Motivation — Page 51

MUDDERS

July 22, 2016 By ChuckBehrens 2 Comments

It was a Sunday morning. . .

more Sunday’s ago than I can actually calculate

but I was in college and tired of studying. . .

It was raining

and so I took the car when I normally would have walked the

few blocks to a Church

that was getting built next door to an old city mansion

where the Church

was now meeting until the building was completed.

The Parking Lot. . .

more of a muddy field was

u n m a n e u v e r a b l e

My first mistake

was that I actually tried getting out of the car

I sunk to my ankles in cold, wet mud

There were about a dozen men and a few woman standing on the porch

watching me

s i n k

and then push my

car

It took a while

NO O N E H E L P E D

or even yelled to offer.

I fell several times

and my clothes and shoes were more mud than cloth and leather.

I made it

In college,

I lived with my grandmother’s;

when she saw me and my mud covered car

she fumed

as I told her the story

and began stripping out of my mud caked clothes.

I’ll never forget what she said

after calling

the good Church folk

some not so kindly

Church folk names:

“Those bunch of hypocrites. . .that’s exactly why I don’t go to Church. . .”

I yelled over my shoulder as I was going down the basement steps to the Washer:

“and that’s exactly why I want to serve One. . .”

Since t h a t I can’t count

the times I’ve found myself in

one muddy field

after another

pushing

struggling

cursing

my way through

I don’t notice so much anymore

just who’s watching

who’s noticing

who’s just passively

observing

or actually turning the other way.

Sometimes

in all of that Mud

it’s even harder to figure out

really where I want

really what I want to

b e ?

And I can’t fathom

this is where I was meant to be

here

now

again

in the mud

in the not so pretty

in the not so acceptable

in the not so easy to get completely clean place. . .

And then

Sometimes, because it seems

like it happens in

blink-of-the-eye-quickness

I go from one

muddy place

to another

without having the opportunity

to even sprinkle off

A N D T H A T ‘ S W H E N I T H I T S M E

I am at

my absolute best

WHEN I AM AT MY MUDDIEST;

My Best

When I’m at my most uncleanest;

When I’m at my most Soiled-est;

When I’m at my most filthiest;

When I’m at my most dingiest;

When I’m at my most foulest;

because that’s where

the most people reside

right there

right there in the mud

pushing

struggling

cursing

their ways, too

It’s not so much that we help each other as it is

that we

N O T I C E

R E C O G N I Z E

don’t turn away from

s e e i n g

We are not alone

We are

M U D D E R S

one

and

all

in need of a shower

and finding

barely a random

s p r i n k l e

y e t being

g r a t e f u l

just the same. . . .

Your Graduation Speech

June 13, 2016 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

https://youtu.be/yupEq8Slb3s

The News isn’t good,

Class of 2016

The Word is

You won’t have five jobs. . .

You’ll have S I X Careers;

The Word is

Only 27% of you will actually get a job related to your major;

The Word is

You will greatly enhance and most likely increase very quickly the 43% of Americans who have significant debt due to your student loans and quickly adding up credit cards;

The Word is

n o t g o o d

Well. . .

Speaking of

W O R D S

Do you remember?

Do you remember the any single word or cleverly arranged phrases at your Graduation?

What’s the most memorable graduation speech you’ve ever heard?

One that happened whenever you graduated?

One from when one of your children or grandchildren graduated?

From a Movie?

One you’ve given yourself for any one of the ga-zillion

G R A D U A T I O N S

you’ve experienced in your personal life

from job to job

relationship to relationship

health to illness

year to year

life phase to life phase

life lesson to life lesson

life to life’s many different slow deaths

You’ve given the greatest Graduation Speeches the World has ever known

most of all without speaking one audible word.

S E L F — T A L K

will do that for you

without a syllable ever being uttered.

Do they match Robin Williams

from his movie
J A C K ?

