Success is no accident!

This week I was totally devastated to hear of the death of a close friend who had been the director of one of the rec centers in my neighborhood. We would laugh and joke about some of the real need of the community was to have fathers and men be there for the kids growing up. The reality was that most of the men had chased dreams of making it big through living on the wild side. The amazing gift of my big friend Rob was that he understood that success in life didn’t happen by chance but through hard work without any short cuts.

Too often in today’s culture that surrounds me many that I work with and watch truly believe success is something that just happens. The notion of hard work, sacrifice, studying and more importantly discovering what you love to do seems to be an alien concept. My friend Rob was someone that truly loved the kids that seemed to be forgotten by society and family. These are the ones that are a pain in the posterior and always seem to be pushing your button. Yet, our bond was over these kids that needed to discover that success was knocking at their door. All they had to do was choose to be different and keep following their dream and not be afraid of hard work and even failure.

Success isn’t having your name in lights, having the most hits on YouTube or FB but impacting the lives of those around you. My friend Rob was this type of a person. His passion wasn’t to be famous or noticed but to reach one of these crazy teens that most likely would be in J.V. detention center if there hadn’t been a rec center. I know that at times this gentle giant would drive many of us crazy because he wouldn’t be as quick to call the police or take disciplinary action because he wanted to give these crazy teens one more chance to turn a corner.

It’s time that the media, our society and more importantly our own people group do more to define what success truly means in life. I’m afraid that the celeb, athlete or loud mouth business guy running for office gets the attention and becomes what’s perceived as success. The generation growing up often believes that you start at the top after you graduate from college or some type of vocational training program. The hard reality is that what our parents and grandparents achieved happened over a lifetime not in a few years. Sacrifice is a fact of life if you want to achieve your goals! Yes, at times you have to say NO to things you want in order to pursue your dreams that require real work, studying and persevering.

I will always remember the crowd of families, teens and kids that gathered at the park where my friend Rob was director. We met on the basketball court, not a church, auditorium or funeral chapel to remember and thank a great friend of the neighborhood who had lived out the real definition of what it means to be a genuine example of success in life. I will sorely miss by big friend Rob but know that his legacy will go on through the many of adults, teens, kids and grandparents that were touched by his incredible example. The memory of lighted candles and this group of friends singing Amazing Grace as family and friends reflected on Rob’s life will impact the way I view the real meaning of a successful life.

I love this quote from Pele, ‘Success is no accident! It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing!’

Happy New Year!