Mike Said….

I love quotes. Quotes inspire me, make me think, make me try again, make me laugh-you get the picture. Sometimes a great sentiment has been expressed so perfectly that there is just no way to improve it and no way to say it in other words without losing something in that ‘translation’.

I send out a quote to a number of people Monday thru Friday and it always has a picture to provoke a feeling of wonder, joy or gratitude, so I tend to ‘collect’ quotes. I came across one that actually made me laugh out loud while at the same time I was realizing that it was so true. Part of the reason this quote stuck with me isn’t just the words, it was the person that said them; Mike Tyson. Yep, that Mike Tyson-the famous boxer.

“Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face.”

It’s okay to laugh, like I said, I did. And yet at that same moment I knew he was right. You set a goal and figure out how to go about achieving that goal; that’s your plan. And then, BAM, a challenge comes up-like a punch in the face. Some people fall down and never get back up. Some people jump back up right away and start slugging away and some people do a combination of both. They might get back up but after that punch they just try to play it safe, they never take another chance, they settle for less.

A few people famous for getting punched in the face repeatedly yet not giving up? Thomas Edison, Harlan Sanders and Henry Ford. All had many failures before they had one success. Another example? Just about every toddler you have ever met. How many times does a baby fall before learning to walk? Even if that baby hits something and gets hurt while trying that baby will not give up. Quit is not in a baby’s vocabulary and it should not be in yours either.