This week's Pep Talk: "Give a Hoot"

I had a female recently unsubscribe from the weekly Pep Talk distribution list proclaiming - I’m paraphrasing - “I could give a hoot about football, don’t bore me with it.” The fact the word “football” had not appeared in the recent “Simple, not Easy” means little in comparison to her disdain.

So, I promise, this Pep Talk is not about sports, but starts with a sports story. It’s about life and trying our best to add value to home, work and elsewhere. It was the Colorado Rockies at St. Louis Cardinals on the final Saturday of the 2010 baseball regular season. The teams, each expecting post-season appearances, had been eliminated from playoff contention and were playing out the string. Often, these meaningless games are a good opportunity for coaches, general managers and fans to see which players truly love the game and who, once there’s little to play for, like my female critic mentioned earlier, could give a hoot!

Anyway, it was a close game. The Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez, already with the club single-season stikeout record in his back pocket, was trying to win his 20th game - a respected baseball milestone.

About halfway through the scoreless affair, play comes to a halt, for good reason: to honor a great man, Cardinal Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial. 89 years young and looking damn good, the three-time world champion slugger known as “Stan the Man” finished his career with around 3,600 hits, close to 500 homers and was a 24-time All Star in 22 seasons. What you ask, “How can you be a 24-time All-Star in 22 seasons? Long ago, they played two All-Star games each summer.

Anyway, the television play-by-play announcer, as viewers see a picture of everybody in the stands waving to the icon from a golf cart circling the field states: “This great man is a recipient of the Medal of Freedom and will receive it soon from president Obama.”

The most honorable thing that can ever be bestowed upon an American citizen is the Medal of Freedom. You are an American stud or studette – case closed. That’s the story of the Pennsylvania-born Musial. The “Medal of Freedom” mention takes me to Whitney Young. I talk about his guy often when somebody gives me the great joy of standing before a crowd and encouraging them with a Pep Talk.

Young was a military, civil rights and family leader who, in 1971, drowned on an overseas business outing. Two years earlier, and emerging as a promising national leader, President Johnson awarded the Kentucky native the Medal of Freedom.

Young’s life motto was: “There’s nothing noble in being superior to somebody else, true nobility lies in becoming superior to our former selves.” Damn, I love that! A baseball game halted to honor a legend takes us to “superior to our former selves.” Would it be fair to suggest, another way of saying “superior to our former selves” is “there’s always room for improvement?”

And then it gets better. In looking up Medal of Freedom history, I run across the requirements: “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

It then inspires me to encourage you to consider something: How about each of us this week, in our thoughts, words and actions decide we’re going to focus on making an especially meritorious contribution to the security or interests of home, work and community?

Let’s be honest, the odds of ever being awarded a Medal of Freedom are slim, but we can contribute – play like champions - to the security and interests of our homes, business and communities, can’t we? I know, it ain’t easy. That’s why it’s darn important to encourage one another. Encourage defined as, “give hope and confidence to.”

Do that this week. While walking your talk, reach out to somebody and give them hope and confidence to act likewise. In comparison to a disgruntled Pep Talk subscriber, give a hoot, okay?