By Captain Andrew Guy, Athletic Director – A lot of times we simply give up far too easily, and mostly because we have been told that’s the only way out, especially when we face adverse challenges in life.

Now, let’s be honest, no one is immune to the quitter’s disease. We are all susceptible to its deadly blows. Coincidently, none of us are Saints when it comes to giving up! Many of us have given up on dreams, hobbies, desires, hopes, careers, inventions, and innovations that could have changed the world for better. Many parents have also given up on children who could one day become the next president, scientist, world-class athlete, and possibly developed the cure to the next deadly outbreak.

I mean, think about this for a moment here. Can you recall a time in your life when you faced a challenge that simply kicked your tail end, and on your journey to recovery every road sign ahead said you should call it quits! Stop dreaming! Throw in the towel! Quitting is part of life! Everyone is doing it…don’t be a hero, just quit now and save yourself the embarrassment!

Now most of us have followed those glaring road signs in our deepest moments of despair. We have all succumbed to the challenges that brought us to our knees. You may not have given up on any of the above mentioned earlier, but rest assured, everyone has given up on something.

This may come to many as the latest Newsflash, but this is nothing new! And yes, as much as I’d like to say, “breaking news…this just in,” the truth is, the notion of quitting has been around for centuries.

Millions of people have quit on a dream or two and have given up on ideas that could have changed the world, but the challenges were too insurmountable for them to withstand, so they quit.

Here’s the thing, no one has it all together, and the grass is never greener on the other side. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the green is only turf, fake, a smoke screen that was meant to distract you from what’s most important. You see, the reality is that we each have our own demons to battle, and our only hope is simple to keep our heads above the turbulent waters (the challenges) that come to drown us and keep forging ahead.

Regardless of how your difficulties appear, there’s hope. Yes, I said there is hope. If you are that kid who struggle to find your sense of self, I am telling you there’s is hope! If you are that leader who struggles to keep things going when everything around you seems like it’s falling apart, I am here to tell you, hold on, be strong, keep going. If you are that parent who’s having a challenging time trying to get your son to get his act together, but it seems like nothing is working, hold on. Don’t quit! Do not throw in the towel yet. Matter-a-fact, change the way you look at your son. Start seeing them as a stem cell that could become anything. By the way, a stem cell is the only biological specimen that can become any type of cell in a living organism.

Think of your children as such, and the possibility of them becoming something amazing one day. Whatever you do, do not give up on them. And who knows what they could become? Only tomorrow will tell the stories of the struggles you overcame yesterday, but today is your only opportunity to write that story. You will need a pencil before you can begin to write. You are the pencil, but your challenges are the sharpener that will reveal the lead that will transcribe the vision that you must live. The tougher the challenge, the sharper the sharpener, the shaper the pencil, the clearer the story becomes to write. So, embrace your challenges because they only come to make you better for the future that awaits you.

And here’s the deal, everything about you is your story. Everything! You are your lived story, and the story that you live to tell is your interpretation of how you experienced it. You want this story to be a good one to tell, so when the world hears it, lives are transformed forever.

Don’t be like the geniuses who had an idea to do something spectacular but quit because they ran into unforeseen challenges that they could not see beyond.

Ever heard of the story about 7up? Well, here’s the quick version: some smart shmansy pansy dude had this ridiculous idea of creating a soda pop called (yep, you guessed that right), 7up! I mean, go figure, right! LOL-er! Who’s counting?

Yes, it’s true. So, the guy went into his lab and created 1up and people told him that was a dumb idea for a drink, so he went back into the lab five more times only to get the same lousy response for the naysayers. And trial after trial he kept running into negative nannies who told him the same story: “no one cares about a drink called, 1up, 2up, 3up, 4up, 5up, and definitely not 6up, so give it