Perseverance is More Than a Word

The Times and Democrat ^ | Sunday, December 5, 2004 | Harris Murray, T&D Columnist

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

At just a little over 2 feet tall, he's more of a giant than many have ever been or will ever be. Born with a rare disorder called congenital amputation, the young man has only three joints and no elbows or knees. One of his mottos is "It's not what I can do; it's what I will do."

For 18 years, he has learned to maximize every ability he has. Likely viewed by many as handicapped, just what abilities could he have? Try these on for size — a 35-16 wrestling record in the state of Georgia and a 3.7 grade point average.

Now a student at the University of Georgia, he is continuing to live a life...

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

This young man is going places! Take a moment to read his story; you won't be sorry.

Simply wow.

[basil]

Very inspirational!

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Darn it...FReepers you reeeeally should read this. You've probably never heard of him, but you WILL!

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

[upchuck]

Thank you for posting an unnecessarily excerpted article.

SPUE (Society for the Prevention of Unnecessary Excerpting; check the list) to the rescue once again:

At just a little over 2 feet tall, he's more of a giant than many have ever been or will ever be. Born with a rare disorder called congenital amputation, the young man has only three joints and no elbows or knees. One of his mottos is "It's not what I can do; it's what I will do." For 18 years, he has learned to maximize every ability he has. Likely viewed by many as handicapped, just what abilities could he have? Try these on for size - a 35-16 wrestling record in the state of Georgia and a 3.7 grade point average. Now a student at the University of Georgia, he is continuing to live a life defined by determination, a life that refuses to see itself as limited, a life that rejects stereotypical attitudes and pushes forward to even greater accomplishments, a life that teaches others important lessons about overcoming.

For Kyle Maynard, perseverance is not a word. It's a lifestyle.

Imagine for a few moments what you've complained about this week. Too hot? Too cold? Bad day at the office? Pants too tight? Traffic problems? Missed your favorite television show when Aunt Erma called? Your sports team lost? Got a bit of a cold?

Now think about how you handled any of those situations and decide for yourself if you whined a little - or a lot. Chances are if you whined even a little bit, you didn't give yourself an opportunity to persevere through what most of us should see as minor irritations. Instead you may have "majored on the minor" and given in to one of those pity parties that keep you from moving forward and putting life into a broader perspective.

I can imagine that Kyle Maynard doesn't have much empathy for people like that. No arms, no legs? No problem. He types 50 words a minute and has flawless penmanship. Why? Because his life is defined by perseverance.

The ability to persevere has to have its root in attitude. The determination to face unbelievable circumstances, to concentrate on possibilities rather than limitations and to push toward goals that seem unachievable must be grounded in a solid foundation of hope and strength of mind.

Charles Swindoll has addressed the importance of attitude in the following way: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.

"It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...

"I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you."

And so it is with Kyle Maynard, who displays attitudes that make perseverance a way of life. His words again remind us of his mental toughness: "It's not what I can do; it's what I will do."

We can all challenge ourselves this week to think about our attitudes and how they affect our ability to face even the most minor irritations and limitations. And we can all think about Kyle Maynard and others like him who have learned that perseverance is more than a word. It's a lifestyle.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Geez...thank you for your kind enlightenment.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

This is just the coolest guy out there. What an inspiration.

Disclaimer -- If you are bothered by my excerpting of this article, then go straight to post #6 http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1295145/posts?page=6#6 for the zero-click version.

I beg forgiveness.
:)

[valleygal]

"I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it.

Thanks for the article, gmo. Very inspiring. God bless this young man.

[steplock]

bitchy bitchy! Try being POLITE the next time around .

[MeekOneGOP]

bump!

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

I don't normally watch Larry King, but this young man was on his show.

Another one of his talents is that he types over 50 words per minute! In high school, I believe that my best was maybe...ten wpm? Does anyone here remember the thing we used to call the typewriter? LOL!!! :)

[harbinger of doom]

Careful for the excerpt polizia. Ah, you can never excerpt enough. Thanks for the article.

[Velveeta]

Indeed, an inspiration. :-)

Thanks for the ping.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

I'm an extra-careful type of person. In fact, dh & I had a discussion about that very same thing this morning. He can't understand why I refuse to open our downstairs windows at night. What I can't understand is his having this conversation with me while he's away serving our United States.

But anyway, have a great morning. This young man's choices in life are so inspirational. I would think coaches everywhere could use Kyle's story of perseverance as a testament to God's purpose and love for every single one of us.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

You're welcome, Vel.

Here is another person's take on Kyle:

Handicapped youth crashes self-pity party
By Rick Woodson
Dec 01, 2004 - 08:07:19 am PST
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2004/12/01/sports/news03.prt

---

Like a lot of you out there, I like to complain. And too many times for too many of us, the proverbial glass is half empty and we don't even notice the other half.

