How to Spell Success
The annual ritual known as the
The winner was
There is a lesson to be learned from the success of these young people, including the ones who came close to winning but didn't. It is the value of persistence. Mahankali won this year by spelling the German word "knaidel." He lost the bee three times before and was eliminated from competition in 2011 and 2012 on German-derived words. Recognizing his weakness, Mahankali repaired his deficit. And his strategy succeeded.
History teaches the value of persistence.
My favorite lesson on persistence comes from a 2006 film called "Akeelah and the Bee."
The movie is about an 11-year-old girl (wonderfully played by
Akeelah has a gift for spelling. The school's principal introduces her to a spelling coach, brilliantly played by
Akeelah persists and, in the end, triumphs. The route she takes to get there is part of the incredible story. I've seen the film five times and tear up each time I watch it. It's about overcoming, not settling.
Unfortunately, this film and the participants in the real-life spelling bee represent a disappearing America. We don't want to persevere. We seldom teach it to our young. Persistence takes far too long. Instead, too many envy what others have and believe that the successful "owe" the unsuccessful. Far too many promote a culture that values greed and excess. Hard work, personal responsibility and persistence are vanishing faster than integrity in
And many politicians like it that way. They encourage government dependency because it sustains their careers. The more they're thought to be needed, the likelier they are to be re-elected. We appear to have moved from "you can do it for yourself" to "you can't do it without us" -- "us" being the federal government.
Big government has become a modern "false god." We bow in its direction while ignoring evidence it is incapable of responding to our worship. The coming "train wreck" of Obamacare -- Sen.
It is only when we rediscover ancient virtues and apply them to today that we will see much more of the type of success experienced by
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