Month: February 2024

“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”—Wilma Rudolph

I am blessed to be a part of our local (West Linn, OR) high school wrestling team as a strength and conditioning coach. Yesterday was the Oregon State Tournament. We had sixteen boys and one girl qualify. We ended with four champions (three repeat champions). The team fell shy of the goal of winning the team title for the second year. Four kids (more counting all the state champions) went home happy. The rest went home with varying levels of disappointment.

We should not envy the champions. Some will be returning next year with a target on their backs and a pressure to repeat. Envy those who worked hard and stood on the podium alongside of the champions. They accomplished something and will return with greater desire. Envy those who competed and lost. They have done more than the average teenager. Hope that those who fell short of the gold recognize that they are not “losers”—they are learners. (There are no losers in wrestling—only winners and learners.) Envy the kid who wants to be back next year—better trained, better conditioned, better focused, and… hungry. Be envious of the kid who will pick up after the crushing defeat with the will to win. That kid will be next year’s champion.

As adults, we can’t forget the lessons being taught here. We may not be wrestlers or athletes (ever or anymore), but we can be champions at our Purpose. Me? I have two weeks off, and then I get to take what I have learned from this season and start working to make next year’s team stronger and better prepared to win.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.”—T. E. Lawrence

Dream big. Fail big, if you fail, but fail doing the sh*t that stretches your limits. Reach for the brass ring even if it remains just out of reach. In the end, your successes will overshadow the experiences we call “failures.” Remember that, in life, we are winning or learning.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

“The man who cannot endure to have his errors and shortcomings brought to the surface and made known, but tries to hide them, is unfit to walk the highway of truth.”—James Allen

Grattitude and success cannot be found if we hide from ourselves. Growth and change come from acknowledging our weakness and seeking to change.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“I may not be better than Socrates, but if I can be better than I was yesterday, that’s enough for me.”—Epictetus (maybe?)

I saw the above quote in a meme yesterday. Having little faith in Internet sources, I sought to confirm it. I could not find evidence that Epictetus said this, but I like the sentiment, nonetheless.

There is little need to compare ourselves—our value—to others. Our work, our performance, and all that we do should be our best—better or worse than Socrates (I can’t help but pronounce this as “So-crates” like Keanu Reeves’ character in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure). Our best today should be better than our yesterday best. Growth.

Better is a matter of Purpose—our role in the Universe, our calling. We are fulfilling our Purpose, not that of So-crates. We are not our neighbor or our co-worker. We alone are the individual “me.” Trust that you are valuable and valued and….

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!