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| 26 Jun 2009 03:13:14 am |
| MUHAMMAD ALI, Retired Boxing Champion, Humanitarian |
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“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”
Muhammad Ali, possibly the best and certainly the most renowned boxer the world has ever known. Today's quote reflects his words on GIVING, one of six core values which guide his life.
I believe that nothing ever happens by accident. Serendipity? Absolutely! Fate? You bet. Accident? No way.
In my never-ending search for inspired athletes, I have been reading about Muhammad Ali.
I was familiar with Muhammad Ali, the athlete. Who I did not know, was Muhammad Ali, the humanitarian – Lifetime Achievement Award from Amnesty International, United Nations Messenger of Peace, Time’s 100 Most Important People of the Century, Presidential Medal of Freedom ... the list goes on.
And here’s the serendipity part. As I was working on this week’s Real Zeal, an email arrived in my inbox from Michelle Obama, announcing June 27 as a National Day of Service.
And in that moment I knew ... this week truly is about Service. I hope and pray that Muhammad Ali’s words not only inspire us, but that they call us all to action – call us to “pay our rent,” so to speak, for all the abundance and wealth that we experience each and every day.
Are we up for it?
FOR THE BIGGER STORY READ ON ...
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Muhammad Ali acknowledges that his life is guided by six core values: Respect, Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving and Spirituality. Today’s Real Zeal is about Giving, but he speaks so eloquently on each one, that I've included them below. (The Source: http://www.alicenter.org)
Muhammad Ali on His Six Core Values
Respect: “When I meet a new person, I don’t see race or religion – I look deeper ... We must learn to satisfy our conflicts peacefully and to respect one another.”
Conviction: “All I did was stand up for what I believed.”
Confidence: “I’ll never let anyone talk me into not believing in myself.”
Dedication: “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: a desire, a dream, a vision.”
Giving (and today’s Real Zeal Quote): “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”
Spirituality: “Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams – they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do – they all contain truths.”
About his Life*
Muhammad Ali is generally considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. His boxing career spanned from 1960 to 1981. But he’s also known for his brash and confident manner, his “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” approach, and his religious transformation (in which he converted to Islam, changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali, and refused to be inducted into the U.S. military and fight in the Viet Nam War).
Among his many sports awards: "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated (in addition to gracing 36 of SI covers), “Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC. In the Real Zeal email, I shared some of his non-sports awards: Lifetime Achievement Award from Amnesty International, United Nations Messenger of Peace, Time’s 100 Most Important People of the Century, Presidential Medal of Freedom.
According to the Muhammad Ali Center website, "Since he retired from boxing, Ali has devoted himself to humanitarian endeavors around the globe. He is a devout Sunni Muslim, and travels the world over, lending his name and presence to hunger and poverty relief, supporting education efforts of all kinds, promoting adoption and encouraging people to respect and better understand one another. It is estimated that he has helped to provide more than 22 million meals to feed the hungry. Ali travels, on average, more than 200 days per year."
In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's Syndrome. Despite the disability, he remains a beloved and active public figure.
[*Much of this comes from Wikipedia and other biographical sources across the internet. Links are below.]
To learn more about the inspiring Muhammad Ali:
http://www.alicenter.org (Please visit his website and links to his Center. From the site: “The mission of the Muhammad Ali Center is to preserve and share the legacy and ideals of Muhammad Ali, to promote respect, hope, and understanding, and to inspire adults and children everywhere to be as great as they can be.”)
http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/ali01.html (Time Magazine’s 100 Most Important People of the Century.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali (Ali’s comprehensive biography from Wikipedia)
http://www.chiff.com/recreation/sports/sports-stars/muhammad-ali.htm (A comprehensive biography in addition to a great video tribute to his boxing career.)
