Review: Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In by Louis Zamperini and David Rensin

Two years ago, Jamie and I went to see the movie Unbroken that told the story of WWII veteran Louis Zamperini and his amazing story of resilience in the face of terrible hardship. He spent more than a month floating and staying alive on a flotation raft when his plane went down and then spent over two years in POW camps in Japan. 

I recently acquired a copy of a book he wrote filled with life lessons from this former Olympic distance runner and hero. Zamperini died in 2014, but I believe Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In: Lessons From An Extraordinary Life will be a strong part of carrying his legacy forward and providing us with an opportunity to learn from his incredible experiences.

What I loved most about the book was its readability. Zamperini was a war hero, an Olympian, and a child of an immigrant family. With 97 years under his belt at the time the book was published, he could have filled libraries with his accrued life wisdom. Instead, he kept it short and simple.

While the book covers the entirety of his life there were a few statements he made amid stories that really stuck with me.

In the opening of the book there’s a quote from Louis, ‘People tell me, “You’re such an optimist.” Am I an optimist? An optimist says the glass is half full. A pessimist says the glass is half empty. A survivalist is practical. He says, “Call it what you want, but just fill the glass.” I believe in filling the glass.’ I have to agree. Let’s keep our focus on filling the glass—and that will keep our attitude in line.

He also states, “You don’t have to go it alone.” Too often, we think that we are supposed to be figuring out this whole world all by ourselves, and rising above challenges with only our own mettle. I personally believe that we are given community so we can do amazing things together. When you are feeling alone, remember that there’s always someone out there who cares. No matter what. “Hope provides the power of the soul to endure.”

You have to learn to adapt. You can’t give up…You have to use unrelenting determination and exercise a positive attitude…We can’t all be champions, but we can give whatever is in us to give. What a reminder—give whatever is in you to give. When we hold back what is in us, we miss out on what could be our unique contribution to create a better world.

“No matter how old you are, don’t stop challenging yourself with new experiences.”

Zamperini teaches each of us that persistence, perseverance, and an unwillingness to accept defeat when things look all but hopeless, will carry us through incredibly difficult situations—for him, they carried him through surviving on a raft for 47 days among other exploits.

The last line of the book says, “I’m a thankful citizen of America who just wants to be remembered for his charitable heart.” This is his statement after enduring two years in a POW camp, after surviving 47 days on a raft after a plane crash, and after missing the Olympics to serve; he responds with gratitude for America, and a desire to be remembered for being charitable. How wonderful would our country and our world be if more of us had this kind of attitude and resolve! May we each endeavor toward this kind of response when adversity hits.

Reflection: 2016 Olympic Games

Citius. Altius. Fortius. I remember first hearing these three words in a movie I watched about running legend Steve Prefontaine roughly 15 years ago. The narrator of the movie, who was also playing the role of Bill Bowerman (founder of Nike) in the film, stated that these words were the motto/mantra of the ancient Olympic games. They mean “Faster, higher, stronger,” and again the narrator reminded viewers that it does not say faster higher and stronger than others, just faster, higher, stronger. 

When I think about this mantra I find myself inspired. To me it is a reminder to not be satisfied with the status quo, to not become complacent, to not settle into mediocrity. It is a reminder to daily press forward and to bring my very best into every arena in life. And we celebrate this mantra every four years by bringing some of the most incredible athletes in the world together to compete, and to celebrate the fact that they have daily pushed themselves to bring their very best into a global arena.

For me, every day of the Olympics is filled with inspiration. Whether it is from watching Usain Bolt continue to excel as the fastest man in the world, watching Michael Phelps add to his medal total, celebrating Simone Manuel, Maya Dirado and others earn their first, or smiling as a West Virginian and WVU student earned the first gold medal, these events make me want to bring out my very best as well. Adding to the inspiration is the thought that this year for the first time there is a refugee team. Often forgotten by the rest of the world, these athletes remind us that regardless of our circumstances, we are all capable of pushing through to bring our very best to the world around us. And if these stories are not enough, I am amazed at what technology has brought into these Olympics. The silver medalist in javelin is a Kenyan who learned and refined his skill from watching YouTube videos. 

In the first Olympic games I can remember watching, fellow West Virginian Mary Lou Retton shocked and captivated the world with her gold medal performance. While it was amazing to watch, at the time my aspirations for life really didn’t expand beyond my zip code. I wanted to be a better student, and a better human being, but how that would translate to how I lived my life did not take shape for me until much later. Now, in these Olympics, there is actually a website to connect aspiring future Olympians to pursue their dreams and get connected to an Olympic sports program. Now, the learning journey is just a click away.

But for most of us in the world, the closest we will come to the games is a television or radio broadcast. We will watch and listen intently and cheer for athletes from our home country, athletes who have won our hearts and respect, and/or the entire field of competition for the milestones and benchmarks they have achieved. How can we bring this Olympic fire into our own hearts, into our own communities, and into our own families? 

I believe the answer is in the Olympic mantra, citius, altius, fortius. If we can hold off looking to our right and left to see how we are competing with others, and focus on the interior competition, I believe we can see greatness blossom. Too often, each one of us are plagued with self-doubt, with wounds from the past, and with fear of failure, and so we never really bring our best. What would happen if each one of us brought forth our best effort each day into each area of our lives? Of course I know there will be days that each of us falter, days in which we do not bring our best, and days in which our best is not quite as good as the day before, but that just gives us an opportunity to practice resilience, to dust ourselves off, and to push forward again like Mo Farah in the 10,000 meter race for the gold.

