Below is yet another spectacular video courtesy of Gorilla Productions.  Any fan of combat sports will enjoy this 2009 boxing recap.  Gorilla Productions continues to put out the best boxing videos on all of Youtube.  Hats off to their crew for the hard work.

Following my last entry, I received several emails about Ironman Marc Herremans.  With my limited knowledge of the sport, I had never heard of him.  It didn’t take me long to realize that there was something special about him however.

Back in 2001, Marc Herremans finished 6th in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.  Finishing 6th in such a highly regarded race is clearly an amazing accomplishment.  Yet despite his strong performance, Marc wanted more. He had only started training for triathlons in 1998. Therefore, it was reasonable to believe that he would crack the top three in 2002, with the possibility of eventually winning the race.

Unfortunately, Marc’s dreams took a drastic turn for the worse after a terrible accident in 2002. After losing control of his bike, Marc was left paralyzed below his chest. Following such a tragic accident, it would have been reasonable for Marc to give up his hopes of winning the Ironman.

Fortunately, Marc has shown that he is everything but reasonable. Three months after his accident, Marc began training again, this time as a wheelchair competitor. Less than one year after being paralyzed in a near fatal accident, Marc Herremans competed again in the Ironman. He then competed each year afterward until he finally won the race in 2006.   He was the first wheelchair athlete to finish.

Marc continues to train with the hopes of eventually walking again.  If you are in need of inspiration, look no further than the video below:

Athletes such as Scott Rigsby and Marc Herremans have shown me that we all have much more potential than we will ever realize.  In Marc’s own words,

“I didn’t know I was this strong either, but I became aware of it after the accident.”

I’m blown away by his determination.  To see him get up and compete after dealing with such a tragedy is beyond amazing.

Marc speaks more about his life and his refusal to give up in the translated interview below:

Walk With Marc Herremans

It’s worth taking a few minutes out of your day to listen to him speak.

If you are in need of inspiration, look no further than Scott Rigsby.  He is a double leg amputee who finished the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

The video below tells the story…

Scott is a living example of the words below (per Orison Swett Marden),

“Success is the child of drudgery and perseverance. It cannot be coaxed or bribed; pay the price and it is yours.”

Following yesterday’s entry, one reader commented with a link to Jamie Oliver’s TED award speech.  Up until a few days ago, I had never heard of Jamie Oliver.  He has some interesting things to say on the topic of childhood obesity however.  If you are concerned about the topic, I encourage you to take a look at the video below.

Below is a video that was emailed to me this morning (thanks to Andrew).  It is a short preview to an upcoming television show that premieres later this month.

The Youtube video description states the following:

Watch as kids in an elementary school class in Huntington, West Virginia have trouble identifying fresh fruits and vegetables. Huntington has been called the unhealthiest city in America where nearly half of the adults are considered obese.

Unfortunately, I’m not surprised by the video.  I am however glad that my three year old son was able to identify each vegetable from the preview.

Perhaps he has an unfair advantage, as he is usually my wife’s sidekick when she does the grocery shopping.  He’s been eating fresh vegetables since his first day of real food. When he asks for a snack, he is usually looking for fresh fruits and veggies. That is his idea of a snack. It’s what he’s been around his entire life.

In the words of John Dryden,

“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.”

As I’ve stated many times before, youngsters don’t do their own grocery shopping. They follow the lead of their parents. It is up to us to guide, nurture, and teach them.

The best role model for a child is his or her parents.  Parents need to stop making excuses and step up to the plate.   If you don’t know what to do, take the time to find out.  Knowledge must be sought.  It won’t funnel through your pillow at night through osmosis.

Do what you need to do to raise a healthy child.

In the words of Ben Franklin,

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”