The Toughest Man I Knew

This edition of Win Big Wednesday is an extra personal one. But I believe it's important because the truth is that the people who shape us personally, also shape us professionally. And Jack Orbine was that kind of man.

Jack was my grandfather, who I called Pop. Pop was someone who could light up a room with his wit just as much as when he'd fall, incredibly gullibly, for a practical joke. In his younger years, he was a stud athlete who everyone wanted to be around. And Pop was the kind of person who would could make conversation with just about anyone. He was the epitome of fun-loving.

But his charm and charisma were not at the expense of his overall toughness. Pop was born in Western Pennsylvania with brothers who were coal miners, and anyone who has family out there knows that they're a different breed. This is Steelers country. In fact, "tough" would be an understatement. Superhuman might be more fitting.

Pop didn't have a formal higher education. He got to work in the field, where he spent a career as a surveyor. In recent years, whenever we'd end our time together, he'd always share three words: "Street smart, bud." There was never any context to go with those words, but there didn't need to be. I got it.

Street smarts were how he made it in life, and no matter what accolades I would go on to collect, he wanted to remind me that that's what really counts. Street smarts would be just as important as the book smarts, if not more so.

He was very much a product of the 1940s, an era that is lost on many of us today.

Pop had a full life, taking many wonderful trips throughout the world, and being surrounded by a loving wife and family. However, this life did not always come easy.

He was diagnosed with cancer in the early 2000s, which gave him a 50/50 shot of living. Pop then persisted through a serious spinal stenosis surgery, a massive stroke, heart failure, and septic shock. He survived through his beloved wife succumbing to a rare fatal reaction to an immunotherapy drug for her own bout with cancer in 2021. All of these things could've killed him years ago.

I watched closely by. He had fought ailments of some form for most of my life. For the average person, this would have been so physically and mentally debilitating that life could not possibly be worth living. But not Pop. Pop carried on.

He was the ultimate happy warrior, someone who would never quit when he knew he had some fight left in him. Every single time when we thought the end could be near, he would battle back. And he didn't complain either. I'm honestly not sure I ever heard him complain about anything in my 27 years.

There is a lot that we can learn from Pop. When we're faced with seemingly insurmountable odds and every reason to have a negative attitude, we have to remember that we can't ever give up. We gain nothing from giving in when the going gets tough or from throwing a fit about the world conspiring against us.

We owe it to ourselves and the people around us to live life to the fullest and see the brighter side of things. We have one shot at it, we have to get it right. That's the mindset of a champion.

On Monday, Pop fought his final battle on this planet. He knew it was his last one, and he went peacefully at home while surrounded by family. I am blessed to have so many good years with him.

Here's to Pop, and all of those like him, who have inspired us to be more resilient. Let us carry on in their honor.