Being driven has been a “something I was born with” asset since the beginning. I have always been competitive with sports growing up. I had Ricky Bobby’s dad, from Talladega Nights, voice in my head all the time saying, “If you ain’t first you’re last.” That mentality has been a great asset in my life, but just like in the movie you find that winning isn’t everything.
I grew up wrestling from the age of 8 going through high school. It was a love-hate kind of relationship. Love the fight, love the work, love the pain that I put my body through, and love the win, but of course, there is the loss that pops in here and there that I hated. I have always had a hard time handling the loss. In high school, I wanted to be a state champ for the selfish reason of being a state champ. I was a good wrestler, definitely good enough to be a high school state champ, beating multiple state champs throughout the years, but for some reason I never was. As much as I hated losing, it taught me one of the best lessons; how to fail, how to get knocked down, and get back up. Like Rocky said, “ it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.”
As a driven person, I like to make goals for myself. Like a lot of people, I like to make new year’s goals. I used to make goals that were unattainable because I would fall short, and give up after a one-time miss. I now have taken to heart the “falling forward” mentality. Keep trying. I still do yearly goals, but I break them down to monthly, weekly, and even daily goals to keep myself on track. Even if I fail to read my Bible one day, I try again the next day. I don’t feel good, so I don’t work out for a week, but the next week I start working out again. I still fail and I still fall short of most goals, but instead of giving up, I get back up and I keep moving forward.
As a man, now, with a wife and four kids that I love; I have had more wins in the life category that God has blessed me with than I can count. Now my goal is to be the best husband, father, and follower of God I can be. I now have 5 reasons that drive me; my wife; Danelle, and my kids; Braydon, Porter, Marshall, and Finley.