UPDATE: Don’t know why I should be surprised that everyone else is looking for this poem as well. (More than likely wanting to read it and possibly copy it for themselves.) Want your own copy of the poem “Don’t Quit”? I created a PDF that you can print out and hang where you want. Mine is on the bathroom mirror.

Enjoy!

~~~~

The NFL Network has aired the newest release of it’s Emmy Award-winning ‘America’s Game’ with “The Story of the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers”. You know me, I not only had to watch it, but it’s permanently saved on my TiVo to watch for years to come.

Each episode of America’s Game is a personal portrait told by the men who lived it and felt it. The story of the 2008 Steelers is told through the eyes of head coach Mike Tomlin, Troy Polamalu and Ben Roethlisberger.

I love the heart and the mentality of a champion and believe there is something we can not only learn but implement in our own lives to help us achieve our goals and dreams.

I wish I had a video of this one segment I could share with you, but it’s simply not available anywhere on the internet just yet. Instead I’ll have to share it with you in print.

Roethlisberger developed his resiliency on the field as a quarterback at Miami University under then-head coach Terry Hoeppner. Coach Hep, who died of brain cancer in 2007, remained a main source of inspiration for Roethlisberger through his favorite poem, “Don’t Quit.”

Roethlisberger on Coach Hep: “He just was an amazing person. More than a coach, I really was like a son to him.”

Roethlisberger on the poem, “Don’t Quit”: “[Coach Hep] would read it to us once or twice a year. He would get really into it and emotional about it. It was really something special, especially when he passed, so I put the poem up in my locker so that every day I could see it and know that no matter what, don’t give up, don’t quit.”

Just the title alone prompted me to do a quick search for this poem and found it so meaningful and inspiring, I wanted to share it with the rest of you.

“Don’t Quit”

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest! if you must; but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow;
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit;
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

~ Anonymous

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Not the way you would like to start the year.

Earlier in the week news of a civil lawsuit came out against two time Super Bowl Champion of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger. Just weeks before he heads to St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Ben finds himself the center of media attention accused of rape. Ben and the Steelers will be defending last years Lombardi Trophy going into the 2009 season. (Make that SIX Lombardi Trophies.)

A 31-year-old Nevada woman filed the civil lawsuit alleging the Super Bowl winning quarterback raped her in a hotel penthouse last year. The woman was working as a VIP casino host at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe at the time, and claims in the lawsuit the rape took place in Roethlisberger’s room after he called her saying that the sound on his TV was not working.

I read a news report that said that Ben was the one who made the bogus complaint, (that being the sound not working) but after a full year of silence, and this woman not even filing a police report makes me question which complaint is bogus. Roethlisberger made his first public statement yesterday afternoon and vowed to fight what he called “outrageous allegations.” Clearly agitated about the fact the he is in the public eye over something like this he spoke these words yesterday at the Pittsburgh training facility:

“The allegations against me are reckless and false,” Roethlisberger said. “As much as I’d like to answer everyone’s questions I’m going to respect the legal process and I’m confident that the truth will prevail.”

Roethlisberger’s attorney, David Cornwell, released a statement also saying the charges were false:

“The timing of a lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct,” he said.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of stunt. Back in 2002 “The Bus”, (Jerome Bettis) was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Westmoreland County. When police went to investigate, about two dozen people and learned of a plan by the woman’s Uncle to get money from Bettis by manufacturing a sexual misconduct charge.

The charges against “The Bus” were soon dropped.

While I don’t personally know the two time Super Bowl Champion, from what I’ve read about him, seen of him, and the leadership I’ve witnessed over the last 5 years on the football field, I’m betting that this case will be dropped as well.

There, I think lies the crux of this issue. This isn’t about rape, but about Ben’s status. Like the money grab that was thrown out of court filed against YTB earlier in the week, this too is about taking unfair advantage of a situation in search of an easy buck. From what I’ve seen in some reports, the allegations in the suit filed against Ben are so flimsy that it too could be thrown out by a Judge when the time comes to put it on the docket.

