My column this week comes from an inspiring book I am reading and for me, sharing these thoughts with you and your young people, is important. This book touched me deeply and if you read it, it would put you in a place that would leave you wondering why we tend to struggle with self motivation and sacrifices with sports and life. It would give you an eye-opener about what struggle is about and how having hope and desire could change our lives.

No matter what we do as an athlete, or business person, we all will go through struggles in life that become great memories which would never be forgotten. Sometimes those struggles tend to take over our emotions and if our minds are not strong enough to deal with them, we find ourselves falling behind with our progress thinking.

The book is called " A Long Way Gone", memoirs of a boy soldier. It is not a book about soccer or any other sport, it is one about life of a young man named Ismael Beah and his story and struggle to survive in Africa, it is about his survival and doing whatever it takes to live. He has seen death, destruction and chaos. At the age of 12 he had a true reason to fight, a reason to hope but a stronger reason to survive. His battle would move you and put you in the same mind frame I am in now.

As I read through this book and sit back and try to understand our young people who tend to feel their life is all bad, the ones who feel that the world is against them, who choose to cause destruction and harm throughout. I know that some young people are struggling to find their way but not many have been put in the same situation as Ismael and It bothers me, especially when knowing that my young people have so much more in front of them but some will not grab onto it.

I would challenge all of my young people to read this book and then ask themselves the question why they lose hope in their lives, why they take things for granted and give up when they feel the pressure. I want the parents to search out this book and educate your young ones about what it takes to sacrifice and survive. The courage and will to live of this young man has touched me and made me even more appreciate who I am and what I do.

When I read about Ismael running for his life, watching death before his eyes, not knowing if he would make it through the age of 13 years old, not knowing where his next meal will be coming from, I then understand that him having a strong mind, body and spirit along with hope was what saved his life.

And after reading about Ismael, I cannot figure why some are fighting and causing harm to each other especially when it is not for survival. Our battles are some that have no substance behind them.

The experience of Ismael in this book I could relate to sports in the sense is that what was a driven factor with him was hope, courage and believing and these are some of the tools we need when we set to achieve great things as an athlete.

As I leave you this week, I want to know that some things are worth fighting for and some things are not.

Until next time!