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.”

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