A Personal "Hard Work and Focus Pays Off" Story

This post isn't as much about sales and growing business as it is about life. In a world where people cheat and try to take short cuts to success, at the expense of others - I think it's good to hear about people who just plain work hard, helping others along the way.

Seventeen years ago, my one and only child - a son - was a complete handful at age 14. My desperate parenting strategy as a young single mom was to try to keep him interested in school, and also to keep him busy and active - especially focused on sports. Fortunately he loved anything athletic, and couldn't get enough of most activity. One sport he loved above all was ice hockey. From the moment he first saw it at age seven - he was enamored with it.

So when my son met a very special person that invited him to the East Coast for hockey camp back then - I was SO ready to help him pack, hoping he'd even stay longer. (He was 14 going on 40, after all - and had grown bigger than me.) The special person was a man named Paul Vincent. Paul left a good job with the police force outside of Boston to pursue his own dream - owning and running a successful power skating school for youth, college, and pro hockey players.

I liked Paul right off the bat because he was a former cop - so he would not put up with any garbage from my son or anyone, for that matter. Paul tells it like it is - even today - and I respect that about him. Paul built his school and from day one, taught my son, Leon, about how hard work really does pay off - you just have to focus and put your mind to it. Never lose sight of your goals.(He used to say this all the time - well, lecture, really)

The wonderful thing is that Paul is the power skating coach for the #1 Chicago Blackhawks Hockey Team, and the Stanley Cup - the toughest trophy to win in sports - is coming to Paul's home next week for 24 hours. Each player and coach on the winning Stanley Cup team gets a day with the Cup - and the guy with the gloves that brings the Cup - so it should be quite an experience. Here is a great article about Paul.

You can bet that I will be there to thank Paul again, in person - for walking the talk - and for his most successful year this past season. He made a believer out of all of us to see hard work in action.