Thirst for Praise

J.T. and son Patrick--Fathers Day 2007. Maumee Bay, Ohio
Pat's first triathlon....

Getting 2 solid upper body workouts and one leg workout per week. Doing over 4 hours of aerobic base the past two weeks. Biking-Treadmill-or Elliptical. Cool, Cool, Cool. No swimming. Have some shoulder issue but thats getting better. Okay no more on the injury. All in all, things are good.

NOW..THE REST OF THE STORY.

I admit, I am a "Half Full" guy. In fact, I think most people who compete in triathlon are ""Half Full. Some might say "Half Nuts", but I have always said the training and the pursuit of a goal are what keep me going each day. They keep me from.....drum roll..eerie music up and full...THE DARK SIDE.


So, ever since I can remember, I have read inspiration books. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.."The Power of Positive Thinking" and so forth. I search for quotes that help build me up. I figure, if I can present a positive image to the world, maybe I can impact others. I ran across this quote from Dale Carnegie.


“You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.”

Mother Teresa said..

“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”

There are tons of quotes from famous people in books that could stack up to the heavens. Go on line and you'll see quotes from Einstein to Yogi Berra. From Mark Twain to JFK.

But sometimes its the ones spoken by the unknown that really hit home.

“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.”—Anonymous

Jerry Vainer might have thought of himself a failure when he got devastating news about 25 years back. He had cancer. Multiple Myeloma. Talk about a wake up call. The cool thing is Jerry plunged ahead and turned a tough thing into a big benefit for others. He is one of those involved in "Team in Training" and what he is doing for others is remarkable. He will run the Music City Marathon next spring in Nashville.

I am sure he had words of encouragement spoken to him when he was at his darkest moment. Now he is turning the darkness to light.

If you get a chance, drop by his donation page, I am sure he would appreciate it very much.

Thanks alot. All the best.