When my oldest son was 10, I took him with me on a speech as a reward for straight A’s. This was during the BP oil spill, and the casino where I was speaking was nearly deserted. Heck, the whole coast was nearly deserted.
So we’re walking through the barren gaming floor on the way to the convention center. There’s one lady on oxygen who’s smoking. And another man who had apparently died while playing a slot machine. My son looked around and said, “Dad this place smells like cigarettes and despair.”
It’s one of the best descriptions I’ve ever heard.
Today after our final PLS workout of the week, he wrote an Instagram post that’s also worth sharing:
“Had a great first week of doing Paul Lacoste and waking up at 4 in the morning to work out. I learned throughout this week that what determines the successful from everybody else is not if they’re fat or skinny or strong or weak, it’s how determined they are to achieve their goals.”
He’s 14 now. Fourteen. I can only hope to have that kind of wisdom when I grow up.