They far exceed it

The most powerful words you’ve ever heard

aren’t those spoken to you during any Graduation Ceremony

but the ones you continually speak to yourself

because they’ll either have you

settling

exceeding

not the world’s expectations

or predictions

but the only ones that truly ever

c o u n t :

Y O U R S

Congratulations

Class of 2016

Go out and conquer the World :

Y O U R S

Make your Life

S P E C T A C U L A R

Make T H A T

Your Life’s Work

and the World will never be the Same

Y O U R S

. . . O U R S

The GREATEST

June 6, 2016 By ChuckBehrens 4 Comments

You’ll have to forgive me. . .

in fact, you might want to skip this all together. . .

it’s a long clip

and I wouldn’t be blame you if you didn’t watch this 11 minute clip of

Billy Crystal’s famous

15 ROUNDS

depicting the life of Muhammad Ali

on his 5oth Birthday.

He died the other day some 24 years later.

I’ve been a life-long fan of Ali

and met him one time

at the JACK CASINO

when it was then Higbee’s in 1988

Ali was promoting his new cologne,

A L I

I bought a bottle so I didn’t have to stand in a longer line of those

who didn’t buy a bottle of his cologne but still wanted to meet him.

He was up on a small stage that looked like an open end

of a boxing ring.

I didn’t know if it was the

Legend or the Man

that loomed so large in front of me.

He shook my hand with his

huge baseball mit of a hand

and asked me,

“WHAT DO YOU DO?”

I told him I was a minister. . .

“So am I,” he said. . .

“We both call our God’s by different names, but

H E I S O U R G O D”

We locked eyes for a brief moment

and I muttered out,

“Thanks, Champ.”

No. . .

it wasn’t

The G R E A T E S T

moment in my life

but it was a special one.

Ali’s truest fragrance wasn’t ever what he did in the ring

so much as what he did outside of the ring

being the truest kind of

Caring Catalyst

Who Cares

What Matters

. . . not for a profession

or a religious group

but for

o t h e r s

which is the best

r e l i g i o n

of all.

I’ll miss him

but will not grieve

what he’s done

or what will continue

because he made an all too brief visit

through the world

and made it a little better. . .

and inspired many

to do the same. . .

“I’ve made my share of mistakes along the way, but if I have changed even one life for the better, I haven’t lived in vain.” –Muhammad Ali

Running Home

February 19, 2016 By ChuckBehrens 2 Comments

SPRING TRAINING

That’s the greatest thing about February, isn’t it?

Forget about whether or not some Groundhog saw or didn’t see his Shadow. . .

You know it’s S P R I N G

. . .When Pitchers and Catchers and soon the rest of the ball clubs go to their respective Spring Training destinations and by the end of March, the first of April, we are into another Baseball season, AGAIN.

Who needs a Throw-Back Thursday, when you have the mentioning of Baseball and the new season that expels the Winter and begins the glorious Seasons of Spring, Summer,

B A S E B A L L

As a kid, it was soon to be the time of Baseball tryouts.

Charlie Anderson was one of the managers that helped run the tryouts; he was a manager himself. . .I was dating his daughter, Debbie.

I was a shoe in to make his team at third base, batting third in the line-up:

A Seventh grader’s dream. . . .

It all worked as a charm. . .in fact, it was storybook perfect;

ENCHANTING.

The season began with lots of chilly practices and muddy fields from melting snow or worse, those cold, soaked to the bone rainy practices and games.

[Read more…]

TWO WORDS

November 16, 2015 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

https://youtu.be/z3IVRys63x4

I’m Amazed

I’m Inspired

I’m Motivated

I’m Impressed

I’m Awed

I’m Shocked

I’m Intrigued

I’m Mesmerized

I’m Astounded

I’m Stunned

I’m Astonished

I’m Impelled

I’m Enlivened

I’m Invigorated

I’m Moved

I’m Incited

I’m Ashamed

I’m______________

I C A N

Going For IT

October 16, 2015 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

This past Monday night, Le’Veon Bell scored a Touchdown against the San Diego Chargers with time running out to win the football game. Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steeler coach decided with five seconds left not to be a prisoner of his fears and

THEY WENT FOR IT

Can you imagine how much he. . .they. . .would have been ridiculed if they wouldn’t have made the touchdown when they could have easily have tied the score and gone to overtime and taken their chances. . . ?

