my life…my journey…my approach has been surrounded by what people said i could not do. from the earliest days as a child…i was so shy. i was so scared…timid…worried what people would perceive.
i remember being that kid in high school that was that kid who did everyone’s algebra homework. i was more of a creative kid, taking private art lessons and going to one of the first summer governor’s school programs.
when i found myself in the middle of college athletics working my way through school…i learned about fighting for everything. i learned about determination and the will to succeed.
it was the summer of my sophomore year and i was about to fail out of school. yes…my grades sucked. my parents were getting a divorce and life had no focus. i had people telling me that i was not going to graduate from college. it was that day…i grew a backbone. i gave them the middle finger and proved them wrong.
i got my act together and with the help of clemson athletics, i got back on a great academic path, earned my degree, and found my first job.
i remember getting into television because i loved technology…i also found my creative passion of telling stories. i remember starting out as video tape editor for a weekend newscast…small job, long hours and i wanted more. i was told i would not get to the big markets.
i worked my way up into the photojournalism staff and landed a job at one the best photojournalism stations in the country…KPHO-TV in phoenix. i gave those nay sayers the middle finger.
off i went to the wild west to prove to myself and others…life is full of opportunities.
i remember being told i would not win a lot of awards…i would always be subpar in my profession. i just love proving people wrong. one year i walked away with some of the most awards in my region. i had to buy a large suitcase to fly home with all of those shinny statues. i gave the nay sayers the middle finger.
i remember being told i would not go to graduate school…mainly because of my lack of focus during my undergraduate years. i earned my masters in one of the toughest programs in the country…one that has changed my professional life. once again…i gave the nay sayers the middle finger.
i was told i would not own my own business or work for myself…i would fail. i did…and i failed and i succeeded and i failed. but….i have found my niche…getting back to my roots and telling stories. i am following my passion and getting paid for it! and again…i gave the nay sayers the middle finger.
i do not know Warren Morris…but here he is with the weight of his program on his shoulders. i am sure many were saying, screaming into the television screen…he is going to strike out.
from nola.com
“Morris’ story deviates, just slightly, from the popular fantasy in one crucial aspect. While children around the country may typically hit their fictional winning homers with a 3-2 count, Morris crushed the first pitch he saw.”
“All I was thinking is, ‘I’m going to go into this aggressive,’ which is probably why I hit the first pitch,” he said. “More than anything it was good for me that is was the first pitch, because I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.”
it was 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th…
“Morris didn’t have much time to react to the pitch. His coach, teammates and the thousands in attendance weren’t given much notice that the game had ended. As Morris caught it low in the strike zone, the ball took a fast, low-flying trajectory toward the right field stands of Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium before disappearing just a few feet into the crowd.”
2 outs…first pitch…history was made…national champions…clutch
sometimes we should approach life the same way…treat it like there are 2 out and freaking swing for the hills…prove to all those nay sayers and give them the middle finger.
life is to short to listen to the nay sayers and sometimes our own conscious…just swing away!