Fight your way back

A friend of mine recently shared how tough the past few years have been for him.  He was underemployed for a long time and had to regress from owning to renting a home for his family. He eventually got back into a higher paying job and is slowly recovering from the years of hardship. And then he said something that really hit me…”Hey Dave, keep sending those motivational messages in your blog. It really helps, man.”

I felt humbled by that statement.  Here was this hard-working guy doing everything he can to take care of his family and claw his way back above the debt line.  He never gives up. He never complains. I didn’t even know he was going through all that. In my book, that is a heroic effort worth praising. (And he’s crediting me for a few words of encouragement typed into a blog.)

As I’ve stated here before, I don’t write Short Stories with a Point for any commercial purpose.  I share what helps me in the hope that it will help others. I assume that the few who speak up or write comments of appreciation represent a silent majority of readers who gain something and pass it on.  This motivates me to write even more.

So I will now address you directly, my silent majority friends.  Perhaps you are going through similar challenges as my buddy mentioned above.  You are clawing your way back out of a hole and choosing to keep trying until you’re breathing free again.  You love your family and friends and yourself too much to give up.  You are a fighter and I respect you for that. 

Through hard work and an incredible network of friends, I have been able to stay employed in this economy…  but it has not been easy. Not for a single day.  Whenever the environment shifts around me and new circumstances force me to adjust, I think back to the greatest moments of triumph in my life and remind myself that the person who climbed to those heights before is the same person I see in the mirror today. 

Your circumstances may have changed, but you haven’t.  Accept a new role that keeps you in the game or switch games entirely, but stay on the field… because you can’t make big plays from the sideline. 

Fight your way back.  We’re cheering for you.