Earn This.

In the movie, "Saving Private Ryan", a squad of troops all dies to save the sole remaining son of a family after his two brothers are killed in WWII. At the end of the movie as Tom Hanks is dying he tells private Ryan, "Earn This". That phrase is so powerful and so meaningful.

Although this is a christian holiday, no matter what faith you are or are not, it's a good day to remember that life is a gift and should not be wasted. We all have the duty and the opportunity to earn our gift. We can earn it by striving to be the person we wish we were. We can't all be rich and famous but some of the most ordinary people have throughout history changed the world by doing extraordinary things.

Each of us can be extraordinary in our own life simply by living our live as we know we should. We are in control of what we do and we can set the example. Most of my friends are adult athletes and we strive through the opportunity of sport to improve our own minds and bodies and through that hope to better understand ourselves. As we continue on in our journey we can better understand why we are and what our destiny is. But that understanding only comes when it's earned, it can't come from a bottle or a drug. That knowledge is blocked by hatred, bigotry and self doubt. To truly be that positive example we have to be able to clean out the garbage from our minds.

I wear a charm around my neck with the Serenity Prayer ingraved on it. "Grant me the serenity to accept what I can not change, the courage to change what I can and the wisdom to know the difference. That is knowledge I like to keep before me at all times to remind me of the power I have over my own thoughts and actions and the limits that I face.

Thanks for reading.