W A I T . . .

You’re not thinking this is about some football story, do you?

It’s about Me. . .it’s about You. . . .

When’s the last time

YOU WENT FOR IT ?

I remember when I was playing T-ball. . .

I was about 6 or 7 and I overheard my grandfather talking to maybe my parents or some other family members after one of my games and he said something about T-ball isn’t really baseball and all that I had to do is keep running after I hit the ball because no one could make a good enough throw to get me out. . . .

He was right. . .the only way that anyone could ever get me out, whether I hit the baseball out of the infield or not, was just keep running and only a perfect throw. . .a flawless play could ever get me off the bases.

I can’t remember many times when I just kept running. . .

WHEN I WENT FOR IT

that I got thrown out. . . .

THE LESSON :

When you go for it,

the pressure is more on somebody else more than yourself. . .

unless

. . .you’re the real

S O M E B O D Y E L S E

It’s how I ran 8 marathons,

It’s how I self-published RE-MEMBER–A MEMORY BOOK and THE CANDLE MAKER,

It’s how I’ve become a Professional Speaker in the National Speakers Association,

It’s how when I full-steam-ahead-never-look-back-never-say-quit-don’t-take-no-for-an-option-went-for-it

I N E V E R F A I L E D. . .

E V E R . . . .

So. . .seriously. . .

when was the last time you

all-out-chips-in-the-middle-of-the-table-went for it?

When was the last time

you didn’t

FEAR SUCCESS

more than you

FEAR FAILURE ?

If you can’t can’t remember

or even if you can recall. . .

even if

especially if

it’s been since you were 6 or 7

or just a few moments ago. . .

Pssssssssst of the Day:

IT’S TOO LONG

Hmmmmm of the Day:

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE !

Round the Bases. . .don’t stop. . .

GO FOR HOME

(YOU’RE SAFE)

DISCLAIMER: EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THIS. . .KNOW THAT I KNOW THIS. . .BET MY LIFE THAT I KNOW THIS. . .FOR THE LIFE OF ME. . .I ACT LIKE I DON’T KNOW THIS !

Marathoned

November 7, 2014 By ChuckBehrens 4 Comments

As I write this, it occurred to me, quite by accident, that it was THIRTY-ONE YEARS ago to the day that I ran my second of 7 1/2 marathons in 2:50:26–my best time ever, but not

B E S T enough.

My goal in running the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC was to qualify to run the Boston Marathon in that following April in 1984.

Uhhhh, you just don’t state your wish to run Boston, you have to qualify to do so. Do you know what was the qualifying time?

TWO HOURS, FIFTY MINUTES.

I was a WHOPPING TWENTY-SIX over the qualifying time.

I had to be a mere ONE SECOND faster per mile of that 26.2 mile race.

That was the closest I ever go to it.

I had an excuse–a huge EXEMPTION that was briefly heard and dismissed:

There were 10,000 runners that day of 45 degrees in an overcast and constant drizzle.

PERFECT FOR RUNNING A MARATHON (In my mind). . .

It took me, literally 10 full minutes to actually get to the starting line after they fired off the Howitzer to begin the race.

If you factor that 10 minute delay to even get to the starting line for me to begin all out running it was actually below an average 6:30 a mile pace.

I still remember that it was my perfect race.

The crowds that lined the streets and the Monuments that day were outstanding.

My legs never hurt.

My lungs were never gasping–I was never out of breath.

My body never became dehydrated.

My day. . .my Wish never realized.

I had to get something from my file drawer and when I opened up the bottom drawer there was my certificate looking up at me.

CHUCK BEHRENS FINISHED 410 out of 10,000 RUNNERS

and, and it wasn’t enough but it was everything.

When I heard from the governing board of the Boston Marathon after submitting my credentials/times/reason for coming up SHORT by 26 seconds, they sent their regrets and said that they couldn’t control ‘extenuating circumstances,’ and expressed their sincere sympathies and encouragement for my next attempt.

My next attempt came three months later in Pittsburgh, PA during a snow storm where I finished 5th at 2:52:33, well below my target time of 2:50.

