Last night was the post season basketball banquet. Sure, there was good fajitas and lots of sweet tea poured out, but what was so special about the night was watching my son get his plaque from his coach. It was a huge moment in my eyes, because last year he was on the 9th grade B team. This year he was a starter on the JV team. I realized in that moment my youngest child has a lot to teach me.

Hard work pays off. After my son’s 9th grade season, he would get his basketball, go outside and shoot around. He did this every day, even through the summer –  and I’m talking 100+ weather here in Texas. At the start of school he asked us to take him to our church gym, where he would set up chairs on the court and maneuver around them to develop dribbling skills. He worked hard, and it paid off.

Make use of the tools that will help you succeed. My son decided he needed protein shakes to help him gain weight and build muscle. He drank three shakes a day even though they don’t taste all that great. And while he didn’t gain that much weight, he did gain muscle to made him strong.

Surround yourself with people who will help you. While my son has a built in support system in us, his parents, he also had friends he could text and go play a pickup game of basketball.

Coach Whitfield and my son

Don’t give up. At the beginning of the basketball season, my son was still sitting on the bench. He would be one of the first picked to go in after the start of the game, but he was not a starter. That might have made some people give up trying to better themselves – but not my son. He kept practicing and shooting at home, even after a long practice at school. He kept drinking those shakes. And it paid off, because it wasn’t very many games into the season before the coach made him a starter.

There have been so many times I have wanted to give up my writing. Fear, slow progress, doubt…all that makes me want to give up sometimes. But when I look at my son, I take courage. He has been teaching me that working hard will pay off. I need to write every day and build up those writing muscles.

I need to work on the techniques that will make my writing shine. I need to utilize the tools that I have. Writing books need to be read and highlighted. Conferences need to be attended. Websites need to be utilized (www.mybooktherapy.com – I just became a Team Member!).

I need to surround myself with other people who “get” the whole writing thing. I have my fellow Alley Cats at The Writer’s Alley who are always such an encouragement to me. I have developed online friendships that help me grow as a writer. I have family members who are cheerleaders and encourage me to keep going. There is a huge support group for writers, and you just need to jump in and be an active participant in the world of writers.

I am proud of my son and for what he has accomplished. He is an inspiration to me and I wish I was more like him in so many ways.