“No one has ever drowned in sweat.” (Lou Holtz) Coach Holtz has a way with words when it comes to motivating people. Can you think of others who have been great motivators? John Kennedy comes to mind as he gave his inaugural speech. “Ask not what your country can do for you…” The right use of words is a gift. ;-) Jack
FROM L.K. IN OHIO: ...just as the right use of our ears is also a good thing. God gifts both speaker and listener.
FROM GOOD DEBT JON IN OHIO: Interesting note on Kennedy’s speech you quoted below (he used a lot of ghost writers, here and in Profiles of Courage). Kennedy gets a lot of accolades for “his” clever words. It was actually a twisting of a Kahlil Gibran article, in Arabic titled The New Frontier. It said, “Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you, or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country? If you are the first you are a parasite; if the second then you are an oasis in the desert (Galles, 2007).” Politicians who abuse their positions to benefit themselves and their friends are clearly parasites. But applying “ask what you can do for your country” to citizens instead of politicians turns America’s founding upside down. Advancing the general welfare means advancing the welfare of individuals that comprise our country. But asking citizens to sacrifice for the country, especially when the government is misleadingly used as the proxy for America, implies we were made for the government’s benefit, rather than it for ours (Galles). Gary Galles, is a professor of economics at Pepperdine University.
MORE FROM JON: It's when we start working together that the real healing takes place, ... It's when we start spilling our sweat, and not our blood.” David Hume
FROM P.H. IN MINNESOTA: Korey Stringer (Minnesota Viking) died from a lack of sweat and heat stroke...still a very sad story...
FROM MOLINER, J.T.: Yes. My mother (Agnes) said, "You can". Short but powerful.
FROM B.S. NEAR ORLANDO: Lou Holtz sounds like Unc John, He used to boost me in the hinney with his hoe, and say to me ( as I looked down the row of corn to see if I could see the end of the row and freedom ) " never mind, when we get to the end, we just have to turn around and head back on a new row". Talk about a workaholic.
2 comments:
I think Kelly Fryer at the Synod Assembly was a pretty good motivator. It was because she kept reminding us of what first century Christianity looked like and God worked so strongly through those people, He can use us too if we let Him.
Human history has recorded many great motivators, such as Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, and Mahatma Gandhi. To human discredit, too many bad motivators have come along with the good ones...namely, Adolf Hitler, Mao Tse-tung, William J. Simmons, and Jim Jones.
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