I’ve often thought about THOSE 26 SECONDS.

So much can happen and so much CAN’T in 26 seconds.

Lives can be lived in such moments. . .and ARE!

I don’t regret THAT day or those Seconds. I so fully lived in THAT moment,

. . .was Awed by it,

N O T H I N G

Diminished it or took the polish from it.

I knew running those miles meant that there was nothing I couldn’t do. . .

That my WANT-TO

overcame my HAVE-TO and worse,

MY AFRAID-TO. . . .

It made the Difference THEN

and as I’ve pondered THOSE MOMENTS

over these past few moments,

looking at that faded Certificate–

IT STILL DOES!

Kind of makes a Moment,

Momentous.

Put a few of THOSE together–

YOU’VE GOT A L-I-F-E

(IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS)

The Alibi(S)

July 14, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Well?

Too Busy?

Too Bored?

Too Dumb?

Too Late?

Too Early?

Too Weak?

Too Poor?

Too Short?

Too Slow?

Too Preoccupied?

Too Tired?

Too Distracted?

Too Extended?

Too Infamous?

Too Misinformed?

Too Conceited?

Too Proud?

T O O. . .______________________

What’s your BLANK?

What’s your Alibi(S)?

What’s your Excuse (S)?

The greatest, most horrific problem with an Alibi–They’re highly contagious and severely TERMINAL!

There’s only one Cure for Alibi(S)

…Never Succumbing to a single one. . .

E V E R!

The Compassionate Competitor’s Chord

May 5, 2014 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Well, does it?

Does Competition bring out the best in you?

Does it make your Compassionate Chord ring out its best?

Just how Competitive are you?

I can’t play golf or bowl. It’s not that I don’t know how or that I haven’t, it’s just that I WILL NOT golf or bowl, because it brings out all Beast and nil to nary Beauty.

I mean that in all of its viciousness.

My best time EVER for running a marathon was the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. 1983 on a cool 45 degree rainy day. I ran it in 2:50.26 seconds.

I finished 286 out of 9987 runners that day. I didn’t even get to the starting line because of that vast crowd almost until six minutes AFTER the race began. I should be proud. Honored. Bragging about it….

The qualifying time to go to the Boston Marathon that year was 2 hours and fifty minutes. I missed it by 26 seconds. That averages out to 6 minute 29 second mile for 26.2 miles and I still needed to be a second faster per mile. I MISSED IT!

I swear. I never felt winded that day. My legs never hurt. I never hit The Wall. But I failed.

I NEEDED TO BE JUST ONE SECOND PER MILE FASTER…and I wasn’t.

Yes, I could have contested the race saying I wasn’t able to even reach the start line for 6 minutes…but in my heart, even if granted the allowance, I WOULD KNOW I WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH…and there’s been the dance of competition I’ve haggled with all of my life.

I compete with my self more fiercely than any one else. I don’t need a foe…I AM FOE to myself. I am constantly challenging myself to do more, be better, faster, more efficient, More, MOre, MORe, MORE,
M O R E!

And I never, ever settle. Never give in. Always looking for the next battle, challenge, competition, game.

What competitor’s song bounces within you? Does it’s notes haunt or taunt you? Are your striving to be better…even more than yesterday?

I have found that as destructive and sometimes as devastatingly disappointing this could be, it has taken me to new, higher levels when it comes to my Compassionate Ways.

Can I be more giving? Can I Care more? Can I listen more empathically? Can I be more accepting? Forgiving? Nurturing? Sharing? Loving?

When I compete with myself, DAILY, on these feats of the heart…can others gain, be better? Can I?

It’s then that these vicious musicians, duel madly within me, trying to OUT SOUND and gain Center Stage…but if the notes all work together for the good…this magnificent Symphony beautifully unfolds in a most magnificent way.

…hands get clapped, toes get tapped, faces wear smiles and the Music of the Soul bursts forth and OHHHH, how that pleases the Maestro…but NEVER ENOUGH! There’s more symphonies to be created and perfomred!

And on THAT NOTE…it’s time to begin again.

Buckle up!

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