People Worth Meeting (3)

Interesting Person #3

 

There is ONE major difference in my introduction of "Interesting Person #3"...I never had the opportunity to meet him. I've never had a conversation with him and I've never even seen him in person.

 

However, you likely will recognize his name and, like many, you likely have been touched and inspired even in his recent death. He definitely fits the title of "People Worth Meeting" or at least, in this situation, "People Worth Noting"...the late Stuart Scott.

Now, before I go any further, let me say this... If you have never listened to any of the podcasts, THIS would be a great one to begin with. You can do so by going HERE for the podcast on iTunes and HERE for the RSS feed. I think you will be encouraged by the message and the passion that you cannot get through a written article.

I'm calling Mr. Scott, "Mr. Live Life Today" for the sake of consistency in these articles.

I'm not going to focus on his work history with ESPN, but I know you will likely recognize a couple of his well-known catch phrases, such as "Booya!" and "Cooler than the other side of the pillow". However, he likely became even more well-known and beloved through a speech that he made at the 2014 ESPY Awards in which he was awarded the "Jimmy V Award" (you can read up on all of this for yourself).

Probably one of the most often quoted and shared lines out of that epic speech was when Mr. Scott ("Mr. Live Life Today") said this:

 

 "When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and the manner in which you live."

 

 

Friend, this is how you beat ANY THING! I'm not taking away from what was said in ANY way. Instead, I am using this great thought to encourage you to apply this principle to EVERY area of your life!

 

HOW you live will greatly be determined by WHY you live! (Go back to the last series and notice the importance of your "WHY")

 

But, here's the key - LIVE LIFE TODAY AND EVERY DAY!

 

Don't let life "pass you by"! It's easy to do by getting wrapped up in trivial matters that tend to distract us all from what is important and what is around us each and every day!

 

Thank you Stuart Scott - "Mr. Live Life Today" - for these inspiring words that will live on for years and years to come.

 

And for you, friend...take these words and apply them to YOUR life and to every area of your life! Don't let these inspirational words become words that simply make you feel good but, instead, allow these words to inspire you to ACTION.

 

Share this article, listen to and share the podcast with as many as you can - TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO INSPIRE OTHERS!

 

Until next time, always be sure to...

 

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

 

Mike

 

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Thankful Celebration!

Thankful Celebration!

That's right, we're still celebrating here - celebrating another day of livin' and another day of life!

And, on this "Thankful Thursday" I want to connect that celebration to the fact that each one of us has SO much for which to be thankful!

No, I don't want to hear your "yeah, but" lines ("Yeah, but, what about this or that..."). I know life is harder for some than for others BUT you still have some things in your life for which to be thankful!

Number one being - YOU ARE ALIVE! And, that being so, today is MAGICAL, WIDE OPEN and you have the opportunity to TURN YOUR DAY AROUND!

"As long as there is breath there is hope!"

I talked to my friend with cancer last night. He just recently found out that he had cancer and he was really quite worried about it and - like many - already had a "worse case scenario" played out in his head.

He's losing his hair and has lost about 20 pounds due to the fact that his appetite has really been messed up due to the chemotherapy treatments and, on top of that, he has diabetes which is really also going nuts with all of this going on!

But, guess what? When I was talking to him last night he had a smile on his face from ear to ear! I wasn't able to have an "in depth" conversation with him to dig deeper but one thing he said was something along the lines of, "You know, along with the bad there is some good!" - HELLO?

I mentioned to him that his attitude seemed to be better NOW than it was when he first found out that he had cancer and he replied, "Well, I don't even feel like I have cancer most of the time. And, besides, what are you going to do?" In other words, he was indicating that he had MADE A CHOICE of how he was going to allow his disease to have an impact on his life.

I love it when I have the chance to talk to people like this - what a great, powerful and positive example for the rest of us!

Now, does he ALWAYS have that attitude? He'd be the first to tell you that he doesn't, especially on those days when the chemotherapy takes a toll on his body. BUT, my guess is that his attitude is positive more than it is negative.

