Datto
12-22-2012, 20:24
Well yeah, I suppose some of you have looked at the cost, looked at the time you'll be away from your family and friends, looked at the ramifications of being without a job for months at a time. Looked at the radical change a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail requires.
And that may have led some of you to say to yourself, "Why don't I just stay where I'm at and muddle on through with life until something else comes along?"
Sure, there's always that. The other thing coming along sometime, some day. You know, that nebulous thing called the future.
So why not just stay home and wait until that thing called the future brings something to your doorstep that looks easier, less costly, less challenging, less demanding, less frustrating.
I grew up in this small town -- a map dot in the middle of vast corn fields and bean fields that went on for miles in every direction. My map dot was smack in the middle of was is called The Region -- a couple of counties in a little corner of paradise along with some outlier adjacent farm lands.
One of the things about The Region, and specifically the town where I grew up, was the idea that anyone could be good. Anyone. It only took a little extra effort to be good. Anyone could be good at something.
It wasn't about trying. It wasn't about doing your best. Heck, anyone could do that.
No, in the town where I grew up and in The Region you were expected to succeed and be stellar.
The whole idea of taking on big things -- and succeeding -- was a part of the culture of The Region. You can't just wait and see what happens. You have to figure it out and decide, then take action. Get going, it was said. Get going and be stellar at something. And you can't be stellar until you get going.
Let me give you a few examples of stellar success from that little corner of paradise called The Region. From the environment where people chose forthrightly to be stellar.
The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court -- he's from The Region. His dad and my dad worked at the same place. He lived a few miles north of me and I'd been up to his neighborhood when I was growing up and had just gotten my driver's license. Up there to his neighborhood just to look for the girls that I'd heard lived up there in his neighborhood near Long Beach. He'd certainly waited around lots -- waited until the future brought the opportunity right to his door. Waited until there was a knock at his door and he got up off his easy chair with someone at the door saying, "Hey, you wanna be Chief Justice?". Sure.
More than a thousand orbits of the earth. Yeah, you might say a few astronauts came from The Region. Nine Space Shuttle missions, ten space walks. They'd just be some guy you'd see everyday at school, down the street a ways, took your sister out on a date once in a while. Yet go on to orbit the earth so many times it seemed like just an afternoon picnic. Yeah, gots to go circle the earth, then step outside -- be back in a jiffy for the B-ball game down at Tower Park on Saturday. Of course, they'd waited until things were just right, waited until the opportunity came right to their front door before they did anything. Waited. Sure.
Seven Super Bowl rings. Seven. Well yeah, I suppose every little area of the country has their own group of Super Bowl winners. And inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Just the usual stellar success. Of course, needless to say they all just waited until opportunity knocked at their door. Waited. Sure.
Academy Awards, Emmy Award winners, two ABC World News Tonight anchors, two Monday Night Football commentators, twenty-four Grammy Awards. Not the nominations -- the actual awards. Boatloads of nominations before that -- heck anyone can get a Grammy nomination, right? Of course, these are the kinds of people who waited. Waited to see what would come from the future before they'd decided to take action. Waited. Sure.
Eleven World Series appearances, four Golden Glove awards, MLB All-Star Team members, an owner who won three consecutive World Series Championships. For those who have a tough time with multi-syllable words, that means won them in a row. He was the guy from The Region who was waiting around with the other guy from The Region who was a World Series MVP. They'd waited around just to see what would happen. You know, with the future and all.
Five NBA championship rings, a NASCAR Rookie Of The Year.
Membership on the Forbes List Of Richest People In The World. Not in America, the world. Heck, anyone could be on the list of the richest Americans right? Heh yeah, he waited until things were just right. Sure. He'd waited until Filthy Rich showed up at his front door one day and said, "Here's a bundle of money that's beyond your wildest dreams. Have fun." Righhhht.
And Orville.
You've heard of two guys named Orville, right? This is the other one. It sure is something to hear the name of your map dot town get mentioned regularly by Orville on TV commercials during prime-time television. You couldn't stand in Orville's way -- he and his partner, Charlie Bowman who'd lived a few houses down the street from me, went on to absolute stellar success. And with something as simple as popcorn. Orville was a fanatic about making the very best popcorn man had ever seen.
And that kind of environment, that kind of expectation, made all the difference. For me that is. I'd actually thought at one time before I'd turned twenty that I might have reached the pinnacle of success in my life -- that it might not be possible to ever top what I'd done already by then.
Of course I was wrong. That was just the start. Just the beginning. I'd go on after that to become involved with even greater successes. Things I'd initially thought weren't possible -- became possible.
For you -- you who have gotten the idea that you are going to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2013. It's a stellar opportunity. A fantastic experience. And -- it is something you can do.
All that is required, right now, is to decide and then take action. Without those two steps, nothing takes place. Nothing happens.
So begin.
You can do this.
For those of you where this is your first great challenge, I can tell you thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail will likely lead to taking on other great challenges and successes. It will very likely lead to having a full life ahead of you. Why else do you think you're here if not for living life fully?
So if you're going to do this, get started. Get going. Make the plans and decisions to place yourself on the Appalachian Trail doing a thru-hike in 2013.
