The Art of Never Giving Up

                Welcome back! It’s May 1^st and today we’ll experience our “favorite” Midwest phenomenon … the air conditioning and furnace running in the space of a single day. The last few days have given us a sweet taste of spring/summer with beautiful, sunshiny days with temps in the 80’s. Unfortunately, it was all too short-lived and, tonight, the furnace will be turned back on as the weather gurus predict “measurable snow” for our area.

                I’ve written about the correlation between sports and business before … they’re almost one in the same. However, while the sun shone and the flowers bloomed outside, I had a first-hand lesson inside about how we adults can learn from the single-minded determination of young athletes. How, when the chips are down, we can all dig deep and end up higher and farther than we ever thought possible.

                A little scenery? The Industrial Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, 18 volleyball courts filled with hundreds of players and each court fringed by proud, nervous parents, siblings and loved ones nervously watching and cheering on every point scored by their team or groaning and shouting encouragement for plays missed and points lost. We would either gnaw on our knuckles or absent-mindedly munch on hot chocolate chip cookies by the bucket not knowing how things would turn out and how our

first-time Regional players would react at the end of it all.

The Attack 123-Black’s didn’t have a good Saturday morning. In fact, they lost more games than they won. You could see their drooping shoulders and frustrated expressions as they struggled time after time to come together as a team. We all thought we were destined for a pretty short weekend by the time lunch break rolled around. The parents talked among themselves about the girls gaining experience for next year and lessons learned; and about how to help them recover from their loss.

But while the parents commiserated, something happened within the team itself during that lunch. The girls sat in a circle on the floor, played The Cup Song, goofed and giggled and spent time just being 12-year-old girls. When lunch was over, they lined up for their next match … and split it (won one, lost one and won the tie-breaker)! The next match was even better – they won the match in two games! The third match of the afternoon had them splitting again (this time losing the tie) but the point spread was so close that they actually qualified to move on in the tournament! The pizza and swimming party that night was a sight to behold … laughing, giggling and experiencing the pure joy of just being there.

Sunday dawned bright and beautiful. And we had a different team on our hands! The energy had changed completely! Their first match was the best playing they had done all season long. Teamwork, energy, determination, focus … it was all there. Play after play. Point after point. They won handily. Match 2 was more of the same although they split the games. But with those wins, the unbelievable happened … they qualified for the quarter-finals at the bronze level! Our thought of taking our tired crew home at noon flew out the window as we waited for our next game. You could see the parents, who had pretty much given up, start getting nervous as they realized that the girls were actually moving up.

The quarter-finals were a lesson in nail-biting agony and yet the grown-ups all seemed to take an unconscious lesson from the girls’ book … they started acting silly and having fun. More and more, you’d hear the “WhooOOoooo” of the parents as they did the wave each time a point was made. Lost points had parents screaming encouragement and silently praying that the next play would be a success. The eruption of joy when they won; the high fives, the dancing on the court, the hugs from parents and the pride of spectators, players and coaches alike was a site to behold. But immediately following that win came … the semi-finals.

By the time they walked onto the court, the seven 12-year-old girls (and one 9-year-old) had been at the auditorium either playing, reffing/scorekeeping or waiting for their next game for 16 hours over the course of the two days. They were hot, exhausted, excited … and, once again, determined. They lined up opposite a team out of their pool that they had won and lost against a few times over the course of the weekend. And they played their hearts out. Serve after serve, set-up and spike after set-up and spike, point after point – for and against – they didn’t quit. They didn’t stop. They didn’t give up. Those eight girls who had risen from second-to-last place to play in the semi-finals of their very first State Tournament showed the hearts of lions and the grace of champions.

Can all of us say we would do the same? Can we take that heart, that confidence of our abilities and never give up until we meet with our own success? Can we take those rejection letters, missed opportunities and unanswered email-queries and turn them into lessons to apply to the next proposal? Through perseverance, hard work, exhaustion and sheer determination, we are ALL capable of success. Maybe it won’t be this month or even this year … but there are countless opportunities that will come in the months and years to come. And, by taking notice of our own Attack 123-Black teams, we can find the same fortitude they did … and ALL come out winners in the end!

 

Amy Thompson Editing provides editing, proofreading and copywriting services to businesses and authors to help make their work shine. For more information about how I can help make your work shine, visit www.amythompsonediting.com.

There's Scrooge, Scrooge ... And Then There's Scrooge

Why Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite, can't-miss stories of the Christmas Season

Not counting stage productions, how many film and television versions of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol have there been? The Big Guy and I tried to count them up one night and we got as far as six for film versions and 13 that were made for television — including the cartoon varieties like The Flintstones, Sesame Street and Bugs Bunny. In all actuality, there were 22 film adaptations and at least 37 for radio and television (IMDb). Boggles the mind, doesn’t it? Add in the stage versions and every television series in history that has probably adapted it in one way or another  and I’d wager that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol ranks as one of the most covered classics of all time.

I’m sure psychologists have had a field day with the appeal of this story. A quick Google search of Psychological Theses Dickens’ A Christmas Carol brought in a modest 9,040,000 results. Really? Then again, Ebenezer Scrooge would be a playground for analyzing the human psyche. As one entry relates, “With A Christmas Carol, Dickens hopes to illustrate how self-serving, insensitive people can be converted into charitable, caring, and socially conscious members of society through the intercession of moralizing quasi-religious lessons.” (http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/section6.rhtml) Or another article goes so far as to use Scrooge to illustrate actual disorders like Post Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED) and Chronic Depressive Disorder. (Dr. Stephen A. Diamond, Psychology Today, December 20, 2011)

Sounds impressive and, as 9,040,000 entries illustrate, the story and Scrooge have been analyzed ad naseum. Me? I just know I love the story.

