Wisdom gained from Rocky

I was watching You tube videos with my little kids this morning which is one of our favorite pastimes. We have our favorites that we watch. Sometimes we (mostly my kids) are in the mood for a little "humor" such as Weird Al's Star wars or White and Nerdy, or Gummy Bears or Charlie the Unicorn (which is the stupidest thing I have ever seen). Sometimes we are in the mood to close the blinds and put on some "dancing songs" like Hot and Cold or Ain't it Funny and twirl each other around laughing our heads off while making fools of ourselves. But I think our all time favorite, most watched, You Tube video is the Rocky training montages. That is what we were watching this morning. It may be kind of surprising that my 2 year old daughter loves Rocky but what can I say she is a chip off the ole block. Rocky is my all time favorite movie. It doesn't get any better than Rocky. Anyway I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes, so I googled it. You can find absolutely anything on google, it is amazing. So here is the quote


"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done."

I like to win. I want to win, I want my kids to win. So how to do it and how to teach my kids to do it is a little secret I am always chasing. I think it mostly comes down to work. You don't get anything worth having without working for it, not only working but working hard. I really believe the winner is the one who works the hardest.

I guess I am not much for pansies or wimps, I definitely don't want to raise any. So I try to drill into their heads the importance of hard work. I also need them to understand that taking responsibility for yourself and not blaming others for consequences you chose, through actions or choices, is absolutely mandatory if you want to come out on top.

I want my kids to feel the thrill of success, to have a little taste of "I did it". I want them to raise their hands above their heads in victory. I want them to look back and know they did what they didn't think they could. I want them to feel strong. I want them to have the confidence to believe they can conquer anything that come up. I want them to know they're the best, because they are. Mediocre isn't' good enough and I don't want them to ever be satisfied with that.

Self confidence and self esteem is something I can't sell short- it is to important. I've been around long enough to know how important it really is. I believe self confidence is built through accomplishments and successes. There really is nothing as sweet as victory. I want my kids to get taste of it now, so that they will crave it all their lives.

Now I really am not some physco mom. I don't need or even want my kids to be all star athletes, or world class musicians or Hollywood stars or anything like that. What I really want is for them to be to be happy. I honestly believe happy people are those who are striving for something, who set goals and work for them, who have a purpose, who constantly move forward. Who are not stagnant. Who don't settle. I believe God put us here to Become. You can't become anything by doing nothing.

Well I got a little deep there maybe but I really do like Rocky. So do my kids, as weird as that may be- I am ok with it. Today while watching Rocky training clips my 4 year old said. Rocky works hard huh mom. (I really drill this working hard thing into their heads). We discussed this awhile and marveled at how hard he was working. He concluded that when you work hard you not only win you get bigger. He is really into getting bigger right now. He is really excited for his birthday so he can get "bigger". Well he thought for a minute and ask did that guy (Drago) work hard or did he just wait for his birthday. I laughed -all I could say was probably a little of both.