It's Christmas Eve again, in case you didn't already know.
First and foremost, I personally believe I'm very blessed to be able to celebrate another year of the anniversary of the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This blog isn't about my personal beliefs, but I'd feel remiss if I failed to mention that.
A second thing I can't overlook is the loss of a grandmother on Christmas Day 3 years ago. It's a special day for that reason as well, to be able to remember someone who loved the holiday season as much as Margaret Comstock. I was proud to be able to have her at some of my home games my freshman year of college, even as she was living in a center and fighting Alzheimer's in North Carolina. To be honest, going to school in NC as a freshman was to be closer to her and my aunt. There are a lot of memories for me there.
But this post is about more than that. It's hard to believe it's been a year since Christmas Eve, 2011. It was a weekend, and I was at work at CBS 6 News for another holiday, as was the custom. I don't ever complain though, it's part of being young and growing into your roll over the years. A year ago though, I ended up breaking one of the bigger stories of the year in the Richmond market and the Mid-Atlantic Region, a story that led a newscast that went on to win an Emmy Award. Lots of people had more than one hand on covering that huge, breaking story that night, but for me, it's an honor to have won that award, a true testament to teamwork, quality, and hard work paying off. You never know when opportunities are going to come, and you have to be ready for them when they pop up. No one expects something like that (double homicide followed by a kidnapping and Amber Alert in the heart of Richmond) to happen, especially not on a slow news holiday. But it did. And I had to react.
I can't even remember how many hours I worked that day, but I'd go back and do it again. That's what being a member of a team is all about. When your number is called, you have to be ready to step up, and deliver. Yeah, this is me once again creating a real life analogy with basketball, but it's once again true. Lessons you learn on the basketball court will serve you for the rest of your life. I'm thankful for that, and for those coaches and teammates who taught them to me.
So that's where I was last Christmas Eve. Eventually I got to spend the rest of the night the way I had originally planned, before returning to work at 6am on Christmas Day (a Sunday last year). Trust me after a long 12 hour shift, I was more than excited to get home and share presents and time with my parents and brother. But I wouldn't trade that experience, and the success that followed, so I will always remember Christmas Eve 2011.
Christmas Eve 2012 was far less eventful. I went to the gym for a couple hours, worked on scouting reports for the teams in the Clover Hill High School Holiday Tournament our team is playing in starting on Wednesday, and now I'm enjoying one of my favorite holiday traditions, Bad Santa on Comedy Central (gotta love Billy Bob Thornton). My work today won't lead to an Emmy Award, but hopefully it adds up to a win or two this week for our ladies.
Think back to where you were this time last year. Are you in a better place now? I hope so. I know I am. Or are you doing the exact same thing? Maybe that's a good thing, or maybe it's a wake up call. Holidays can be a benchmark for comparison in our lives. They give us a time to reflect on where we've been, and where we're going. We all have our memories associated with different holidays, and some are good, others are bad. But man am I thankful to have every single one of them!
The best gift you can give yourself this Christmas is confidence that when next Christmas comes around, if you are still here on this Earth, you can control where you end up, and that future is bright if you make it so. Never take for granted a holiday, or any day for that matter.
Move forward with one mindset, that 2013 is going to be your best year yet! As 2012 winds down,. reflect on the good and the bad, the ups and downs, and celebrate all that's yet to come. Live in your own reality, and stay ready for your opportunities when you make them, or even when they pop up out of nowhere.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
TP
Monday, December 24, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
These are my people
I'm about 24 hours late on this post, but bare with me, I have a million things going on. Such is life on the grind.
I can't even begin to describe how important my friends and brothers are to me. This past weekend I was in Northern Virginia for a bit, and I got to see so many people that I haven't seen in months and even years, and every time I get the privilege to do something like this, it puts a lot into perspective for me. This post is inspired by those people, because they continue to inspire me.
Life is about making memories. Life is about setting goals and working hard. Life is about the relationships we build. Life is about wins and losses.