Call it jealousy, bitterness or anger over someone being more successful than you are. People find all kinds of creative ways to bring someone down to their level, and it doesn’t have to be about money. Because of my status here on the internet, and doing what I love to do, people poke at me all the time. This week is a perfect example.

I broke the story here on the internet about YTB’s class action being thrown out, and admittedly rubbed it in the face of all the critics who had been yammering for almost a year about how this would crush YTB. While we in YTB have been celebrating that the truth finally coming to light, critics have pulled the egg off their own face and are attempting to throw it back in mine.

I read late last night in amusement a day long dialog concerning my inability to support my wife and my family. The claims of being an embarrassment to children for being an MLM junkie and that my wife of 12 years is ready to throw me out of the house surrounded the conversation. In addition, I found out that I’m also broke.

Apparently being open about participating in an MLM and writing about my experience, makes me powerful and important enough that some spent time and energy digging for anything they could find to convince themselves and others that I’m not worth listening to. (Ironic I know.)

What they dug up was a credit card battle we are entangled in to anger and feed the illusions and myths surrounding MLM’ers. In 2008, two of our credit card companies decided to jack up our interest rates to what we felt was excessive, and were unwilling to lower their rates. After seeking legal counsel, the only way we could get their attention was to cut all the cards off, and stop paying them. What resulted was a list of law suits from every one of the credit card companies demanding their money. While this has been unpleasant and time consuming, we are in fact making settlements on amounts that we mutually agree upon to resolve the debt owed. Under the advisement of counsel, it was the only way we would be able to pay only the amount we owed for the purchases we actually made, and not the exorbitant interest that the banks wanted.

But alas, the pitch is that we got in so deep that we couldn’t get out and are now putting the burden on them (as taxpayers no less) so it can feed their anger and resentment towards yours truly. None of these spineless weasels would realize how to stand up for ones self or how to take personal responsibility if their life depended on it. It’s never about them and how they can spend an entire day posting on the internet instead of being productive and providing income to put food on the table for themselves and possibly their families.

And through it all, not a peep surrounding a reckless and false class action that was just thrown out which previously was thought to be a “powerful” lawsuit by the same group. Misguided as it is, none of them dare call out the Judge who spanked the Plaintiff’s in their redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous class action lawsuit.

Instead, yours truly is called out for “pimping”, while others see value in what I’ve done switching over to WordPress for their own business blog, and not only using Aweber for their own newsletter, but using a similar look and feel with the same logos I have for Twitter and Facebook.

Me thinks thou dost protest too much.

Angry? Hardly. While they do say one thing on the internet slamming me, the actions of following my lead show signs of respect for which I am flattered. Not to mention the attention and time spent obsessing and talking about little ol’ me. The lesson learned here is that if you don’t like the heat, you need to stay out of the kitchen. Being in the public eye, and being open about who you are and proud of what you do will attract pot shots and blows below the belt from people who need to focus on someone else’s faults so they don’t have to look at their own.

I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s perfect and doesn’t have a few skeletons in their own closet. I’ve been very open about my alcoholism for example. The difference is, I’m able to use it as an advantage after 20 years of sobriety. I wrote a piece yesterday on my Examiner column about using credit cards responsibly. Personally, I think taking my own experience, good or bad, can be used as a lesson for someone else who might be in the same boat. Of course that’s why so many appreciate what I do here and on my newsletter because I inform and educate those that are willing to grow both personally and professionally. Those that aren’t spend their time as some anonymous screen name on a message board picking apart someone else’s life.

Sad and disappointing to be sure, but that’s the life they choose. The key however is not to give them the same power and control you apparently have on them. Correct it, disarm it, and let it go so you can move on. Those that are able to see the truth for what it is will follow, and those who don’t…

Thanks for sharing.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

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