When You’re Ready To Quit, Remember Yo Pal Hal
57. When you’re ready to quit, remember Yo Pal Hal.
I could give you thousands of stories about people who could have given up and taken the easy way out. The one I have selected is The Hal Elrod Story, by Hal Elrod. Don’t believe in angels? BELIEVE. For starters, he had some looking over him and second, because I was fortunate enough to meet him. This guy was hit by a drunk driver and left for dead and at one point was dead. Instead of folding like a lawn chair and playing the victim card, this winner came out on top and then used this experience to help others.
What’s your excuse? Do you have one? Most of the ones I hear are because it was someone else’s fault. Very rarely do I hear someone who puts the focus on themselves. For the record, I am no saint on this one. There was many a time that I had explanations for why I had a reason to blame someone else or quit. Once again, this is the reason for this book and the Tools I am trying to share.
An example I would like to use kind of hits close to home. My nephew Brandon (who rocks by the way and so does Dillan, his brother and my godson) was diagnosed with mild autism. Needless to say, my sister was devastated. Did she howl at the moon and try to find someone to blame? Nope, Checka (her name is actually Francesca and she spells it Cecca but I spell it the other way and since I invented the name because I couldn’t say her name as a kid, I feel I have the first right of refusal) took her opportunity and used her gift as a chef to put together a cookbook of gluten free recipes to help families in this situation. A gluten free diet can sometimes help kids in this situation.
No excuse, no blame…a prime example of a challenge (not a negative) and turning it into a way to benefit others. And there are tons of these, the founder of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), Coach Jim Valvano who turned his cancer into hope…these people were dealt tough hands and found ways to make them winners, make them missions. Once again, what’s your excuse?
We all have general everyday junk. We went over that earlier in the book. Hopefully you have tried your best to empty your glass by now. There are many of you reading this who have experienced things that go beyond everyday stuff. Why not use this as an opportunity to do something big? We do our best work when we are motivated or inspired by a tragic event. People want to follow winners and especially when they have stories that seem overwhelming.
There is nothing more impressive than someone who comes out on top in the face of adversity. You can improve your present situation and be a beacon of hope for others. This is also known as a win-win. Regardless of your story or excuse, we all have them. So if you find that you are kicking rocks and feeling a little bit sorry for yourself, have your pity party and then ask yourself, what’s my excuse?