posted on Monday, November 2, 2015
This past month we have been focusing on success and what it means to the Ed Thomas Family Foundation. Coach Thomas often told his players, "Real success is measured not by how much money you have or how many games we win, but by the impact you can make on others during your lifetimes." Coach was a living example of this quote. He was not a wealthy man in terms of the world's standards but he made an impact on young people everyday and he considered himself richly blessed to have that opportunity. When people talk to us about Coach Thomas rarely do they mention his wins and losses and the success he had as a coach. They mention the impact he made on their lives through what he said and did. That, to us, is true success!
Below Mr. Kerns has shared a few thoughts on success that we hope will generate some thoughts for our academy students, teachers and anyone who reads it.
What is success?
It's difficult, and sometimes wrong, to attempt to tell others a singular definition for the word success. Success is very individual and it's meaning is something we each learn as we live our lives.
We often simplify success in terms of winners and losers to describe success and failure. We also often glorify wealth, fame and winning championships as examples of what we must accomplish to be considered successful. Truth is, success for one person could mean failure to another.
I have often described happiness as goals achieved. To me success in terms of contentment in one's life is a lot like that. One must set goals as we progress through life. Through our successes and failures in achieving our goals we are able to find our place in life.
A big part of this, to me, is that we pursue our goals by living with character. Living with character and doing what's right makes it possible to feel good about what we are doing. It also makes it possible to build positive relationships so that we might share our successes and failures with others and make a positive impact on their lives.