One thing I'll always be proud to say is that I am a brother of The Delta Chi fraternity. Becoming a member of such an elite group of scholars, athletes, and gentlemen is second to none for me. I credit so many wonderful memories and successes to my decision to accept the challenge to join that brotherhood, so getting to catch up with brothers I haven't seen in months or even years is a good thing. Sure, it reminds you of the good times, but also of the standards you pledged to uphold when you joined. We all set high standards for ourselves, and the higher you set them, the harder it is to uphold them. It takes these important people in our lives to get us up for the challenge.
When I say life is about losses, that's another truth. I've always owned my losses, and have suffered my own share of losses, something I've always been open about. Like most people, I've lose family, but it's the losses of friends, former teammates, and brothers that really motivate me to be better than my best everyday.
With this tragic shooting in Connecticut, something we talked about as a team in practice is that 20 young children were lost before they had the chance to reach their academic and athletic potential. 20 elementary schoolers will never have the chance to play basketball ever again, or any sport ever again. They'll never have a chance to accomplish their full potential. So how can we fall short with the opportunities we are blessed with today? I know it's been said a million times, but for some of us, we have to learn how to put a positive spin on all of life's dark days and share that light with others.
Realizing that you, or the ones you love, will some day leave this Earth should make you value your own time and the time you share with others. On my trip this weekend, I got to see over a dozen brothers and friends that I don't get to see enough, and may not ever see again, at least not soon. It's true. And so I'm thankful for the opportunity. I'm thankful for all of those amazing people in my life, and I'm thankful that if I wake up tomorrow with the chance to be great, I will work hard for it .
Enjoy the time you spend with your friends and family today, not just because it's the holiday season, and not just because of the tragedy in Connecticut. Enjoy it because you should always enjoy it. Change is on the way, that is a certainty. Never miss the chance to let someone know you appreciate them, that they are important to you, and that hearing from them means a lot to you. It's a simple rule we should all follow.
Thanks for the good times, and the bad times. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for the opportunity. Thanks for being my people, and letting me be one of yours.
Live in your own reality, today is your time to shine.
@travisponton
I can't even begin to describe how important my friends and brothers are to me. This past weekend I was in Northern Virginia for a bit, and I got to see so many people that I haven't seen in months and even years, and every time I get the privilege to do something like this, it puts a lot into perspective for me. This post is inspired by those people, because they continue to inspire me.
Life is about making memories. Life is about setting goals and working hard. Life is about the relationships we build. Life is about wins and losses.
One thing I'll always be proud to say is that I am a brother of The Delta Chi fraternity. Becoming a member of such an elite group of scholars, athletes, and gentlemen is second to none for me. I credit so many wonderful memories and successes to my decision to accept the challenge to join that brotherhood, so getting to catch up with brothers I haven't seen in months or even years is a good thing. Sure, it reminds you of the good times, but also of the standards you pledged to uphold when you joined. We all set high standards for ourselves, and the higher you set them, the harder it is to uphold them. It takes these important people in our lives to get us up for the challenge.
When I say life is about losses, that's another truth. I've always owned my losses, and have suffered my own share of losses, something I've always been open about. Like most people, I've lose family, but it's the losses of friends, former teammates, and brothers that really motivate me to be better than my best everyday.
With this tragic shooting in Connecticut, something we talked about as a team in practice is that 20 young children were lost before they had the chance to reach their academic and athletic potential. 20 elementary schoolers will never have the chance to play basketball ever again, or any sport ever again. They'll never have a chance to accomplish their full potential. So how can we fall short with the opportunities we are blessed with today? I know it's been said a million times, but for some of us, we have to learn how to put a positive spin on all of life's dark days and share that light with others.
