Don’t Give Up Until You’ve Experienced This.
08.30.2022
The power of never giving up.
Sometimes when we face a challenge, and it feels like it becomes insurmountable and we want to quit, or we’ve even been told we can’t do it…is when we are possibly closest to a breakthrough.
When I was a kid, my parents moved around a lot. My dad was in the oil business and it felt like we moved every year, right after school ended every year.
We moved from my hometown of Grand Junction Colorado to Odessa Texas, then to Casper Wyoming, lander and riverton, before going back to Casper and then to Odessa Texas to begin my high school years as a sophomore.
Growing up in Casper, it was a culture shock to move to Odessa.
I was used to my friends all looking like me…and when starting school, while some looked like me, most did not.
It was uncomfortable to say the least.
The first day of being in PE, thats physical education class, I recall how I was one of the only white kids there.
After class I was walking down the hallway, and this kid, named pat mercer, stopped me and asked if I played golf because they needed more players for the team.
I asked Pat what this meant?
He said, instead of going to PE, I’d be going to the golf course…
This was like my ticket out…
Having only played golf a few times over the summer, while visiting my grandmother, I thought, how hard could it be?
And I said, I’m in.
It required playing qualifying rounds to determine where on the team I would play.
Unfortunately over the course of several rounds, I failed to make the team…I recall one round was over 120.
Looking back, I must have been miserable to play with…I mean watching a guy hit the ball sideways, and miss enough putts to shoot over 120…brutal.
So as I say, I did not make the team…but I was allowed to stay in the program and practice.
I couldn’t go to the golf course, but in those days, we could hit balls at a schoolyard without getting in trouble.
So every day, and I mean every day, I hit balls immediately after school until dark.
I figured I would outwork everyone and find success by digging it out of the dirt!
Why?
Was it because I had fallen in love with the game?
No.
Honestly, it was because I never wanted to go back to that PE class!
I was motivated to succeed.
Over the course of a couple of months I was allowed to qualify again.
This time I made the team, and by the end of season I was shooting in the mid 70’s consistently.
And at the end of the season I was awarded the most improved player.
Why do I share this story?
To brag?
No.
The reason I share this is because it reminds me when our why is strong enough, what may seem insurmountable to others, is something we overcome.
We will do whatever it takes.
In addition to the external motivation of PE and the internal motivation of never wanting to return, I also fell in love with the game and earned a scholarship to college, as well as realized a dream, to play golf for a living.
I share this because often we are faced with doing something we may not like or be good at.
Maybe it’s being in front of a camera making videos, or writing…and when we begin we’re not very good.
But we looking at alternatives and our options don’t look so good.
Then over time, because we keep it, we become better. In fact we become proficient and begin to enjoy it.
And as we do this “thing” we fall in love with it, and it serves us, maybe for a lifetime.
So, if you’re facing one of these moments, I dare you to keep doing it long enough, experience success with it, and then make a decision to quit or continue.
Because you see if you quit before you succeed, you never really know the joy or rewards it may truly bring.
For me in golf, I got to travel from coast to coast and play amazing golf courses, meet people from all over the world and hang out and become friends with exceptional folks.
And when I walked away, I had seen both sides and was fulfilled.
I encourage you to do the same…give it everything you’ve got, experience the success of the endeavor you’ve chosen…and then if you find you have not developed a love for it, you can walk away, with zero regrets.
But you may also find the love of your life.
Never Give Up.
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Jeff Harrison
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Don’t Give Up Until You’ve Experienced This.
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