Every now and then you come across someone or something that inspires you deeply.  It causes you to think about how you can become better, not only at what you do, but how you can become the best version of yourself.

I streamed a movie recently called "Greater."  It's about the life and success attitude of Arkansas Razorback offensive lineman, Brandon Burlsworth.  

As a boy growing up in Arkansas, Brandon had a burning desire to play football at the University of Arkansas.  He was not athletic, in fact he was overweight and spent much of his time in front of the TV eating unhealthy food.  But he had a dream and refused to accept any alternative, it was Razorbacks or bust.

He played football while in high school and was fortunate to have a great coach.  He once asked his coach, concerning his dream to be a Razorback, if he was wasting his time.  His coach replied with a brief maxim.

"There are two guys, one guy gets $10,000 given to him

and the other guy has to earn it.  Now at the end, both guys

have $10,000 but the guy that had to earn it

picked up a lot more than money along the way."

Brandon eventually realized his dream of being a Razorback, but it didn't come easy.  He dealt with ridicule, doubt, physical and emotional pain, and the fact the he had no "natural ability" for playing football.  But he got up every morning and worked at it.  

After practicing with the team as a walk-on and being told he would not be asked to join the team, much less receive a scholarship, he didn't give up.  He worked harder than ever and EARNED a scholarship and a place on the team.

I don't want to share more and be a spoiler, but I can assure you that Brandon was no quitter.  He became the first Arkansas Razorback in history to earn a Master's Degree while playing football for the University of Arkansas.  

I'll share a quote from his college football coach (the one that told him he wouldn't be getting a scholarship).  The coach saw how hard Brandon worked and how badly he wanted to be on the team.  So he pulled Brandon aside one day and said the following:

"Two brothers are walking down the road when

they see a pile of manure.  One brother jumped in the pile

of manure and started digging frantically.  The 

other was disgusted and asked why he would

do such a thing.  He replied, "With this much manure

I thought there's got to be a horse under here

somewhere."

Sometimes you've got to dig through a lot of crap to reach your goals.  Keep digging.

Back in the late 90's, I participated in a writing group for around 5 years, on and off. Each member was responsible for bringing 10 pages of their work to our weekly meetings.  We read our pages aloud to the group and received feedback.  One member in particular, would often write "DIB" in the margin of a paragraph or sentence he felt needed improvement.

"DIB" simply means, "Do It Better."  Brandon Burlsworth got that.  But more importantly, he lived it.