Realizing that you, or the ones you love, will some day leave this Earth should make you value your own time and the time you share with others. On my trip this weekend, I got to see over a dozen brothers and friends that I don't get to see enough, and may not ever see again, at least not soon. It's true. And so I'm thankful for the opportunity. I'm thankful for all of those amazing people in my life, and I'm thankful that if I wake up tomorrow with the chance to be great, I will work hard for it .
Enjoy the time you spend with your friends and family today, not just because it's the holiday season, and not just because of the tragedy in Connecticut. Enjoy it because you should always enjoy it. Change is on the way, that is a certainty. Never miss the chance to let someone know you appreciate them, that they are important to you, and that hearing from them means a lot to you. It's a simple rule we should all follow.
Thanks for the good times, and the bad times. Thanks for the memories. Thanks for the opportunity. Thanks for being my people, and letting me be one of yours.
Live in your own reality, today is your time to shine.
@travisponton
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Don't be proud, push me
There's that old cliche image that keeps popping up in my head, of a proud parent consoling their kid after a tough loss. This has happened to me countless times in the past, and to have my mom there for me through all of the injuries, big games, disappointments, wins, losses, and all of that, is special. I remember playing my first college game on my mom's birthday, and scoring my first college points that day. That may have been the best gift I could ever give back. Don't get me wrong, a lot of us are who we are, where we are because of our parents.
But here's the problem, there's also a need for someone to push us in our lives, even harder than we push ourselves. It's nice to have someone to make you feel good about yourself, but I'd trade that for the cold, hard, honest truth any day. I've grown up pretty self motivated, that's what kept me outside shooting in my driveway in the dark, and in the rain, or had me in my garage jumping rope and dribbling late at night. I'm more thankful though for everyone that provided the outside influence everyday to me that I have faults, and I can always be better.
How often do you hear someone say that, "kids are different these days," or "it ain't how it used to be." This is a rare statement that probably will reign true through generations to come. I always appreciated the tough love. In the eyes of our parents, many of us can do no wrong. I'm guilty of that myself, and through my years of experience as a journalist and as a coach, it's proven true time and time again.
So ask yourself, how great could I have been if for every time one person told me, "Oh it's OK that you lost you played well," you instead heard, "Losing is not acceptable. It happens, but you better get over it and work harder to correct the mistakes,"?
Unfortunately, we'll never know. It's a flaw in our upbringing, and like everything else in our past, we can't go back to it. So my challenge to you is to push yourself, and those around you, to strive for more in life. Don't ever let anyone you care about settle for less than their best, or less than they deserve. If you hold those around you to higher standards, chances are you will hold yourself to them as well. I'm not perfect, and that's my first sin every single day. I'm not proud of some things in my past, a few things in my present, and many more things likely due to happen in the future. It helps me to know that others are proud of me, but it also should motivate me to really give them something to talk about.
If you take anything from this post, just remember that a false sense of pride is poisonous. Don't ask for compliments, ask for critiques. Live in your own reality, and remember that success is a journey, so keep pushing.
TP
But here's the problem, there's also a need for someone to push us in our lives, even harder than we push ourselves. It's nice to have someone to make you feel good about yourself, but I'd trade that for the cold, hard, honest truth any day. I've grown up pretty self motivated, that's what kept me outside shooting in my driveway in the dark, and in the rain, or had me in my garage jumping rope and dribbling late at night. I'm more thankful though for everyone that provided the outside influence everyday to me that I have faults, and I can always be better.
How often do you hear someone say that, "kids are different these days," or "it ain't how it used to be." This is a rare statement that probably will reign true through generations to come. I always appreciated the tough love. In the eyes of our parents, many of us can do no wrong. I'm guilty of that myself, and through my years of experience as a journalist and as a coach, it's proven true time and time again.
So ask yourself, how great could I have been if for every time one person told me, "Oh it's OK that you lost you played well," you instead heard, "Losing is not acceptable. It happens, but you better get over it and work harder to correct the mistakes,"?
