Never give up...never, ever give up

Never give up..."never, ever give up"

Never give up..."never, ever give up"

It seems so simple- don't give up.  It's just a few words and a simple directive...so it should be easy, right?

Wrong.

Anyone who has ever earned anything worth anything, or accomplished anything they're reasonably proud of in their life will surely attest that it wasn't all that easy.  Giving up is easy.  Fighting for what you want when the odds are against you, sweating and training while others play, working long hours while your friends are out partying- that's hard.

"Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy, nothing that comes easy is worthwhile" has been ringing in my ears for as long as I can remember- and for as long as I can remember, I've wished I could prove that dang saying false.  Hasn't been the case, though- for as I look back on a few things I've been fortunate to accomplish over the years, they all required a good bit of effort...hard work...dedication.

Or as I often put it, "hustle and heart".

I finished 8 marathons and well over 300 road races overall in my days of hard-core running, but the race I'm most likely to remember for the rest of my days will be the Chicago Marathon of 1993- the only race I ever started that I didn't finish.  I'd had my ankle busted up and screwed back together a few months ahead of the thing, and it started swelling at Mile 11.  I had to quit just shy of Mile 18, as the dang thing had grown so big that I could no longer bend it.

So along with things I've accomplished, I know the hurt of not accomplishing something and the difference between the two.  I guess could've prepared a bit better (or sat out, as my doctors and many others suggested), but I did neither and it stunk.

It's in the spirit of knowing both a small measure of success and a sure lack of it at times that I salute Diana Nyad today.  35 years following the first of a few unsuccessful attempts at swimming from Cuba to America, she made it earlier this afternoon.

She made it with hustle and heart- and because she never, ever gave up.

Never give up..."never, ever give up"