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/topic/cover/Muhammad_Ali/1900-01-01/2100-12-31/dd/1/38/index.htm (This link will take you to all 36 Sports Illustrated magazines in which Muhammad Ali was on the cover. Once there, you can click on links to open and read articles in any of these magazines.) |
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Category : General
| Posted By : admin |
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| 19 Jun 2009 12:39:28 pm |
| LORENA OCHOA, World's #1 Female Golfer |
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"I remember only the good shots. The others, they disappear."
Lorena Ochoa, the #1 ranked female golfer in the world, reveals how she overcame so many near misses early in her career. [Sports Illustrated, June 2008]
With the LPGA Women’s Open golf tournament just around the corner, it is the perfect time to introduce Lorena Ochoa. Not only is she one of the world’s best golfers, Time Magazine named her as one of the world’s 100 most influential people [2008].
Lorena’s generous spirit and inspiring ways show us what’s possible when a successful, influential, and unselfish athlete commits to making a difference in the world.
In today’s Real Zeal Quote, Lorena has perhaps shown us a pathway to our own unlimited potential. When our so-called “errors of the past” no longer haunt us – then, and possibly only then – are we free to fulfill the future of our dreams.
Finding the means to let go of our past may be one of the most important quests we ever undertake.
FOR THE BIGGER STORY READ ON ...
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Lorena Ochoa is a woman who is crystal clear that her success as a golfer is directly related to her ability to make a difference. “The more I can win, the more I can help, so that’s a great motivation.”
Among Lorena’s many golfing successes ...
-Ranked as the world’s top female golfer since April of 2007.
-29 wins, two of them Majors, since turning professional in 2002.
-LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2003.
-AP Female Athlete of the Year in 2006.
-ESPY Best International Athlete in 2008.
As a difference maker in the world, especially in her home country of Mexico ...
-Lorena founded the Lorena Ochoa Foundation in order to impact health and education for children in Mexico. The Foundation funds a primary school in Guadalajara, La Barranca, provides scholarships for over 300 underprivileged students, and has created an innovative curriculum to keep the students involved and motivated. A high school has also been opened and expansion plans are in place for new buildings, increased enrollment, and continued innovation in curriculum.
-Lorena’s foundation funds a program to provide treatment and support for children with cancer.
-She has opened two golf academies with the goal of making the sport accessible to all kids.
-While on tour, Lorena routinely steps behind the scenes to thank and encourage the groundskeepers, cooks, and construction workers for the invaluable and dedicated work they perform.
-In 2008, she was chosen by Time Magazine, as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world.
Back to today’s Real Zeal Quote: "I remember only the good shots. The others, they disappear."
Lorena Ochoa knows that winning is her access to making a profound difference. She also knows that it’s important, even critical, to free her mind of all those missed shots, heart-breaking losses, and frustrating mistakes that could get in the way of future successes.
Today’s Inquiry for Each of Us: Where are we holding onto past “mistakes,” allowing our regrets and resentments to dominate our mind and keep us from our own full-out wins and successes? What do we need to do or say to let these “mistakes” fade into the past and disappear?
To learn more about the inspiring Lorena Ochoa ...
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/web/COM1139213/index.htm (A GREAT Sports Illustrated Article titled: Lorena Ochoa’s Simply the Best. To get the full picture of her inspiration, read this.)
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1733748_1733756_1736207,00.html (2008 Time’s 100 most influential people)
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3345379 (An article not only addressing Lorena’s Future Hall of Fame status, but how she is a role model for so many.) |
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Category : General
| Posted By : admin |
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| 11 Jun 2009 10:53:17 pm |
| JOSH HAMILTON, Texas Ranger Baseball Player |
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“If you hang out with a group of people in a certain place, you’re bound to end up doing the things they do.”
Josh Hamilton, Texas Ranger, talking about his disastrous decline into addiction in his book: Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back (p. 83).
Last weekend, my 12 year-old grandson introduced me to Josh Hamilton’s book, Beyond Belief. I was familiar with Josh’s story and have always been inspired by his strong faith and his commitment to use his sport as a platform to make a difference in the world.
