Flashback:Underdog

ExhaustTheBody.ProceedTheMind.CultivateTheSpirit.

We sweat. We Bleed. Sometimes we even cry. The pursuit of performance is taking athletes and enthusiasts around the world to new levels of sacrifice.

 

In this day and age, with new discoveries in modern science with nutrition, sports, and health and fitness, serious athletes are educating themselves and working smarter and harder at every edge for an upper hand over the opposition.

 

Some people do it for the thrill of competition, the glory of victory; Some do it for physical fitness. But what about the people involved in sport that dont ever seem to win, people who never compete, or people who cant seem to achieve personal goals because of bad scheduling, bad genetics, or a lack of access to available resources. These are the people that never had their hand raised in victory, never stood on a pedestal, never received a medal, or even a pat on the back for a job well done. What keeps us going?

 

The competition is only getting better as we are getting older. The guys who were schooling us yesterday are getting schooled today and that winning pedestal we’ve been dying to stand on seems to be getting further and further. Do we shrink from the challenge or rise to the occasion?

 

 The hard-fought path to victory or even unvictory brings value and merit far beyond medals or trophies .  Diligent training, perseverance, and  the conscious will to improve take us to new and previously unimaginable levels in not only body but more importantly in mind and in effect, spirit. Realizing this teaches us that the victory over ourselves can be as important as, if not more so, than victory over others.

 

So for those of us who aren’t the best at what we do, Lets bring to the spotlight,

the discipline to be discovered in sacrifice, the commitment to find in goal-setting, and the humility to be blessed with in defeat.

 

Some of us may never be the best , but hard training, diligence, and sacrifice brings harvest for both winners and losers. It is important that we see, appreciate, and celebrate the spirit, in victory or defeat, we cultivate through self-perseverance.

 

 

Everything seems to be so competitive today.  Remarkable super athletes seem to be growing on trees. They are genetically gifted, naturally talented, well-trained, focused, and financially funded. They have managers, fitness and nutrition consultants, they diet, take supplements and get proper rest and recovery. And for some, this is just high school.

 

 

Realize that the number of Champions far outnumbers the number of participants. The odds truly stand against us. True, there is great value to become part of this elite, and there are also great lessons found in victory over others but ultimately it’s the path to and  the commitment and sacrifice to get to that destination, that eventually can reveal to be, in itself, the greatest destination.

 

The majority of us might never become champions. The majority of us might never get famous for all the hours and days and years of sacrifice and commitment. Some of us might never even win a match, a game, a contest, etc…But don’t let this deny you fruits of hard labor.

 

The opposition is working really hard today to deny you of the win. But remember Ultimately, only you can deny yourself self-victory. Work hard. Train like a Madman. Reap the fruits that you sew.

 

Exhaust the Body. Proceed the Mind. Cultivate the Spirit.

 

 

1008:CaughtOnTape

Wooooooo-hooooooo!

1008:CaughtOnTape

Blessing1008:FokaiIreland

Happy 1008 form Fokai IRELAND . Frontside Blunt Slide by : Nikky O’keefe aka Likky O’keefe

10 08 09

1008

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Ariz. woman finds taxi driver is a kidney match

Donor cabbie says giving the organ is a ‘whole new kind of lift’

	Rita Van Loenen, of Gilbert, Ariz., left, sits with Thomas Chappell, of Phoenix, at her kidney dialysis treatment appointment, in Tempe, Ariz. Chappell, a local taxi driver who had been driving Van Loenen to her dialysis appointments, shocked her a month ago by offering to donate his kidney to her.  View related photos
Ross D. Franklin / AP

 

Video: Wonderful World

updated 2:19 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2009

PHOENIX – Rita Van Loenen had no idea that a trip in Thomas Chappell’s taxi cab could end up being the ride that saves her life.

“There are better odds of getting struck by lightning,” Van Loenen said. “A random taxi driver offering to give me his kidney and all these pieces match. There has to be something behind this. How can this be?”

