A great boxer once said, “It ain’t about how hard you can hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”  When I first heard those words spoken by a battered veteran of pugilism I knew he was probably right.  I also knew he was speaking about a lot more than the boxing ring.  He was speaking about life.  Now I must confess that I’m talking about a fictional character.  A figment of someone’s imagination but it doesn’t make those words any less true.  I imagine that most people look to self-help books or blogs by inspiring writers for their inspiration.  I could be wrong but based on the number of self-help books published every year I don’t think I’m that far off.  Now I know I was supposed to share how inspired I was by a blog post and share that with you but I don’t read blogs.  If it weren’t for a certain class assignment I wouldn’t even be writing this one.  But here we are and I did happen to find a blog post with my favorite scene from Rocky Balboa in it.  Whether you view the clip at Joseph Michael’s blog or on Youtube the message should be the same.  As Mr. Michael summarizes, “Success isn’t determined by how smart, talented, or skilled you are; it is determined by how hard you can persevere through challenges.”

This morning I was awakened to our toilet overflowing and flooding into my hallway and part of two bedrooms.  My wife and I jumped into action with a shop vac and all of our towels.  As a commercial dehumidifier is currently running (I doubt it’s energy star compliant) in my kid’s room it feels like one more thing to add to my list of things to do.  A list that never really seems to get any shorter.  Looking at whatever may be in front of you can seem daunting and impossible.  You can feel like for every two steps you take forward you take one back.  This might even be true but so is that fact that you are making progress even if only a little.  But progress, regardless of how slow or small, is what life is all about.  To keep moving forward even if it means crawling toward the finish line is true success.  Are there times I want to give up and throw in the towel?  You bet there are.  But there are also four little sets of eyes that believe in me. They think I can do anything and there is no limit to what I can accomplish.  My family is my biggest inspiration even if they don’t know it.  And if you are reading this and made it this far let me offer you a tip.  Find something that motivates you.  Anything that get’s your fired up and keep it close by so that when life hits you with a punch you never saw coming you are able to keep moving forward.  If you can’t find anything then remember my friend Rocky.  He is always there for me.