by Kerry Taylor
One of the greatest things you can ever do is impact a young life to go down the right path and be an amazing human. Your actions and your words go a lot further than you know. Sometimes you don’t really get to see what kind of impact you’ve made on someone’s life until years later.
Not too long ago I was asked by a friend and former teammate to come to a practice and speak to his pop warner team. When speaking to younger athletes, the goal for me is always, how do I get them to be a little better for their parents, teachers and coaches? If I can get them to listen and pay attention a little bit more to what their adult figures have to say, then hopefully the path that they’re on continues to be a great one!
The messages were simple and probably heard a million times, but hearing it from someone who isn’t the mom and dad, their teachers or coaches, could hopefully send that message a little deeper into their conscious.
1. You can control how hard you work
Someone will always be stronger, smarter, taller, and faster than you are, BUT you can always out work someone else. I always took pride in the effort I put in towards a task, especially when I wasn’t the most talented or smartest kid in the room. I had to make up for that gap by trying to outwork the others around me. The hard worker and high effort giver will be on my team any and every day of the week. Don’t always look for the easy way out, too many people do that, be above average!
2. Listen!!!
Listen to your parents, teacher, coaches and teammates. Often you may want to hear and make up in your own mind what it means to you. But if you listen closely with intent and think for a minute, they may be on to something. You may not agree with what they say, but from their experiences they are trying to guide you to be as successful as you want to be. Always remember they want the best for you. You have two ears for a reason, use them.
3. Make good choices
In your lifetime you’re going to be faced with millions and millions of choices. Always try to make the right choices for yourself. You do not have to follow the crowd if you know it’s wrong to do so. But if you happen to make the wrong choice by chance, learn from the experience so it doesn’t happen again. No one’s perfect and does everything right.
If you have the opportunity to speak to a younger person and share your experiences, take full advantage of that opportunity because you are making them a better person, but also making the world a better place. Until next time, live life 1 degree above the rest!