WEEKLY MOTIVATIONAL PIECE!

“COURAGE must come from the Soul within … The man must furnish the Will to Win … So figure it out for yourself, my lad … You were born with all that the Great have had … With your Equipment they all began … Get hold of yourself and say: “I Can!” – From the poem “Equipment” by Edgar A. Guest

Late last week when my copy of Sports Illustrated arrived in the mail, the one photo that was widely circulated from the recent Boston Marathon bombing was again front and center and placed on the cover position for the entire world to see. It’s a picture that spoke volumes! It was of an elderly man – a race participant – that is shown dazed and lying on the Boston city street trying to regain his senses after the bombing had just taken place.

For some reason, I decided to GOOGLE a variety of things to see if I could identify this person and see what he may have stated about this harrowing experience? I found that his name was Bill Iffrig. He was 78-years old from Lake Stevens, Washington and was competing in his third marathon race in Boston.

I found literally thousands of online news articles about the man and in languages ranging from English, Chinese, Arabic to Spanish. As I scanned through more headlines, some told the story of this white-haired man who got up after the blasts and ran the few remaining yards left to the finish line to complete his mission!
Those last few words “GOT UP AFTER THE BLAST AND RAN THE FEW YARDS LEFT TO THE FINISH LINE” stopped me in my tracks! What powerful words I thought!  I kept looking back at the SI Cover. Thinking to myself that here is a 78-year old man who was running a marathon – a 26-mile long course at that - knowing full well I couldn’t even pedal a bicycle that many miles regardless of age!

I instantly thought about the words COURAGE? RESOLVE? DETERMINATION? Words that can be defined in so many ways. Yet, here was a man that was literally yards away from a finish line anticipating the feeling of accomplishment then is suddenly greeted by a bomb blast that jolted not only the framework of nearby buildings but the mindset of the local population as well! Video and pictures from the scene show that Iffrig, wearing a bright orange tank top, had crumpled to the pavement from the shockwaves of the explosion.

"It was only ... feet away from me,” Iffrig would tell a reporter for the Seattle Times. “It was really loud. Then all this smoke was coming from someplace, and I wasn’t able to see too much. The force from it just turned my whole body to jelly and I went down. I thought, ‘This is probably it for me.’ ”

With the help of a race official, Iffrig would get up. He was determined to reach his destination and would proceed to walk the final 15 feet to cross over the finish line.  Amazing! Some people lauded Iffrig a courageous soul!

Every person seems to face that moment of crisis at one time or another in their lives. Some may be more dangerous than others. Some may be from a tragic injury suffered out on the field. Some may be from a health-related accident. What separates most from continuing on is COURAGE! That quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear and has the resolve to get back up and the determination to accomplish their mission much like what Bill Iffrig showed us last week.

Keep Believing in You always and continue to capture your Dreams!

My Best Always!

Jim Loria

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“Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world” – stated by Helen Keller, the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree
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“You accomplish victory step-by-step, not by leaps and bounds” – stated by Lyn St. James, Indy Race Car Driver

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“There is a lesson in almost everything that you do, and getting the lesson is how you move forward” – stated by Oprah Winfrey
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CHRIS DUHON, DUKE GRAD AND ORLANDO MAGIC GUARD ON THE ROLE OF A PRO ATHLETE: “Sometimes you need to realize that there are different experiences in the world, other than just playing your sport. There are different people who have different types of struggles. You just have to be a part of that, and it gives you a better understanding and appreciation, and makes you understand how lucky and blessed you really are!”


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