Perhaps it’s the underlying theme I find of redemption or the idea that, regardless of your past, the future is wide open and available for all who choose to grab on to the positive. Or, maybe, it’s just the pure joy that Scrooge experiences on Christmas morning when he realizes that he didn’t miss the day after all and happiness is truly within his grasp. There is rarely a time that I watch Alastair Sim jump on the bed in elation or George C. Scott throw open the window to call down to the boy to run to the butcher’s that I don’t end up with tears in my eyes.

But despite all the movies, despite all the television shows and despite all the animated versions, I’d like to tell you about my favorite “Scrooge” of all. He wasn’t famous (at least outside our little neck of the woods), he wasn’t rich and he was undoubtedly one of the most influential teachers I ever had.

        His name is Dick Boyd. He was a Language Arts instructor by trade … and by vocation … and I had the privilege of being in his class in seventh and eighth grades. I remember how he scared the bejeebers out of me the first year I had him -- with his graying hair and thick, bushy eyebrows -- and eyes that knew as soon as you slouched in your seat whether you had done your homework or not. But there was something else, a love that I think I recognized even then but certainly appreciate today, a love of language and of the written word. Whether through the stories we read or the papers we wrote, he taught us that words mean things … and how we put those words together was important. Even today when I edit a project, I can hear his voice saying, “and you think that semi-colon goes there, why?” He was an essential part of my education. Whatever seed he planted has become my vocation and, for that, I will be forever grateful to him.

 
      But there was another side to Mr. Boyd. You see, he brought Ebenezer Scrooge to life for school children and families in the Omaha area for 29 years at the Omaha Community Playhouse. I can’t tell you the first time I saw the play except that it was in junior high after I had had him for at least one year. But I do know that I saw him a half-dozen times in the time since. And my memories of his performance from the first time to the last are all of a man who loved that role, who relished Scrooge’s journey into happiness and celebrated with Scrooge at the end of each performance the exultation of new-found joy.

Dick Boyd retired from the role on December 22, 2005 at the age of 83. At that time, he found some fame with stories about him in USA Today, ABC World News Tonight, and in every local station and regional newspaper (although the local and regional were probably old hat by that time). During his career as “Our Scrooge”, he appeared in over 800 performances … and never missed a performance. I tried to find, to no avail, the news story I once read where his understudy said it was the best role he never got to play.

I ran into Mr. Boyd not too long ago at a local store. He was a little stooped and moved a little slower, but there was no missing his sparkling eyes or his voice that had once made me cringe in my seat when he would call on me in class. As one of thousands of students who had passed through his classroom, he didn’t remember me of course, but I’m glad I got to speak with him for a few moments and express to him my thanks … for the way he taught and for the happy memories he provided with his performance. And I got to share with him the fact that my husband and I were passing on the love of A Christmas Carol and Ebenezer Scrooge to our children.

Regardless of which version of the story you prefer … be it “The Muppets Christmas Carol” or the newer versions with Patrick Stewart or Jim Carrey … A Christmas Carol embodies the spirit of the season:

Joy          Hope          Love           Nostalgia          Exultation

With humble thanks, I wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Giving Thanks!

            There’s a “craze” that has hit Facebook the last couple of years called “30 Days of Being Thankful”. Every day starting on November 1^st, a person shares one thing for which they are grateful.

I’ve been trying to do it myself and, I’ll admit, after the first several days, it’s been harder than I thought it would be. I mean, in the beginning you show how grateful you are for your mom, dad, grandparents, siblings, spouse, kids, friends, a gorgeous fall day, the Haagen-Dazs Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ice Cream in the freezer … then what? 

Well, then you have to actually stop and think.

I’ve said from time to time that if I didn’t have bad luck, I would have no luck at all (of course, most of those occasions happened at the blackjack table, but I digress). But it’s been a rough few years for my family and it was all topped off with my being “downsized” in 2011. That was followed by a solid year of looking for a job to no avail and the realization that times were going to be hard for a while.

But in thinking about the past year, I found myself NOT feeling sorry for myself but rather somewhat amazed at what HAS been accomplished and all that I have to be thankful for ...

1.      I’ve had the opportunity to realize one of my dreams to be a stay-at-home mom for the younglings. I have loved being able to get them off to school, pick them up after their day (although I must admit that there have been times when writing 90-page federal grants seemed like a cakewalk by comparison), and best yet, a summer of swimming and just goofin’ and having fun.

2.      I've learned a lot about a lot of different businesses during my job search … and realized that I’m still not “corporate” material.

3.      I’ve been able to accept a part-time position at my church which allows me to finally be able to give back in a small way some of what they’ve provided to me and my family over my lifetime.

4.      And, most importantly, Amy Thompson Editing was born! AT Editing has been an official entity for five months and, in that time, I’ve been able to edit a website, edit blog entries for others, create a couple of websites, work on marketing materials for several businesses and FINALLY edit my first (of many I hope) Young Adult Novel.

 

So, in the spirit of the “30 Days of being Grateful” … I would like to say that I am so very grateful for the clients of Amy Thompson Editing who have jumped on board and allowed me to help them make their projects shine! Your confidence in me and the success of your projects and companies is what makes it worth all of the late hours and the self-imposed stress of making sure I didn’t miss that one comma in the middle of Page 174 that shouldn’t be there. 

Thank you all and I hope you all have a Happy, Healthy, and Shiny Thanksgiving!