Children have forever, and in all times, been a source of inspiration. They inspire parents to work harder, leaders to lead better, poets and authors to write, innovation and big ideas. Take the example of Walt Disney; he was so inspired by his own children to do something for them, he created one of the biggest brands in the world. The Disney brand now brings happiness and joy to a lot of people around the world all from the inspiration of a child.
This weekend, I became so inspired by some truly remarkable kids and their unwavering determination and raw tenacity to go the distance I had to share my story.
This past weekend, my son Jacob and Abbey (pictured right), who is Tish’s daugher, (Tish has been Ron’s right-hand lady for over 11 years and my good friend) competed together amongst 921 other children ages 6 to 15 in the First Coast Kids Triathlon here in Jacksonville, FL. This Triathlon happens to be the second biggest event in the entire U.S., and kids came from all over to compete in this serious race! These kids train to swim 100 meters (that’s four lengths of the pool in an Olympic size pool), bike three miles and run their little hearts out in a half mile race to the finish.
Tish, our families and myself made it there early Sunday morning, and when I say early, I mean we were up at 5:30 AM. We arrived and were a just few people amongst 921 others families. Now what? There we were and, as if Tish and I weren’t nervous enough for our little triathletes, we suddenly noticed as their race time got closer and closer that Jacob and Abbey became more and more silent. It was then we thought “HOLY COW,” our kids weren’t nervous, they were flat out scared. The closer we moved to their heat time the quieter they became. Seriously, at one point I honestly thought Jacob might lose his breakfast (lucky for me he didn’t…ewwww been there done that).
As I was holding Jacob (my feeble attempt to calm his nerves), I thought to myself WOW, these kids have something truly special that we as adults often loose site of due to becoming complacent or too comfortable in our lives which completely paralyzes our path to success. I was reminded “we will never know our true limits unless we push ourselves towards them.” I can tell you from years of running numerous businesses and dealing with people, lots of adults would’ve chickened out before their heat began due to the fear of failure and the unknown.
I’m proud to announce this was not the case for these kids. They stared fear straight in the face when their heat was called. They stood, took deep breaths and off they went! At this point, Tish and I could finally breathe too! Then, crap, we were off to follow them through the race and of course cheer them on. We ran from station to station until they reached the finish line. Not only did Jacob and Abbey finish the race, they totally ROCKED IT!
Brace yourself, I’m about to do some blatant, plain outright bragging, so you can skip this portion or share in our joy. In full disclosure, this was not Jacob’s first Triathlon but it was his biggest, however, this was Abbey’s very first Triathlon (a pretty ambitious little lady). Jacob finished the race with a time of 22 minutes and 38 seconds, he placed 9th overall. YES, that’s right, 9th out of 921 kids, 7th out of 458 boys and 3rd in his class out of 103. Abbey finished in 33 minutes and 57 seconds. She placed 558th overall out of 921 kids, 108th of 484 girls and 97th in her class. To say we were two proud mommies would be an understatement of epic proportions.
Which brings me to my point and why I’m so inspired by these kids (you should be too)! If Jacob and Abbey and all 921 of these kids had the determination to overcome their fear, go the distance to finish the race and succeed, why can’t we all? Why can’t you? Learning to overcome our fear so that we can achieve the best in ourselves and reach our full potential is not easy and often etched in our DNA. These kids finished the race when it would have been easier not to, and, sadly, people choose every day to not finish the race. Equally as sad, those people will never know what it is to succeed.
Opportunities roll by us all the time, it’s the ones that we recognize and pay attention to that brings us inspiration. Similarly, it is what you hear and see children do at certain times that will potentially spark a feeling or an idea that may become a life changing event. So keep your eyes and ears open my friends, for you never know when that moment will come for you to push the limits and go the distance to the finish. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy but I promise it will be worth it.
Oh, did I mention Jacob and Abbey are at the ripe, old age of 9?
Want to motivate your kids to accomplish more? Ron wants to help! That’s why he’s created the Y.E.S. Day event for his Great American Real Estate Summit. This all-day session is offered at no charge and is designed to teach business and personal ethics from Ron himself. To find out more and get registered for the Great American Real Estate Summit, click HERE!
Jennifer and Family
Tish and Her Girls
Jacob’s Ready to Go!
Abbey and Her Big Sister, Kinsley
woo hoo! that’ so awesome.