Never give up!
Posted by Jerry on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
I recall in graduate school studying the speeches of great men and women. I was attracted to Winston Churchill and several of his speeches. I don’t recall all the details of where and when but I do recall the entire speech. He was giving a commencement address at a small college.
He slowly rose from his seat walked up to the podium, looked the audience in the eye and spoke three words with resolution and conviction. “Never give up!” and returned to his seat. The audience was at first taken aback but after a few moments to realize the power of those words they rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation.
I have such a vivid picture of the speech that it haunts me to this day. That image I recall monthly if not weekly in the course of my life because I would be the one he was talking to because I tend to quit before I get started.
In our journey with our horses as with our journey through life, we have choices. The biggest choice is to quit or move on. Some of us never quit on things that we should have abandoned long ago but most of us give up far too easily on the things that matter most to us.
What is it that you want from your horsemanship journey? Have you already quit and now you are settling for something less than what you really want? Take heart from a great statesman and “Never give up”.
I found this video on youtube that has the same message but presented in a different way.
Please leave your comments. I now have an additional image to recall when I get knocked down. Get Back Up and Never Give Up!
Filed in Parelli Self Improvement | 4 responses so far
Kathy Craigon 28 Oct 2009 at 3:06 am 1Hi Jerry,
Three simple words but such a powerful message!! I used to be one of those people that when the going got tuff, I got going in the opposite direction! All that changed when I got my first horse. He came with a lot of baggage and I was not equipped to help him: his problems were so severe I nearly did give up on him and me. Out of desperation I went looking for answers and that’s when I found Parelli and everything began to change. As I got better, so did my horse. I started setting goals and meeting them, my dreams got bigger, and I really started having fun with my horsemanship and my horse.
I won’t say that the journey has been an easy one, in fact it’s been one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life; however, the hard work has been worth every bit of time and sweat equity I’ve put in to the program. My horse and I are doing things I never thought would be possible for us and more importantly, my relationship with my horse has improved 1000%.
I’m looking forward to setting more goals and not merely meeting them but exceeding them. In addition, I want to dream even bigger and have even more fun with my horse. I only hope he wants to have as much fun as I do!! And…I plan to “Never give up!”.
Kris Hugheson 30 Oct 2009 at 7:21 pm 2Very inspirng!
Just the other day I read a wonderful passage in the book Getting Your Music Past The Fear by Don Richmond. The heading of the passage was “Aikido and Falling”. Here’s a little quote:
“In our society falling is looked at as failure, a bad thing. In Aikido falling is just part of the deal. The better you get at falling the more fun you can have and the faster you can progress. Falls actually often turn into rolls, where you are back up on your feet in a flash, with a smile on your face, ready for more.” When I read that it really made my day. Of course a few days later, and I had just about forgotten it – until I looked at this post and video.
Thanks, Jerry!
Kathy Eddyon 05 Feb 2010 at 11:13 pm 3What a message, it is so amazing what we can do if we just try, I find Nick so inspring, would love to meet him. Some of us should be ashamed of ourselves for giving up too easy. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Kathy
Ashleighon 16 Mar 2010 at 4:27 am 4Oh my goodness…
Until this moment I had never properly stopped and thought about how many things I have always wanted to do, be, acheive etc… and how many I have let myself give up on. Wow, its a big number!
It has just dawned on me that lots of the things I do or am are because someone else wants me to do them or be them… How did I let it become like this? I suspect that it has alot to do with my personality (RB/IN & ex) and my innate desire to stay out of trouble & please those around me.
I have decided from this moment on I will be more aware of the things that matter to me and to never give up or settle for less than what I truly want!
Thank you Jerry, for your thoughts.
Ash