However, I hadn’t known about Josh’s tremendous promise as a superstar fresh out of high school, nor of the depths of his drug addiction and how unlikely it was that he would ever recover.
If you find yourself in need of a reminder that recovery and redemption are available for even the most hopeless of situations, please see below for more on Josh’s amazing life.
In the meantime, an inquiry into today’s Real Zeal quote seems worthwhile. If it’s true that we end up doing the things the people we’re hanging out with do ... who are we hanging out with and what are those people doing? Are they people who inspire us and bring out the best in us? Or are they people whose influence is detrimental to our future?
The truth of Josh’s words should serve as a powerful reminder to pick our friends wisely.
FOR THE BIGGER STORY READ ON ...
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[If you want Josh's full story, I highly recommend you read his book. It’s a powerful and inspiring read. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Belief-Finding-Strength-Come/dp/1599951614]
Below is a brief overview of Josh Hamilton’s life.
-Josh was crystal clear he was destined for a life in baseball at a very young age.
-Scouts were literally watching Josh play when he was in grade school.
-Josh was a very quiet kid – he didn’t socialize much and he kept to himself.
-Josh was drafted as the FIRST draft pick straight out of high school by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999. (Interesting side note: the second player drafted in that season was ace pitcher Josh Beckett, of the Boston Red Sox. The scouts often talked about the star power of the “Two Joshes.”)
-Josh’s parents quit their jobs at the start of Josh’s pro career so they could travel with him.
-After playing in the minor leagues for a few years and prior to the start of the 2001 season, Josh and his parents were in a car crash. His parents returned home to recover and Josh’s injured back prevented him from playing full-out, the way he typically played. For the first time EVER, Josh was without his parents and his sport.
-The scene was now set for his decline into addiction. The early warning signs? Josh began getting tattoos over his entire body. He revealed that he didn’t even care what was tattooed onto his body, it was the sitting in the chair and “escaping” his situation that drew him to the tattoo parlor. And eventually, his tattoo “friends” invited to a strip joint where, for the first time in his life, Josh drank alcohol and smoked marijuana.
-From 2001-2005, Josh lived the life of a drug addict – abusing alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and crack. He was suspended from baseball multiple times for failing drug tests. In ways too numerous to count, he let down his teammates, his family, and his friends. In essence, he was a lost soul and he saw no way out of his hell. He even checked himself into numerous rehabilitation clinics, but none made any difference.
-Finally, in October of 2005, Josh hit bottom. He showed up on his grandmother’s doorstep, a broken man. In conversations with his grandmother he saw, for the first time, the devastating impact he’d had on his family and how he’d cheated the world of his talent and his contribution. Out of those conversations, Josh literally got down on his knees and turned his life over to the healing power of God. His road to recovery had begun.
-Josh has not looked back. Predictably, numerous miracles have paved the way for Josh to reconcile with his sport, his family and his friends. How he explains these miracles – “It’s a God Thing.”
-One such miracle – during Josh’s time with his grandmother, he had a dream that he got to compete in the All Star Homerun Derby. Because of his stellar performance, he was given a chance in a post-game interview to share his love of God and the impact his faith had on his life. So ... last year Josh was voted by fans to play in the All-Star game and, just as in his dream, was invited to participate in the Homerun Derby. What transpired was one of the most inspiring performances I’ve ever seen. With his 71-year-old childhood coach pitching balls to him, Josh hit 28 home runs in the first round, breaking the all-time record. And again, true to his dream, on nation-wide TV, Josh professed his love of God and his tremendous gratitude for being given a second chance at life.
-Today Josh plays for the Texas Rangers and continues to devote his life to God. He is beloved by his fans, committed to his family, and determined that his life makes a difference for others. He is in all ways, an inspired athlete.
