Never Give Up

Peace is not the absence of trial, trouble, and turmoil, but calm in the midst of them. Don Meyer

Last Saturday my wife suggested that we should coach a youth baseball team together. I scoffed at her idea, a violation of marital etiquette on the same level as choosing a lawn mower for her anniversary gift.

Stupid husband tricks aside, she couldn’t be serious. Guys in wheelchairs don’t coach sports teams. Everyone knows that.

Then I saw this video of Don Meyer at the 2009 ESPY awards. I hope you’ll watch—it’s worth the nine minutes. If you have trouble viewing the video, click here to see it in a new window.

 

 

It’s easy to be inspired by Coach Meyer’s resilience in the face of adversity. Imagine waking from the nightmare of accident and injury and immediately wondering when you could return to work. I certainly didn’t have that kind of inner motivation in the months following my injury.

But his story was remarkable even before his accident.

He’s been a successful coach for decades, yet has chosen to remain at a small, unknown school in an isolated South Dakota town. I’m certain that Coach Meyer turned his back on lucrative opportunities to move to bigger programs.

He could have worked in better facilities with more talented players. He could have lived in more desirable cities and enjoyed the fame and attention of a high-profile position. Instead, he chose to stay the course. That sort of loyalty is rare, especially in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of athletics.

When I speak to audiences about setting goals and reaching for their dreams, I always quote Jim Valvano, for whom the Jimmy V award is named. He’s famous for telling his players that the key to success is simple: never give up.

That’s what hope is about. Hope lets you continue fighting when you want to quit. Hope allows you to believe despite the evidence. Hope is what allows you to never give up.

Hope is an expectation rooted in faith, in Coach Meyer’s words, “faith that God spared my life so I can serve others for a few more years.”

Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. Christopher Reeve

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