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April 13 - April 22, 2019
Some folks are just born with it, and to prove they have it, they never admit defeat or show weakness.
And why do some people reach their potential despite the obstacles in their path while others just as talented do not?
One school of thought maintains that success in the face of staggering odds requires a potent combination of self-control and “grit.”
Years later when I contacted Dr. Myers to discuss the cheating accusation, he was reluctant to talk about it, regarding it as a deeply personal episode that he’d put behind him. Yet he conceded that he had considered me guilty of the charge. Regardless of whether I used it or not, I had received advance information about the exam. The question for him, he said, had been what to do about it. He felt there was no appropriate sanction, at least not among the harsh sentences that were being proposed. I had made a grave mistake that day by not leaving the room, but he was not going to let that
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The coaches allowed it because they knew they could count on me to hold on to the passes thrown to me in closely fought games.
Of the roughly 70,000 young men who play college football on any given year, only about 330 are chosen to attend.
“One of the many failings of the NFL combine that tests prospective draft picks in physical measures is that arm length is not taken into account in the measure of strength,” Epstein writes, for example. “Bench press is much easier for men with shorter arms, but longer arms are better for everything on the actual football field.”
“stress-induced analgesia”—the brain’s temporary blocking of pain in stressful situations—with what happens to athletes in competition, which is why it’s imperative to have referees there to stop the play. The brain temporarily blocks the pain to accomplish what the person needs to get done.
“I’m as good as anybody, but no better,”
“Yes, Miss Nichols, I am that Trekkie,” King told her. “I’m a Star Trek fan.” Star Trek, King said, was one of the only shows that he and Coretta would let their small children stay up late to watch, largely due to the fact that the role of the ship’s communications officer was played by a black woman. Nichols thanked King for the compliment. She also told him she was leaving the show. Nichols later, during an interview with the Washington Post, recalled King’s reaction. “He said something along the lines of, ‘Nichelle, whether you like it or not, you have become a symbol. If you leave, they
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stressed for me to work hard, have fun, and share the ball.
“once we stop exploring, as a civilization we will fail.”
odds of a high school player getting into the NFL are about 0.2 percent.
Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, has produced some of the most intriguing thinking on success. She maintains that what you believe about your capabilities has a great deal to do with whether you will ever succeed. It all comes down to mind-set, she says. I think I have always fallen into the mind-set camp, before it was even labeled that. People with a growth mind-set believe their most basic abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication. This view creates an appreciation for learning that is essential for achieving anything great.
most great success is the result of something called deliberate practice and develops over time, often years and years.
Frank Culbertson was high above us. He had just completed routine physical exams of the crew of the International Space Station when the flight surgeon down in Houston shared the grim news. Frank suddenly had the odd distinction of being the sole American not on Earth during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“My son is gone,” David’s father had said to me. “There’s nothing you can do to bring him back, but the biggest tragedy would be if we don’t continue to fly in space to carry on their legacy.”
“This cause of exploration and discovery is not an option we choose; it is a desire written in the human heart,”
are that part of creation which seeks to understand all creation. We find the best among us, send them forth into unmapped darkness, and pray they will return. They go in peace for all mankind, and all mankind is in their debt.”
However, my favorite entry simply reads, “Taking extravagant pleasure in being alive.”
It’s best to experience life as fully as possible while you have the time, health, and opportunity.
“Fate looked down kindly on us when she chose Neil to be the first to venture to another world and to have the opportunity to look back from space at the beauty of our own,” Cernan said during his eulogy. “No one, but no one, no one would have accepted the responsibility of his remarkable accomplishment with more dignity and more grace than Neil Armstrong. He embodied all that is good and all that is great about America.”
Bill Clinton delivered the much-anticipated keynote. While stressing the importance of the arts and sciences, he suggested that youngsters growing up in tough neighborhoods could also be especially equipped to succeed. “A lot of them are unusually alert to their surroundings at a very young age,” Clinton said. “The observational powers they need to survive on the streets are the same they need to apply in class.”
“Sometimes when you don’t believe in yourself, other people do,” I said, “and they give you a second chance.”
