Try

“I can accept failure, but I cannot accept not trying.”-Michael Jordon.

Quotes on social media are a dime a dozen. There have even been memes about the overuse of quotes. However, I think they do serve a purpose. They are kind of like tress. How often do you pass trees and think nothing of them? Then one day you look up and say to yourself, “Man, that’s beautiful.”

This is how I feel about quotes. Most of them have been rehashed, re-posted, and circulated through cyberspace thousands of times. Yet every once in a while one shows up in my feed and I think, “Man, that’s beautiful.”

A while back I included the above quote by Michael Jordon. I included in it a preamble referring to the documentary “The Last Dance.” I’m not easily taken by other humans. They have to do something truly remarkable to get me to dig deeper into who they really are. Once I start the digging again like mining for gold it’s rare I feel as though I struck it rich. In the case of Michael Jordon I, as a 46 year old man, have far more admiration for him now than I ever had when I was 20 watching him play at the height of his career.

In this documentary we learn just how competitive, driven and mercilessly unforgiving Jordan was to those who did not reach to his level of discipline and work ethic. Notice I did not write talent. He’s Michael Jordan and he knew it. He knew not everyone possessed his talent. He knew from a young age he didn’t have the talent he needed granted by God. No. He had to work hard-very hard. He did. The man was almost super-human as an athlete.

It reminded me of something about all of us. One day we will not be able to try new things. One day we will either recount our attempts to pursue and capture dreams or live with regret of them no longer being dreams but instead nightmares of “what ifs.” I don’t care who you are. I don’t care where you are. Try! It’s that simple. Do you think your marriage is over and you can’t save it? Try. Do you think you can’t love your child and accept them for who they are? Try. Do you think you cannot under any circumstance achieve a new career? Try. Just try damn it.

I don’t mean some half ass attempt either. Find something that truly moves your spirit. Find something that if you could step back and say, “Yea. I did that. “ Do something that will make your heart sing. Get in the habit of trying. Get over thinking you have to believe you can be good at something before you will even try. Everything worth doing is worth sucking at for a while. Ask anyone who has mastered a craft. They most likely sucked at first. One thing is for certain. They tried.

I almost wish Nike’s world famous slogan had been, “Just Try It.” It’s the first step that makes all the others easier. I’m in no way the writer I want to be. I do not have people beating down my door asking for me to speak to them or their group. However, it’s in things like this blog or the Jason Wright Show podcast or “Push Play” that I have answered the call to myself to at least try.

Will you?

Improve always in ALL ways!

I’m pulling for you,

JW