"When nothing seems to help, I look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps 100 times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the 101st blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it, but all that had gone before." ~ Jacob A. Riis
Riis emigrated to the United States in 1870 when he was 21. He was the 3rd of 15 children. After being destitute and near starvation, Riis became one of the most important figures in photography history. He also became a champion for documenting the plight of beleaguered and impoverished New Yorkers in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He rose out of the ashes. He rose out of the ashes due to his attitude - immortalized in the quote above.
The Biggest Loser on NBC (a reality show that focuses on weight loss for morbidly obese persons through competition) usually ends with a marathon. Many of the people that take on the marathon are people that may have had a hard time climbing a single flight of stairs just months before - if they could climb stairs at all. People weighing more than 400 lbs. at the beginning of the competition compete tirelessly for months and end the competition with a marathon - 26.2 miles. Some of them walk/run, some of them walk, and many of them run. Without the weeks and months leading up to the marathon, there's no way most of, if not all, the contestants would make it through that marathon alive. If they tried, they would likely kill themselves because their hearts, lungs and cardiovascular systems just aren't equipped to handle that sort of pressure. The contestants go through weeks and weeks of learning how to eat, learning how to exercise and learning how to live a healthier lifestyle. It's not just one aspect. It's not just running everyday. It's not just changing what they eat. It's not just eating less. It's not just lifting weights, or doing push-ups, or jumping jacks, or swimming, or hiking. It's all of it.
Making positive change is a marathon - a marathon that doesn't end. Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr., once said "success is a journey not a destination."
Will spending $50 per month at your three favorite local businesses turn around a culture of decline? Probably not. Will buying EVERYTHING locally turn around a culture of decline? Probably not. But changing the lifestyle of a community may. Making many small changes may be the key - like taking many small steps to complete a marathon. When people run a marathon, they don't take one or two giant leaps from the starting line to the finish line, they take countless steps. One right after the other. They travel 26.2 miles in increments of 2 or 3 feet. Making lasting change in your community will take the same attitude. You may not realize the victories and rewards that you desire, but if you keep hammering away at that rock you'll eventually break it.
I get a kick out of all the times I see someone trying really hard to unscrew the lid off a jar. They struggle and try. They bang it on the counter, they try a towel, they run it under hot water... They try everything they can think of to unscrew it. Finally, they ask for help. The helper gets a firm grip on the lid and twists... POP! It's off. Many times the the person that spent all their time and energy trying with no success says something like, "thanks, but you know I loosened it for you." The person that got it open usually says something sarcastic like, "sure ya did." There's likely no way to prove if the first person loosened it or not. If the first person had tried one more time, would the lid have come off? If the second person had tried earlier, or been the first to try, would the lid have come right off? We'll never know.
Ronald Reagan once said, "There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit."
Indeed. Many people and organizations want their name(s) plastered on the success of something. These are the same type of people that duck and weave when it turns out to be a failure. They try to take their name away. Accept the success and failures and move on. Take the small steps, steady the course and enjoy the ride. WD-40 got its name because there were 39 failures.
-Josh Mackey
DO IT LOCAL WEBSITE
DO IT LOCAL FACEBOOK
DO IT LOCAL TWITTER
DO IT LOCAL EMAIL
Riis emigrated to the United States in 1870 when he was 21. He was the 3rd of 15 children. After being destitute and near starvation, Riis became one of the most important figures in photography history. He also became a champion for documenting the plight of beleaguered and impoverished New Yorkers in the late 1800's and early 1900's. He rose out of the ashes. He rose out of the ashes due to his attitude - immortalized in the quote above.
The Biggest Loser on NBC (a reality show that focuses on weight loss for morbidly obese persons through competition) usually ends with a marathon. Many of the people that take on the marathon are people that may have had a hard time climbing a single flight of stairs just months before - if they could climb stairs at all. People weighing more than 400 lbs. at the beginning of the competition compete tirelessly for months and end the competition with a marathon - 26.2 miles. Some of them walk/run, some of them walk, and many of them run. Without the weeks and months leading up to the marathon, there's no way most of, if not all, the contestants would make it through that marathon alive. If they tried, they would likely kill themselves because their hearts, lungs and cardiovascular systems just aren't equipped to handle that sort of pressure. The contestants go through weeks and weeks of learning how to eat, learning how to exercise and learning how to live a healthier lifestyle. It's not just one aspect. It's not just running everyday. It's not just changing what they eat. It's not just eating less. It's not just lifting weights, or doing push-ups, or jumping jacks, or swimming, or hiking. It's all of it.
Making positive change is a marathon - a marathon that doesn't end. Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr., once said "success is a journey not a destination."
Will spending $50 per month at your three favorite local businesses turn around a culture of decline? Probably not. Will buying EVERYTHING locally turn around a culture of decline? Probably not. But changing the lifestyle of a community may. Making many small changes may be the key - like taking many small steps to complete a marathon. When people run a marathon, they don't take one or two giant leaps from the starting line to the finish line, they take countless steps. One right after the other. They travel 26.2 miles in increments of 2 or 3 feet. Making lasting change in your community will take the same attitude. You may not realize the victories and rewards that you desire, but if you keep hammering away at that rock you'll eventually break it.
I get a kick out of all the times I see someone trying really hard to unscrew the lid off a jar. They struggle and try. They bang it on the counter, they try a towel, they run it under hot water... They try everything they can think of to unscrew it. Finally, they ask for help. The helper gets a firm grip on the lid and twists... POP! It's off. Many times the the person that spent all their time and energy trying with no success says something like, "thanks, but you know I loosened it for you." The person that got it open usually says something sarcastic like, "sure ya did." There's likely no way to prove if the first person loosened it or not. If the first person had tried one more time, would the lid have come off? If the second person had tried earlier, or been the first to try, would the lid have come right off? We'll never know.
Ronald Reagan once said, "There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit."
Indeed. Many people and organizations want their name(s) plastered on the success of something. These are the same type of people that duck and weave when it turns out to be a failure. They try to take their name away. Accept the success and failures and move on. Take the small steps, steady the course and enjoy the ride. WD-40 got its name because there were 39 failures.
-Josh Mackey
DO IT LOCAL WEBSITE
DO IT LOCAL FACEBOOK
DO IT LOCAL TWITTER
DO IT LOCAL EMAIL
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