentence…he didn’t let failure enter his mind…he fought and fought and is determined to defeat cancer and not let failure win. “Tisdale’s experience has led him to create a foundation to raise funds to help amputees with the prosthetic process, which is not always covered by health insurance.” [Clemmons, Anna K. (2008-12-03)]
His story is amazing and I did not do it justice. Check out his website http://www.waymantisdale.com/ for the entire story and be prepared to be motivated. Tisdale is now an accomplished jazz artist. We can learn from Mr. McMahon and Mr. Tisdale in the sense that we cannot and should not let failure overcome us. Learn from our failures and become stronger and stronger and help others learn from our mistakes/failures. Take this inspirational story and see how you can apply it to your life. Failure is not the end…it is just the beginning!!!
Until Next Time,
Heath
Revolution Café 