No, we don't control who our parents are. We don't control what color we are. We don't control what home we are born into. But we control our attitude. We control our work ethic. We control our drive and our commitment.
Interpretation
We can't choose our circumstances, but we can choose our responses and efforts.
This quote emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and self-determination. While we may not have control over many aspects of our lives, such as our heritage or family background, we do have the power to shape our own attitudes, work ethic, and commitment, which are critical for achieving our goals and defining our path in life.
In practice
In a school graduation speech to inspire students to take charge of their futures.
I always tell people, good coaches are a dime a dozen. Good coaches that are good people, good husbands, good fathers, that love their players and are passionate about doing things in a way that I believe is important, that pool gets real small.
The key to coaching is love. It's not knowledge; it's not discipline. If you love 'em, you can discipline them. If you love 'em, you can yell at them and laugh about it later.
There are lots of things we're able to do, but I'd like to land on the one thing I was MADE to do.
If the work is high and far, _x000D_ You must not only aim aright, _x000D_ But draw the bow with all your might.
You start at a young age, going on auditions, and you think you did a good job and expect to get that role, and you don't, and it's a letdown, a disappointment. So you tell yourself to just do the work and disconnect, because you have no control over the outcome.
I fall, I stand still... I trudge on. I gain a little... I get more eager and climb higher and begin to see the widening horizon. Every struggle is a victory.
I didn't have the same fitness or ability as the other girls, so I had to beat them with my mind.
The essence of procrastination lies in not doing what you think you should be doing, a mental contortion that surely accounts for the great psychic toll the habit takes on people. This is the perplexing thing about procrastination: although it seems to involve avoiding unpleasant tasks, indulging in it generally doesn't make people happy.
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