During the Olympic season, and indeed during every season, may we each strive to bring our very best effort and our best selves to the world around us so that we can look back at the end of the day and say that we gave it our all, and left nothing back.

Clara Grandt Santucci Set To Compete In 2016 US Olympic Trials

Back in December last year, I wrote this post about fellow West Virginia native Clara Grandt Santucci. I felt like it was worthwhile to write another post and share the video below that was produced by Pikewood Creative in Morgantown, because Clara's story is one that all of us from the hills of West Virginia can be proud of. We need to be sharing these good stories more often in our world, and it has been encouraging to see my hometown TV station WTAP share a two part series about Clara as well.



Saturday, February 13 at 1:22PM EST, Clara will be running with 200 top marathon competitors in the 2016 US Olympic Trials, and this race will be broadcast on NBC, and personally, I'm incredibly excited and hopeful for her. From what I know of her, she is an very humble lady who is extremely dedicated to bringing her best to all that she does. She is a woman of deep faith and commitment, and she has been fiercely training and persevering toward this long term goal for the last four years.

Jamie and I have been sharing her story with everyone we know and encouraging them to tune in for the race on Saturday. Jamie can remember running track in high school against Clara (they went to different schools), and Jamie said, "Everybody knew that Clara would win the races in which she competed, and it didn't matter what school you went to, everybody wanted to see her win too--she was just that kind of person--even at a young age."

I want to encourage you to tune in and cheer her on Saturday afternoon, and if you live near the site of the marathon trials in Los Angeles, whether you are a native West Virginian or not (but especially if you are a West Virginian), get out there and cheer Clara on toward her Olympic dream!

Let's go Clara!!! You have already made us incredibly proud, but keep going!!!

Help Clara Grandt Santucci Make WV Proud!!!

This morning, thanks to a social media post from Tony Caridi, Jamie and I learned about the video at the top of this post that was created by Pikewood Creative. The video tells the story of one of Jamie's coworkers, an incredible West Virginian named Clara Grandt Santucci. Clara grew up in Doddridge County, and Jamie can remember running against her in middle school and high school--in some ways they have been connected to each other for most of their lives. But I would say that their friendship has blossomed during the time they have worked together at Healthworks. I've had the distinct blessing of being able to connect with Clara a handful of times, and probably the thing that has stood out most to me is her humility.

For the last two years, she has WON the Pittsburgh Marathon (which is pretty cool because she's also a pretty big Pirates fan). She competed against some of the best in the world during that race and she came out on top. She's humble, but she is also tenacious. And personally those are two of my favorite qualities in any human being. I enjoy stories of people who are genuine, authentic, and relentless as well, and from all I can gather Clara is very bit those things. To me, she embodies some of the best character qualities of people from our state, and she is as committed to her faith as she is to training as an elite athlete.

She has created a Go Fund Me page to raise funds to help her get to the Olympic Trials this year so she can compete in the 2016 Olympic games for Team USA. A law office in the southern part of our state has committed to matching every contribution up to $2,500 to get help her get there. Personally, I know Jamie and I are going to help at some level, but we just need to determine the amount. When I watched her video earlier, I was inspired, and it thrills me to know that one of our fellow Mountaineers will be able to represent our great state on a global stage once she finishes in the top three runners during the 2016 Olympic Games.

Will you help spread the word about Clara and her quest to represent West Virginia and the United States of America in the Olympics? Thanks so much!

And Clara, we will all be cheering you on back here in Almost Heaven! Make us proud!!!

Pollution Causes Problems for Beijing

After watching WVU beat the Providence Friars yesterday I left the TV on for a bit, and found out a little bit of what is happening in the world of sports. And one of the things I heard was extremely pertinent to any consideration of the environment. The marathon world record holder, Haile Gebrselassie, withdrew his name from participating in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The reason he cited was his health.

China is home to 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. Gebrselassie suffers from exercise induced asthma, and is concerned for the long term effects that running 26 miles in one of the world's most polluted cities would have on his health. He has gone so far as to suggest a different, less polluted venue in China, but the committee is not moving on their location. This would be a tremendous challenge for a world class athlete, but I admire Gebrselassie for the standards he has set. He values his health more than he values competing in the Olympic games. Participating in the Olympics is a dream never achieved for many, but Gebrselassie is not letting prestige come first.

This may lead to other athletes making a similar stand as well. Think about this. Could you imagine living in a place that is so polluted that it is a health hazard to go for a run? What a wake up call for taking some steps toward environmental care. I think about this problem, and think what will life be like 30 years from now? Will olympic events have to take place indoors? Will kids be able to play outside for extended periods?

When I was little, every once in a while we would go swimming in the Ohio River. But then we started hearing about how dirty and unsafe it was. My dad grew up swimming in the Ohio River, but now you can't even eat fish out of the river more than once per month.

I don't think Gebrselassie is making a stand for the environment, he is simply making a stand for good health. But could you imagine what might happen if more folks like him who are in the spotlight began to make decisions like this? And could you imagine the impact of more every day people like you and I beginning to make changes to our consumption habits? Maybe instead of leading the world in consumption and waste (Americans consume 32 times the amount of the rest of the world), we could lead the world in our green efforts. What steps are you willing to take?