To view interviews with Josh and read more on his life, click on the links below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jeh4xxPBN2s (A young girl interviews Josh and asks him some wonderful questions about his life and his addictions.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942OxgJT0ec&feature=fvw (An Associated Press interview with Josh after his book, Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back, was released.)
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Belief-Finding-Strength-Come/dp/1599951614 (A link to Amazon and Josh’s book.)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/albert_chen/05/27/hamilton0602/ (A Sports Illustrated article that tells the beautiful story of Josh’s rise, his fall, and his miraculous recovery.) |
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Category : General
| Posted By : admin |
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| 04 Jun 2009 02:32:13 am |
| HELIO CASTRONEVES, Indy 500 Winner |
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“I’m just so grateful for everything.”
Helio Castroneves, talking with Brent Musberger on ESPN’s Sunday Conversation, after winning his 3rd Indianapolis 500 over Memorial Day weekend.
There was a time when Helio Castroneves took life and all it offered for granted. A time when he wasn’t quite so grateful, wasn’t near as patient.
Helio has always lived the privileged life – he’s won the Indy 500 three times, he’s a Dancing with the Stars Champion, the list goes on. But seven months ago, Helio was indicted on a tax evasion charge. And for the first time, a dark cloud loomed over Helio’s life. A conviction could have resulted in six years in prison and the end of his beloved racing career.
But on April 19, after a six week trial, a jury found Helio not guilty and all charges against him were dropped. Today Helio is a transformed human being. He’s lost his impatience for late planes, his disappointment at last minute changes. He’s become a no-holds-barred grateful man.
Why does it so often take an illness or tragedy to wake us up to the beauty of our life and the privilege of being alive? Learning to be authentically grateful – regardless of how our life might look – is truly one of our life-long challenges.
FOR THE BIGGER STORY READ ON ...
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To watch Helio's interview with Brent Musberger, click on: http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/indycar/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=4205457
I’ve followed Helio for a number of years and I’ve always been struck by his upbeat attitude, his exuberance, his fun-loving ways. And I’ve been impressed with his success and his drive. Beneath his sunny exterior is a committed, determined individual who knows how to win.
In a Sports Illustrated interview, Helio told Andrew Deutsch that he was going to put his trophy from Dancing with the Stars between his two Indy 500 trophies: “When I look at these trophies, I know that when I put heart, soul, mind and hard work into something, I can do it.” (2)
I’d assert that Helio has been an inspiring athlete for a long time. But his legal battle has taken Helio’s inspiration to a whole new level. And it’s all around his newly found joy and gratitude. Nothing can dim his light now and that is truly inspiring.
Two small, yet important examples:
On Monday after the Indianapolis 500 race, there is a traditional winner’s photo shoot, usually held out on the track. But on this Monday, the shoot was forced into a nearby tent due to rain. In Helio’s words: “The old Helio would have been upset. The new Helio enjoys it all, no matter where it is.'' (3)
In another interview with Helio: "I appreciate things I normally wouldn't. I used to get upset when my flight was delayed. Now, I'm happy. I'm just happy to have a chance to take a plane anywhere. I do feel like I'm a better person." (4)
Helio’s awakening is not only inspiring, it’s a reminder that this kind of experience is available to each of us.
Today’s Inquiry: How do we wake up? How can we become authentically grateful for our lives – regardless of how they look? What can we do, on a daily basis, to be present to the great life we have?
To read/see more of the inspired and inspiring Helio Castroneves:
(1) http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/indycar/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=4205457 (This is the ESPN Brent Musberger interview ... really good.)
(2) http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1114486/index.htm
(This is the Sports Illustrated interview with Helio after he won Dancing with the Stars.)
(3) http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/1065020.html (A good story on Helio’s victory at Indy.)
(4) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2009192461_apcarirlindy500.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news;_ylt=AtY7Y7GdGCmOnhFnogdH7ufRv7YF?slug=gk-helio052409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns (A GREAT story of Helio’s Indy victory) |
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Category : General
| Posted By : admin |
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