Here's the kicker... this guy tends to be one of the most negative people I know. That's right! There have been times in the past when I have had to dismiss myself from being around him just because of the negative poison that was continually spewing from his mouth.

Amazing, isn't it?

Perhaps - and this is only MY thought on this - the cancer has caused this friend to really notice what matters and what doesn't and to be THANKFUL for another day of life.

What about you? What about me?

Days come and days go. Time moves on regardless of your circumstances. It's the same for each of us - for ALL of us.

What we do with that time is a CHOICE.

Why not incorporate THANKFUL CELEBRATION into your day - starting right now - TODAY?

And, as you do so - this WILL become a part of your life...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

My "WHY" in Choosing the "Make-A-Wish Foundation"

I encourage you to listen to my podcast for today as I discuss why I chose the "Make-a-Wish Foundation" as my focus for this current fundraiser.

However, I'll still share it with you here in hopes that it will spur you on in a decision to donate and be a part of this great opportunity to help make a wish come true in the life of a deserving child.

You know, the recent deaths of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Billy Mays have really brought into focus the brevity of life. The fact that these people were "famous" brought their deaths to the forefront.

However, people die every single day without notice outside of a few friends and their family. To me, even more heart breaking is the fact that children die every single day leaving a gaping hole in the core of that family. Some of these children die of incurable diseases and their families struggle with them through the course of this illness reaching out for anything good that they can bring to their child during those difficult days.

In 1998 I was a youth minister in Mountain Home, Arkansas and had been so for about four years. I have always enjoyed working with and being around young people! Their energy and enthusiasm about so many things and their eagerness to share their joy simply made it a joy for me for many years.
(Again, as I mention on the podcast, I may not have all of the facts completely right, but they are close enough to make the point.)

There was one young man by the name of Russell Woods that made a profound impact on my life during this time. He was 13 years old and full of life! You could look into his eyes and see a spark of mischievousness that brought a smile to your face just wondering what he was up to. During this time Russell began to experience headaches and would often get up in the middle of the night to throw up. He knew something wasn't right as did his parents. In the summer of 1998 it was discovered that Russell had a tumor on his brain stem and, at first, was told that it was a slow growing tumor and that with medication and possible surgery, it should be able to be handled.

That was the news as I sat with the family on that particular morning. What joy! How happy everyone was! Tears of joy filled the room as we all hugged each other. However, after I made the four hour drive back home I received a phone call that told me that just the opposite was true... it was actually a fast growing tumor and there was nothing that could be done.

Devastation. Even to this day when I type that I get an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Over the next year and a few months I spent quite a bit of time with Russell - he had such a wonderful sense of humor all through his illness and was such a joy to be around. I still have a picture of him in my office with a package of juice-filled wax bottles that he gave me because he heard me talk about something like that I enjoyed when I was a kid. That was Russell.

During the course of his illness the Make-A-Wish Foundation fulfilled a wish for Russell. To be honest with you, I don't remember what it was, but my wife thinks it was a trip to Disney World. Regardless of what it was, this organization was able to provide a special memory for Russell and his family.

Sadly, one day in October 1999, Russell passed away. To this day I get emotional every time I think of this special young man.

You likely have similar stories to share of some special young person that struggled like Russell. My desire is to provide enough money to help make a wish come true for one of these special young people.

Will you help?

I know times are tough. I know money is tight. But, at the same time, I want you to consider how quickly and easily you go through $10 during the course of a week.

Can you commit yourself to a minimum of $10 to help make this happen? I know some can't, but I know most can!

Hey, wouldn't it be great if we end up raising enough to provide TWO wishes?

Regardless, your help is needed! The "official" kick-off date for this special drive begins on Wednesday, July 1st. But you can begin now if you'd like.

This is a two-month drive and is scheduled to end on August 31st.

Please go to my website: http://www.FutureYouUniversity.com and click on the banner at the top of my page to read more and donate.

Reach out, in love, and touch the life of a special young person.

That's the POWER of LOVE!

Mike