You know, believe
it or not, I have not always had the greatest job in the world.
I was once a struggling freelance writer in New Orleans not so
terribly long ago. I was always looking for the next big story
or the next big break. I was always looking into the future at
the possibility of writing for a national paper or magazine, writing
a column and even becoming a published author. However, I could
never seem to find the magic beans to grow a stalk to climb to
the top, thus I was delegated to stories that nobody wanted to
write – and often times, nobody wanted to read. Beat writing
can be a thankless job and freelance writing can be almost horrific
due to its inconsistent nature.
There were many days were I thought of giving it all up to spend a life doing something much calmer and secure, you know, something like pulling weeds or working in a hardware store.
But I never lost site of my dream of becoming a writer and an author, and of covering big time sports for a big time paper. Well, I realized that dream when I was given an opportunity to write for the Palm Beach Post, after spending time in the trenches as a sports editor in both Wyoming and Texas. Although I thought of giving it up at times, I never did and it has paid off with the successful journalism career that I always wanted.
I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by the books they read, the movies they watch and the music they listen to. And just in case some of you are wondering, my favorite book is John Feinstein’s “Civil War: Army vs. Navy” (a stunning account of the of college football’s purest rivalry) ... my favorite music is anything crooned by “Old Blue Eyes” Frank Sinatra. And my favorite movie is Rudy ... yes, Rudy. The heroic tale of one man’s dream and the hurdles he overcame to achieve it. The story of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, an under-sized, under-talented defensive lineman, who overcame all adversity and obstacles, is an inspiration to all those – including me – that dare to hope and dream. One man, who in a mere 27 seconds of playing time, became one of the most famous football players in the history of Notre Dame.
Recently, I had an opportunity to sit down with one of my lifelong inspirations, none other than Rudy himself, to gain a firmer grasp on the likelihood of making dreams a reality.
“The first thing you must do is eliminate the confusion,” said Rudy, founder of Rudy International (www.RudyInternational.com). “The right information will eliminate confusion. Visualize exactly what you want to be and focus on that. You have to believe in yourself and don’t let anything stop you.
“Reinforce your dream every day with positive information from tapes, books and mentors. American Football Monthly provides just that. Using tools such as these each day you will get closer to your dream. Eliminate the confusion and fears, and make it happen.”
I asked Rudy about the daily struggle of overcoming hurdles that can often sidetrack even the strongest-willed individuals.
“The greater the struggle, the greater the victory,” he said. “Most people allow struggles and fear of failure to stop them. The key is to learn from your struggles and move on. Failures will make you stronger and give you the information you need to reach your dream. Struggle will prepare you for success. Without struggle there is no success.
“Excuses will kill your dream,” he continued. “What we’re really talking about here is commitment. Until you make a commitment to your dream, it’s not really a dream – it’s just another fantasy full of excuses. Fantasies don’t come true because they’re not real – we’re not committed to them. When we make commitments, we eliminate excuses and they become dreams ... and dreams are definitely real.”
Now, maybe you don’t need a book, a song or even a movie to find motivation and to keep your dream alive ... but for me – and many others - often times a little extra help is needed. The key to remember is that we all have dreams – whether it is become a Pulitzer Prize-winning author or a Texas 5A state championship coach – it is just up to us to make them a reality. What makes us fall in love with the story of Rudy, is that there is a little bit of Rudy Ruettiger in all of us, and his story proves that dreams – even ours – can come true.
There were many days were I thought of giving it all up to spend a life doing something much calmer and secure, you know, something like pulling weeds or working in a hardware store.
But I never lost site of my dream of becoming a writer and an author, and of covering big time sports for a big time paper. Well, I realized that dream when I was given an opportunity to write for the Palm Beach Post, after spending time in the trenches as a sports editor in both Wyoming and Texas. Although I thought of giving it up at times, I never did and it has paid off with the successful journalism career that I always wanted.
I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by the books they read, the movies they watch and the music they listen to. And just in case some of you are wondering, my favorite book is John Feinstein’s “Civil War: Army vs. Navy” (a stunning account of the of college football’s purest rivalry) ... my favorite music is anything crooned by “Old Blue Eyes” Frank Sinatra. And my favorite movie is Rudy ... yes, Rudy. The heroic tale of one man’s dream and the hurdles he overcame to achieve it. The story of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, an under-sized, under-talented defensive lineman, who overcame all adversity and obstacles, is an inspiration to all those – including me – that dare to hope and dream. One man, who in a mere 27 seconds of playing time, became one of the most famous football players in the history of Notre Dame.
Recently, I had an opportunity to sit down with one of my lifelong inspirations, none other than Rudy himself, to gain a firmer grasp on the likelihood of making dreams a reality.
“The first thing you must do is eliminate the confusion,” said Rudy, founder of Rudy International (www.RudyInternational.com). “The right information will eliminate confusion. Visualize exactly what you want to be and focus on that. You have to believe in yourself and don’t let anything stop you.
“Reinforce your dream every day with positive information from tapes, books and mentors. American Football Monthly provides just that. Using tools such as these each day you will get closer to your dream. Eliminate the confusion and fears, and make it happen.”
I asked Rudy about the daily struggle of overcoming hurdles that can often sidetrack even the strongest-willed individuals.
“The greater the struggle, the greater the victory,” he said. “Most people allow struggles and fear of failure to stop them. The key is to learn from your struggles and move on. Failures will make you stronger and give you the information you need to reach your dream. Struggle will prepare you for success. Without struggle there is no success.
“Excuses will kill your dream,” he continued. “What we’re really talking about here is commitment. Until you make a commitment to your dream, it’s not really a dream – it’s just another fantasy full of excuses. Fantasies don’t come true because they’re not real – we’re not committed to them. When we make commitments, we eliminate excuses and they become dreams ... and dreams are definitely real.”
Now, maybe you don’t need a book, a song or even a movie to find motivation and to keep your dream alive ... but for me – and many others - often times a little extra help is needed. The key to remember is that we all have dreams – whether it is become a Pulitzer Prize-winning author or a Texas 5A state championship coach – it is just up to us to make them a reality. What makes us fall in love with the story of Rudy, is that there is a little bit of Rudy Ruettiger in all of us, and his story proves that dreams – even ours – can come true.
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Respectfully, Aaron S. Lee Managing Editor American Football Monthly aslee@lcclark.com Every Issue. Every Article. Free.American Football Quarterly is now free for every coach — no subscription, no login. Browse all the issues, or get each new edition by email. More from the April 2003 issueLatest articles200+ Issues. Every Article. Free to Read.American Football Quarterly is now free for every coach: every article, all 201 issues and the complete online archive, no subscription needed. Browse All Issues
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