TOMMIE SAYLOR: If you are progressing toward your ultimate goal, then you are winning!

“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”

-- Babe Ruth

By Tommie Saylor

Kennedy High School Principal

Never give up, never give in.

The difference between winners and losers is that winners are willing to do what losers are not willing to do. Winners don’t give up, winners drive on finding a way past all obstacles. Winners keep their goals in sight and do not come up with excuses, they develop solutions. What I am writing about here is a single-minded dedication to a cause, almost to the point of fanaticism, while at the same time being able to think creatively to overcome any barrier and solve any problem, while staying on an ever-shifting path to the ultimate goal.

That is what makes a winner. Ultimately, vigilance equals victory.

My 24-year-old son, Mike, called me last week. He was depressed.  He just accepted a new job up in Bay City with decent pay and regular hours. But the hours are long and he just locked his keys in his car. Lucky for him he was home when he locked his keys in his car and had a ride to work the next day.  

I told him that I would overnight the spare keys I have to him, allowing him to have access to his vehicle for the weekend.  With this settled, I inquired why he was so down. He should be happy, having secured such a good job. But he informed me that he felt as if things are moving too slowly, that life is not working out as he had hoped.  

So, I asked him some very simple questions. Do you have a good job?  Do you have a nice place to live? Do you have clothes on your back, food in your belly and a decent car to drive? Are your bills paid, do you have money in your pocket after your bills are paid? Do you have people that love you?  

Of course he answered these questions with “yes.”

I continued by telling him, “Then you are winning!” I told him that life is hard, that nobody goes from high school to high roller instantly, that most people spend their 20s finding a path in life and as long as you are moving forward toward your ultimate goal, you are winning.

This is also true at Kennedy High School.  Change is slow. Effective and long-lasting change is more like a glacier that moves slowly and unyieldingly than like a well-bred racehorse that moves quickly and covers lots of ground fast.

It is easy to become discouraged when you look at all the obstacles we face on a daily basis, when you look at how far we must still go to achieve our goals. It is easy to be discouraged when you realize how slow progress seems.  

But, when you look at how far we have come – when you internalize the change in climate and culture within our building and ponder the potential we have yet to exploit – it is easy to see that we are winning.

We are on our way. So stay the course and remain vigilant.

Remember, their future is in our hands. Making Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence by design.