Best of adventures to all of you in the Class of 2013.
Datto
And that may have led some of you to say to yourself, "Why don't I just stay where I'm at and muddle on through with life until something else comes along?"
Sure, there's always that. The other thing coming along sometime, some day. You know, that nebulous thing called the future.
So why not just stay home and wait until that thing called the future brings something to your doorstep that looks easier, less costly, less challenging, less demanding, less frustrating.
I grew up in this small town -- a map dot in the middle of vast corn fields and bean fields that went on for miles in every direction. My map dot was smack in the middle of was is called The Region -- a couple of counties in a little corner of paradise along with some outlier adjacent farm lands.
One of the things about The Region, and specifically the town where I grew up, was the idea that anyone could be good. Anyone. It only took a little extra effort to be good. Anyone could be good at something.
It wasn't about trying. It wasn't about doing your best. Heck, anyone could do that.
No, in the town where I grew up and in The Region you were expected to succeed and be stellar.
The whole idea of taking on big things -- and succeeding -- was a part of the culture of The Region. You can't just wait and see what happens. You have to figure it out and decide, then take action. Get going, it was said. Get going and be stellar at something. And you can't be stellar until you get going.
Let me give you a few examples of stellar success from that little corner of paradise called The Region. From the environment where people chose forthrightly to be stellar.
The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court -- he's from The Region. His dad and my dad worked at the same place. He lived a few miles north of me and I'd been up to his neighborhood when I was growing up and had just gotten my driver's license. Up there to his neighborhood just to look for the girls that I'd heard lived up there in his neighborhood near Long Beach. He'd certainly waited around lots -- waited until the future brought the opportunity right to his door. Waited until there was a knock at his door and he got up off his easy chair with someone at the door saying, "Hey, you wanna be Chief Justice?". Sure.
More than a thousand orbits of the earth. Yeah, you might say a few astronauts came from The Region. Nine Space Shuttle missions, ten space walks. They'd just be some guy you'd see everyday at school, down the street a ways, took your sister out on a date once in a while. Yet go on to orbit the earth so many times it seemed like just an afternoon picnic. Yeah, gots to go circle the earth, then step outside -- be back in a jiffy for the B-ball game down at Tower Park on Saturday. Of course, they'd waited until things were just right, waited until the opportunity came right to their front door before they did anything. Waited. Sure.
Seven Super Bowl rings. Seven. Well yeah, I suppose every little area of the country has their own group of Super Bowl winners. And inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Just the usual stellar success. Of course, needless to say they all just waited until opportunity knocked at their door. Waited. Sure.
Academy Awards, Emmy Award winners, two ABC World News Tonight anchors, two Monday Night Football commentators, twenty-four Grammy Awards. Not the nominations -- the actual awards. Boatloads of nominations before that -- heck anyone can get a Grammy nomination, right? Of course, these are the kinds of people who waited. Waited to see what would come from the future before they'd decided to take action. Waited. Sure.
Eleven World Series appearances, four Golden Glove awards, MLB All-Star Team members, an owner who won three consecutive World Series Championships. For those who have a tough time with multi-syllable words, that means won them in a row. He was the guy from The Region who was waiting around with the other guy from The Region who was a World Series MVP. They'd waited around just to see what would happen. You know, with the future and all.
Five NBA championship rings, a NASCAR Rookie Of The Year.
Membership on the Forbes List Of Richest People In The World. Not in America, the world. Heck, anyone could be on the list of the richest Americans right? Heh yeah, he waited until things were just right. Sure. He'd waited until Filthy Rich showed up at his front door one day and said, "Here's a bundle of money that's beyond your wildest dreams. Have fun." Righhhht.
And Orville.
You've heard of two guys named Orville, right? This is the other one. It sure is something to hear the name of your map dot town get mentioned regularly by Orville on TV commercials during prime-time television. You couldn't stand in Orville's way -- he and his partner, Charlie Bowman who'd lived a few houses down the street from me, went on to absolute stellar success. And with something as simple as popcorn. Orville was a fanatic about making the very best popcorn man had ever seen.
And that kind of environment, that kind of expectation, made all the difference. For me that is. I'd actually thought at one time before I'd turned twenty that I might have reached the pinnacle of success in my life -- that it might not be possible to ever top what I'd done already by then.
Of course I was wrong. That was just the start. Just the beginning. I'd go on after that to become involved with even greater successes. Things I'd initially thought weren't possible -- became possible.
For you -- you who have gotten the idea that you are going to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2013. It's a stellar opportunity. A fantastic experience. And -- it is something you can do.
All that is required, right now, is to decide and then take action. Without those two steps, nothing takes place. Nothing happens.
So begin.
You can do this.
For those of you where this is your first great challenge, I can tell you thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail will likely lead to taking on other great challenges and successes. It will very likely lead to having a full life ahead of you. Why else do you think you're here if not for living life fully?
So if you're going to do this, get started. Get going. Make the plans and decisions to place yourself on the Appalachian Trail doing a thru-hike in 2013.
Best of adventures to all of you in the Class of 2013.
Datto