The Best Things in Life
“The best things cost the most.”-Coach Thomas and Coach Kerns
As I contemplated this quote, I was drawn to what Coach was saying. The finer things in life to Coach had little to do with economic capacity. Instead, he spoke about athletic achievement, character, integrity, honesty, hard work, pride, family, faith, and community. The “best” things were achieving team goals, lifting more weight, sitting down with a happy family, and guarding one’s integrity in all things. Just like the material things that cost a lot of money, the “best” things are well-made, have great benefits to ourselves and others, and are enduring.
We know how much a Mercedes Benz costs, but what is the price of integrity? What is the price of character? It would seem very little, until it is lost. I would offer that the “cost” of the “best” things is higher than any price on a material object. Building integrity, character, honesty, family, faith, and community costs a lot in terms of personal sacrifice, selfish ambition, and disciplined effort.
Coupled with this concept is a phrase I heard often when being pushed past physical barriers. “What price are you willing to pay to be great?” Are you willing to make the hard choices, to push past barriers, to make the right decision when the wrong decision is easier? Are you willing to go up the hill one more time? Are you willing to go to bed early and skip the party? Are you willing to spend time with your family instead of recreational time? Are you willing to do what is right, regardless of the cost, in order to be great?
Too often we seek the path of least resistance. We tend to go along with the crowd and seek what is easy. We will sacrifice our integrity pursuing the wrong things and never think about what the “best” things in life really are. The “best” things are those things that endure after you gone. The lessons taught, the lives affected, the company that will be missed. When we lost Coach Thomas we did not lose material things, we lost a mentor, friend, father, and coach that challenged us to pay the price for the “best” things in life. Fortunately, he left us with the ability to explore, uphold, and extend the legacy beyond the span of his lifetime. That is the “BEST” thing and its price is immeasurable.
Are you willing to pay the price to build a legacy of integrity, achievement, family, faith, and character? We all fall short in all of these areas, just like we don’t always make the best play in every moment of athletic competition. However, are we willing to pay the price to seek to be better every day? Evaluate your circumstances and realize that the price you pay today in terms of the decisions you make can result in obtaining the “best” things in life. Define the “best” things in life and pay the price to achieve them.
The Choice of Company
“I will stick with those that push me up the hill, not those that drag me down. The choice of company is mine.”
-Coach Thomas and Coach Kerns
There is a small, but steep hill that borders the baseball field on which Coach Thomas held practice. Across the street there is a longer slope running from the road to the tennis courts and the Sacred Acre. Both hills were, and I assume still are, utilized heavily in conditioning drills for track and football. I loved the short, steep hill. It required great explosion for a short time and getting down was easy as gravity brought you back to the start. I hated the long slope because it required disciplined strides over a long stretch and became harder with each step. Getting back to the start required effort as well. However, both were equally adept at conditioning an athlete.
As I considered the quote above, I immediately thought of those hills. What if someone was pulling on my jersey as I tried to go up that hill? At times, Coach Kerns would harness us to a tractor tire and make us run up the short, steep hill. The tire made it hard, and as exhaustion set in, it could pull you down the hill. When you were pulled down the hill it resulted in a tangled mass of limbs, nylon cords, pads, and hard rubber. In other words, it would take more effort to get out of the mess at the bottom than it would have to pull it to the top!
We all have hills to climb, right? Some are a product of our circumstances, some are self-made. Personally, I specialize in the self-made variety. So, when faced with a “hill,” how do we get up and over it? Many times, getting up the “hills” requires help from others. It could be a coach pushing you to achieve and get over the hill, or it could be a close friend with wise counsel on overcoming an obstacle in your life. But, invariably there are those that do not offer help, but instead pull against you and drag you back down in to the heap at the bottom of the hill. Bad advice, selfish urging, outright obstruction, getting you to stay still when you should move forward are all ways people can drag you down.
Today, consider your “hills.” Who or what is pushing you up, and who or what is dragging you down? To Coach Thomas and Coach Kerns the answer was simple – cut what holds you back, and embrace what propels you forward. Life can be more complicated than that – but maybe it isn’t – maybe it is that simple. Also, consider your role in helping others with their “hills.” Are you dragging them down, offering no assistance at all, or are you pushing them up and over?
The key word in the above quote, and in many of Coach’s quotes, is “choice.” We make a choice to move up the “hill” and we make a choice to be dragged down. Make the choice to run up your “hill,” with assistance, with effort, and to bring others with you.
