I know I've been posting about the road to success and the strategies to become the best possible self. Although, none of this will be achieved if your core values and ethics are not solidified. And I believe APPRECIATION is the most important... Until you are aware that every person in your life has played a part in who you've become, and that you would be nowhere without your support system, you WILL NOT SUCCEED. Plain and simple... ZERO...
Appreciation means gratitude, care, and respect... I think it is the real root and foundation of the fantastic people of the past and present, and the people we aspire to be.
Now I don't know if your purpose in this world is to be the best athlete you can be or the wealthiest person in the world... No matter what level of success and ambition you aspire to achieve, a simple world called "THANK YOU" will take you a long way... I truly believe every human being does feel a sense of appreciation for the opportunities and blessings they possess... But I don't think it is conveyed in a meaningful manner it deserves to be as it has lost its true power and meaning. For example, if a friend of yours grabs a book for you, the initial instinct you have would be "Thank you!" It is not the use of the word Thank you, and how it is incorrectly used, but how it is now an instinct or courtesy held on a societal level.
Director of IMG Academy Golf, Kevin Craggs, told us a very moving story on the day that he introduced himself as director. Captain Charles Plumb, a US navy Jet pilot who was shot down during the Vietnam war and fell into enemy hands for six years. Well, Captain Plumb was sitting in a restaurant years after the war, and from across the room, a man yelled, "Are you, Captain Charles Plumb?" Captain Charles Plumb turns his head, and a man runs up to him, asking if he was the man who was a top gun in the US Navy who got shot down and fell into enemy hands for six years during the Vietnam War. Captain Charles Plumb, in astonishment, asks, "Yes, why do you know this?" The man answers back, "I was the one who packed your parachute." In awe, Captain Charles plumb thanks the man with the utmost gratitude and realized that he would not be where he is if the man had not made the parachute with perfect precision and accuracy. If a single stitch was loose or the craftsmanship was even slightly poor, Captain Charles Plumb's life would have come to an end.
Who Packs Your Parachute & The Triumph of an Ordinary Man - Charlie Plumb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwwukHh_4yA
Now people fail to realize these small things and realize that their lives are an accumulation of their blood, sweat, and tears, but of many others. Let's take aspiring athletes... Do you guys know the work and meticulous attention to detail that groundskeepers have to go through to maintain the field or facility in tip-top shape? The early morning they have to wake up to mop the gym floors, so no one slips and gets injured? Or even Janitors... The amount of time and effort they have to put in to clean up after people who can't throw away their own trash. Then why do I see forks, lids, napkins, and waste all over campus and in the cafeteria? Are you thankful by giving them more work than necessary? Now amazing, hardworking, and dedicated human beings that didn't have the opportunity like us put every day of their lives into cleaning up after us and making sure we have no excuse in the opportunity that we have been given. They are not shown enough gratitude...
Instead of just saying thank you like you always do, stop for a moment and ask how their day is going and telling them thank you for all the hard work they put in, and how this does not go unnoticed. That will truly lighten up their day as I don't think many of them have even heard a thank you like that. Respect them, care for them, and be thankful...
THIS APPLIES TO EVERY SINGLE THING...
You will not be where you are without everyone's help, so stop acting like it was all thanks to you and carry gratitude on every aspect of your life.
Small things, people, little things...