Consider this a confession: I've spent too much of my life ---- i.e., wasted it ---- letting the little stuff get under my skin. There is too much of this, too little of that. The checkout lines are too long at the supermarket. I forgot to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home. Blah, blah, blah.

We complain about having to wake up so early instead of simply appreciating that we actually wake up at all ---- that is, we've lived to see another day. We gripe about our job, forgetting all those out there who would give anything just to have a job to gripe about. We moan and groan when we have to cut the grass again, never considering how many people long for the day when they could walk behind a lawn mower.

We get grumpy when our golf game goes bad, forgetting how wonderful it is just to be out there on a warm summer day, and how many people who are staring longingly out their window wishing they were on a golf course somewhere. Indeed, anywhere.

Well, dear readers, as of this week, I have sworn off complaining. There was a time ---- only a few days ago, actually ---- when I was pretty sure I would probably die sitting at a red light, where I would be fuming because I had to stop for another one.

It's a thing of the past, though, almost-ancient history. My middle name is longer "Impatience." Instead of grumbling that I have too much on my plate, I've decided to be grateful that I have a plate.

It finally occurred to me that having too much to do was far better than having absolutely nothing to do ---- or worse, be able to do nothing.

So what got into me? Why the revelation? Truth is, I have a new mentor. No, I haven't sat down with some wise, all-knowing 90-year-old philosophical guru from Tibet. Quite the opposite. My new hero is an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Georgia, a young man who has forgotten more about life than most of us will ever learn.

And a week ago, I'd never heard of him.

If there was ever anyone who could justify complaining that life or fate or whatever gave him a raw deal, it's Kyle Maynard. He was born with what he calls congenital amputation: He has no knees and no elbows ---- and no regrets or complaints.

I was channel surfing the other night and stopped when I saw Kyle on Larry King Live, a show I hadn't watched in years due to lack of interest. This kid, though, was fascinating, and after listening to Maynard for a half hour, I felt considerably smaller.

There was no, "Why me?" Sorry for himself? Hardly. If anything, he feels sorry for the rest of us who don't appreciate what we have.

Maynard practically shrugged like some guy with nothing more than a hangnail as he talked about his lot in life. He said his condition is "something that I've had to contend with my entire life. I don't know any different way. And it's really ---- it's blessed me in a lot of ways, too. And I think that people are really made by the adversity that they face in their life."

And right away, I thought of Latrell Sprewell's adversity of perhaps having to play pro basketball next season for only $10 million, when he has "a family to feed."

Maynard wrestled in high school and won roughly two-thirds of his matches. When he was younger, though, he could've thrown in the towel ---- that is, were he able to pick it up ---- and spent most of his time feeling sorry for himself because he had no hands, no feet and no victories. We'll never know if such a thought ever entered his mind, but I doubt it.

"I was a sixth-grader and I lost about the first 35 matches I ever competed in," he told King. "And wrestling is not a sport where you can blame a loss on someone else. I was getting my butt kicked 35 times, every time I went out there. And I knew by working harder than my opponents I was going to find that success."

Success? You tell me.

Kyle won the 2004 Espy Award for best athlete with a disability. He was presented the Courage Award for the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame. He has been recognized by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

"I try to impact people, to let them know that at times of strife, sometimes you can't see any light at the end of the tunnel, but you have to keep fighting for it," he said. "And by using those principles of positive attitude, hard work, no excuses and not fearing challenges, that's how you find success."

I'm sure there are athletes and others out there with similar stories of courage and determination, but a Kyle Maynard is as rare as a pearl in an oyster. He still wrestles for a club team at Georgia, he is a motivational speaker and has modeled for Abercrombie and Fitch.

Oh yeah, he also types 50 words a minute.

"I think that I'm blessed by God, in the sense that I have the opportunity to reach out to people," he said. "I love the opportunity that I have to try to impact people's lives. I think that the greatest compliment anybody can pay anybody else is when they tell you that you've had an impact on their life ---- when adversity is staring you in the face, that's when you find out what you're made of."

It's pretty obvious what Kyle Maynard is made of. I just wish he could bottle it and make it available to the rest of us.

Rick Woodson is a former sports editor of The Daily News. He can be reached at rwoodson@rochester.rr.com

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

Honest to goodness...my intention was not to make life more difficult for dial-uppers. But, you know something, I thank you for what you wrote because your post serendipitously illustrates why we all could & should learn from Mr. Maynard. Whether we choose to give thanks and how we negotiate our hurdles is what this testimony is all about. Perhaps we might agree here?

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/graphics/maynard/flash.htm

Can anyone teach me how to post directly to this player, or is this link sufficient?

[harbinger of doom]

You did it