Inspiration

byStilltrying

886 followers

7 years ago

Inspiration and motivation can be found in many places and you can get inspiration from lots of people.

I thought I would tell you a few things about my stepson (my wife's son) and what he has acheived. He came together with my and my wife (and our then one month old daughter) from Senegal (West Coast of Africa) to Sweden.

He was then almost 15 years old, which is not an easy age for such major change in life. He knew nobody when he arrived, did not speak the language and did not know much about the country either. He had travelled nowhere before this.

Still, even though it was rough at times he adapted himself soo quickly. He learned the language, found new friends, both Swedes and other africans (not many africans where we live, it is a small town). He started training fotboll, worked hard at but became dissapointed because he never got to play matches, so he quit fotboll (soccer) and started dancing (hip hop) with a friend. They were quite good and had great fun together.

At the age of 19 he decided to start boxing at the local club. He trained hard and it seemed like he had really found what he liked doing. He graduated from school (as a welder) a year later and found work right away after school.

He continued boxing and started to compete in tournaments. The beginning was great, he won match after match and seemed to have a natural talent for fighting.

Then came a rough period. He trained hard but did not seem to be able to concentrate on what he was doing and he lost match after match. Still he did not give up but worked, moved to another town and kept going. His dream was (and still is) to become a professional boxer.

Then it all turned again and he started winning. At this time the local newspaper in his town started to publish articles about him and he participated in the Swedish Championships as well as many other tournaments.

This year he participated in the European championships (won first but lost second match) and he become first nordic champion and then Swedish Champion as well. He is still determined to become a professional boxer and he is well on his way.

Not bad, after only five years of training boxing. In an interview with the local newspaper he simply said: If you want something, you work for it. He is right, he has worked hard, training sometimes twice a day at the same time as he is working full time.

I am inspired and very proud of him. He has acheived a lot since he came to Sweden and he knows that if you want something, you have to work for it and never give up and I think that is a lesson for all of us. Keep going, never give up. Remember what they say: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

Cheers,

Jojo