My friend Paul McIntosh at, http://www.beyondalchemy.com/index.php, posted this video to my Fun Wall as one of my 'friends' at http://www.facebook.com/. The inspiration found in it moved me to tears, and I wanted to share it with everyone I could.
I have seen this father and son combination on television before as ‘they’ competed in triathlons and it had the same effect on me. I was stunned at the physical stamina of the dad, the commitment to his son, the obvious joy on his son’s face and the profound love, on display for all the world to see, that they share.
I wiped my eyes then and although I have watched this video several times, I do so every time I watch it now.
Why is that? What chord deep within us does this story strike and cause to resonate to anyone who sees it?
I think the answer is that in these two people we see the best of the human spirit as it overcomes something much more than mere adversity. It is triumph over what could have easily been a life destined to despair. It is deep appreciation of joy, love and the spiritual value resident in every human being no matter their physical condition.
In “The Step by Step Guide to Unlocking the 7 Laws of Success”, I touch on the personal values that each of us use to determine and define just what “success” means to us. And, to me the spirit we see in this video, shared between father and son is the essence of success on the most elemental and essential level.
Right there in front of everyone are the factors that define and determine success. It seems to me they are: commitment, desire, effort, love, joy, shared vision and unselfish achievement to raise, not only yourself, but those around you up to extraordinary accomplishment by the single-minded pursuit of your chosen goals.
I have heard the dad interviewed before and wept with him as he said, in effect, he got so much more back from his son by their joint participation than he ever could give to him in return.
For those of us that seek to claim success associated with financial prosperity, or maybe spiritual enlightenment, or possibly physical fitness, fulfilling personal relationships or any other measurement in which we place value, it is important that we hear the ‘chord’ in this video story. And that chord, the one that resonates in us as we watch this video is extraordinary commitment fueled by unconditional love.
Also, I guess like pornography, we know what constitutes heroic achievement when we see it and we know deeply felt passion for the immense effort required to achieve when we see it. And, when we do behold it in such purity, we weep in appreciation of it’s value.
Fill your efforts toward success with values that are lasting and timeless because they are right and good rather than to prove something to someone that wronged you in the past, or to diminish the efforts of another in comparison to your own or to be motivated by selfishness.
It is the nobility found in this father and son team that we admire, respect and love. It is the nobility exposed to our view, which we hope to possess in ourselves and long to rise to that moves us. It is the nobility of their quest that strikes a chord deep within us all as we each reach within ourselves to find our own. May all of your successes be timeless, fill you with joy and lift up those around you.