Chappell, who has been driving Van Loenen to dialysis appointments, shocked the Gilbert, Ariz., woman a month ago by offering to donate his kidney. But even more shocking to her was that doctors found they had the same blood type, that they were compatible.

 ”He calls me all excited. If we were a closer match, we would’ve been siblings. I was ready to fall off the floor,” Van Loenen said.

The Phoenix taxi driver said he was a man of faith and that a higher power wanted him to step in.

“By then, me and the good Lord already had a talk. He said ‘Tom, you go give her one. It will work,” Chappell said.

Diagnosed with kidney disease
Last year, Van Loenen, an instructor in special-education methods, began feeling ill and experiencing water retention in her legs. She went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with kidney disease. With kidney failure setting in, friends and family were tested but there was no match.

In February, she received her cousin’s kidney but that transplant failed. One day, Van Loenen, 63, found herself telling Chappell, 56, about how her son was now going to get tested. Chappell decided to add his name to the list.

“I said ‘Rita, your son’s a whole lot younger than me. He’s got a lot more years. I’m gonna go down and go through the process and see if it will work.’ I don’t think she really believed I was going to.”

The gesture evoked tears of gratitude from Loenen but she was still skeptical.

“A little bit in my heart I didn’t believe it. He said ‘give me the number’ and I have transplant number at Mayo (Clinic in Scottsdale) memorized.”

The two first met more than three months ago. It wasn’t an auspicious beginning.

Chappell was half an hour late picking Van Loenen up for a dialysis appointment.

“When I got there she was not happy,” Chappell said. “And I can understand it now. She’s sick and all these things she goes through … The next day, it just so happens I got her again.”

‘A whole new kind of lift’
Since then he has — and he insists it is by happenstance — been her taxi driver three to four times a month. For the last month, Chappell has started undergoing the arduous process of donor screening, undergoing numerous tests and exams. But none of it has brought second thoughts.

“This has put a whole new kind of lift in my boots. I never knew what it felt like to give somebody life and that’s what I’m doing,” Chappell said.

Van Loenen said Chappell never asked for any compensation. She still can’t quite believe his level of commitment.

“I’ve never known anybody so enthusiastic to get a body part removed,” Van Loenen said.

After the transplant, which hasn’t been scheduled yet, Chappell will need to tread carefully. He will have to rest between four and six weeks but his work has promised to cover his lost wages.

 

 

Click for related content

 

Mo. woman donates kidney to her neighbor

“I’ve had drivers do some pretty incredibly amazing things for no charge. But this is just over the top,” said Jim Hickey, national sales and marketing director for the company that owns VIP Taxi. “We’re just so proud of him.”

Van Loenen said that, thanks to Chappell, she can actually make plans for the future.

“Whenever I tell my friends or my family, they just find it so incredible,” Van Loenen said. “They do call him an angel. My friend says there’s angels everywhere. That’s the right way to capture it.”

RiseToTheOccasion: FokaiIndustriesAndInternationalClothing

in Bali now without a current picture to prove it available. But wantted to keep tings roling for the few and/or the proud that give time to visit this blog–er website. Here int he land of VoodooMagic, and gotta say that its an intimidating place for any company that cares to make its way forward in international clothing. PowerBrands like Quiksilver, Volcom, Rip Curl, and Billabong seem to dominate here but intheir shadows lies heaps of quality and great looking apparel that could either make or break ambitions. Fashion moves like you wouldnt believe here and the constant influx from visitors around the globe in pursuit inthis industry leads its way to quality comparison. But in this light Fokai takes all as constructuve critcism and we find inspiration in theswe international labels not becasue of what they do as indiviual brands; but of what is made available to the consumer. The consumer is ta good part of the gasoline that makes most struggling labels run–and in our case run strong. Fokai is making some moves these days larger than previously anticipated and as an oath to our loyal customer–to the extended family, We will work to bring you the next level in quality, design, and most imprtantly–label integritty.Thank you endlessly for all your support. INthe words of Fokai indays past–ProgressiveThreadsForAggressiveTimes.

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