Hard Work

Hard Work

Hard work. Not a term you hear much about anymore. No, what is popular is free. Free tuition, free medical care, free housing, free just about anything.  I am not sure when we turned the corner to think that anything was free. It’s nice to dream about having everything you want. But that’s all it is a dream. Nothing in this world is free, never has been, never will be. Someone will pay for free things. The glamor of free is enticing right? Getting what you want without working for it? But what’s the point of it all if everything comes free? Once everything is provided for you what challenges lay ahead? Why even bother living? That may seem harsh but without a hard-fought victory, what is the point of doing nothing for something? I don’t see the point of having to do nothing for everything.  The best times of my life, the times ingrained in my memory, my DNA were times I fought hard for something. When no one owed me anything, and I took nothing and made something out of it. I want to live those times over again forever! When someone gave me something for free that I did not deserve, it was difficult to really understand why. It was disturbing to me that if I got something I did not deserve that someone else was forced to give it to me.  From an early age, I was taught that you had to work hard for what you wanted. No matter how little talent or gifts you had, if you worked hard enough, you could accomplish anything. I guess that’s why I really liked Dan Issel of the Denver Nuggets. Here was a guy, that freely admitted that he had no talent, no special skills, no special privileges. It was often noted that Dan was not fast, did not have the physical abilities to excel in this sport, was not strong nor had much of a vertical leap, yet, he did really well in the NBA--why was that?  Hard work was his gift.  He was one of the most durable players in basketball history, missing only 24 games in 15 seasons, a feat that earned him his nickname, "the Horse." His hardworking style of play was legendary in the state of Kentucky. Few remember him, but I do! Dan Issel remains the all-time leading scorer at the University of Kentucky and second all-time for the NBA's Denver Nuggets and the American Basketball Association itself. Upon his retirement from the NBA in 1985, only Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Julius Erving had scored more professional points. For you that watch basketball, Wilt the Stilt, “The Jabber,” and Dr. J (Julius Ervin), were the greatest basketball players of their time.   I still think if there were only 3 seconds on the clock and you were down by one, who would you give the ball to, and it would not be Jordan, but for me it would be either Dr. J, Wilt Chamberlin or Dan Issel. Sorry, but they were about delivery and not showmanship. Dan Issel use to relate that he had no special skills, and early on saw that he had no talent either. He thought, if I am to excel at this sport, then I need to be the hardest working Center in the league. Well in fact that is what Dan did. No one on the planet worked harder than Dan. In fact if you were to look at the records of when the Denver Nuggets played against the Los Angles Lakers, you would find that Dan Issel had the best record of anyone ever in the NBA of shutting down the legendary Kareen Abdul-Jabar. Kareem won more championships, played more seasons, played in more playoff games and played in more all-star games, but it was Dan Issel that shut down Kareem more than any player on the planet. Dan made it his mission to shut down the power centers. Kareem was his special project. Dan did this by working harder than anyone else in the league.   Hard work! No one gave him any of his shots, Dan was beat to the ground many times but rose up every time to meet the challenge. I have often reflected on my best days. They were not days where things fell into place, days where I was given what I needed without deserving it-- no the best days were ones where I had to slug through the obstacles, where challenges seemed insurmountable, where I was sore at the end of the day. They were days where I accomplished something on my own. Days were no one was around to see what I just did. Days where I knew I gave it all. Not all were winning days. In the end they were days where I knew I gave everything I had and no matter the outcome, I KNEW I WAS A WINNER! Even if the outcome was not favorable, I felt a deep and everlasting pride (in a good way) that I gave it all. I had accomplished something! That feeling is priceless and lasts forever, it changes you.  There is no free. Don't believe the lies. Work hard for what you need, that is the answer Be ashamed if you are given something you did not deserve only because someone else piti’s  you. Beware of people that want to give you a free gift—nothing is free in this life they will either take it from someone else or demand later loyalty from you.  There is only one source of free in the entire universe, and that is Grace from God, anything else will have a catch or come at the expense of someone else.