Thomas Edison said that “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like WORK”. Auckland’s LIFE leader Paul De Jong loves the quote, “The harder I work, the luckier I get”.
Now ‘think back’ about anything you’ve achieved and been proud of in your life. Isn’t it true that most of what you are excited to recall has been the result of great effort and hard work?
I remember coming across the massive former Crown Lynn Potteries building in New Lynn. It was 3,000 square meters of darkness and high walls. Tina winced about its condition, but as soon as we began to think differently, we laughed to one another that “this ones got overalls”, we gained the right attitude, committed and completed the huge gym. The satisfaction from seeing the place thriving with members made it all worthwhile.
Every time you come to the club you have had to make the choice. ‘Do I take the easy way out, go home and watch TV? Or do I thrown on the overalls (workout gear) and move my body enough to become fitter, stronger, healthier? I’m certain, that every time you leave the club, you share that overwhelming sense of warmth, muscle firmness, stress-release and satisfaction.
Today I’d like to encourage you, that when the next opportunity comes your way disguised in the cloak of hard work. Stop. Think about it. Then roll up your sleeves, throw on your overalls, switch on your mind and get started.
Theodore Roosevelt once said: “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
