As I have grown older, and like most people, I start looking back on my life, I realize I have had it pretty good! I was raised by a loving family, I have a great brother, a wonderful wife, and things are going well for me. I am fortunate to have had parents that to let my brother and I make mistakes, correct them, learn right from wrong, and learn how to live a good life.
Most of my life has been involved in sports, in some way or another. I think that is one of the reasons my life has been fruitful. Sports teach you almost everything you need to know about life: hard work, working with others, sacrifice, competing, reacting to situations, winning and losing with dignity, and the sheer joy and humility in winning and losing.
Sports are a wonderful teacher. Some of the best things I have ever heard come from listening to people in sports, business, and entertainment. Some things they have said have stuck with me my whole life ever since I heard them. So, thinking about this the other day, I decided to share a couple of quotes that have shaped my beliefs in the hope they will help some young person with their beliefs and passions. Read them, think about them, and hopefully they help you make life a little better!
“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have”- Vince Lombardi
“The dictionary is the only place success comes before work”-Vince Lombardi
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”- Lou Holtz
“You miss 100% of the shots you never take”- Wayne Gretzky
“If you’re going thru hell….Keep going!”- Winston Churchill
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”- Winston Churchill
Finally, and this is my all time favorite, I even had it printed on the back of business cards, even the cards I gave to other commissioners when I wasin office. It was that important to me. This completely explains life and living and how we all should act. It is by one of the all-time great comedians, Red Skelton (you young people, ask your mom and dad!). Anyway, I hope you can all learn from this one. It is why I am the way I am! (now you know!)
“Don’t take life too seriously ‘cause you ain’t gonna get out of it alive anyway!”- Red Skelton
That’s the way I see it… from the sidelines