Unfortunately, we'll never know. It's a flaw in our upbringing, and like everything else in our past, we can't go back to it. So my challenge to you is to push yourself, and those around you, to strive for more in life. Don't ever let anyone you care about settle for less than their best, or less than they deserve. If you hold those around you to higher standards, chances are you will hold yourself to them as well. I'm not perfect, and that's my first sin every single day. I'm not proud of some things in my past, a few things in my present, and many more things likely due to happen in the future. It helps me to know that others are proud of me, but it also should motivate me to really give them something to talk about.
If you take anything from this post, just remember that a false sense of pride is poisonous. Don't ask for compliments, ask for critiques. Live in your own reality, and remember that success is a journey, so keep pushing.
TP
Monday, December 3, 2012
No Shortcuts
I don't know who said it, I guess maybe I could be the origin of this great quote though:
"The are no shortcuts to greatness."
I've always made it a point to be pretty open and honest about my life experiences, the good and the bad ones. Like everyone, I've lost some people who were very near and dear to me, and probably even a few more than many. I'm absolutely amazed at the strength of Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Romeo Crennel this past weekend. He led his team, as any head coach must, despite the tragedy he bared witness to. No two situations are alike. I won't even begin to say, "I've been there, I know how you feel," because I don't. Only he does. All I can do is admire him, admire his team, and thank God that he put people on this Earth who show us the right way to deal with adversity, for its through Crennel's example that we all can learn.
That Chiefs tragedy though reminded me of one of those losses I had to deal with, and I spent a lot of time thinking about Matt Gwaltney today.
Chiefs QB Brady Quinn said something I learned years ago and many times over, don't ever take for granted having anyone in your life. With social media and technology, text messaging, and all of that, we are quick to take short cuts in keeping in touch with those we care about. One day, every one of us will be gone, and I'm a firm believer that those things have already been planned out. It's cliche, but true, that we can't take anyone for granted, that we'll see them again tomorrow.
Matt Gwaltney was someone I looked up to from the first time I met him. As an 8th grader, walking into the weight room in the field house at Thomas Dale High School for the first time, I looked up to the upperclassmen who were already where I wanted to be. Gwaltney was one of those guys, and when I started spending as much time as I could at the Chester YMCA, he was a familiar face that I had met at the high school I was about to start going to. He was a senior on the varsity, a great student, polite, thought he was funny (haha), and he was smart. I learned so much from him, just by watching him play, watching him interact on and off the court. To this day I don't think he knew how much I looked up to him, and I guess maybe I didn't realize it either at the time.
I had just left my 8:00 a.m. class on April 16, 2007. I was a freshman at Methodist University, and I was stopping by my dorm on the way to get treatment in the training room on my injured left wrist, that I was still rehabbing from an injury during the season. I remember someone asked me, knowing that I was one of only about a handful of students from Virginia, if I had heard what had happened at Virginia Tech. I remember turning on the television and seeing those same images that have been played back a million times over. I was one of the thousands of people picking up their phone and calling friends and loved ones there, trying to get through and make sure they were safe. That pretty much dominated my day, and then that afternoon, I found out from a friend and then my mom that Matt was one of the victims.
Up until that point in my life, I'd lost family members, but never a friend, someone just a few years older than me that I aspired to be like. I don't remember my state of mind, but I know that when I drove home the next day to pay my respects and try to clear my head, it was a sad, lonely drive. I do remember the last time I saw G-Walt (as I always called him). It was just a few months before in December, home for a few days over the holiday season between practices, where I always saw him, at the YMCA. He was in between semesters of grad school at Tech, and up there shooting one night. It was just me and him in the gym, and I don't remember what we talked about, really. I'm sure we talked about my season, college life, how his grad school was going, stuff like that, and probably a few jabs at who was still the better shooter, and maybe a joke or two about how he knew me when I was 13. You better believe every time you saw Gwaltney he'd have some witty comments, always accompanied by that sly grin. But I do remember telling him that I looked forward to seeing him again that summer.
It's easy to think, wow what should I have said if had had known it would be the last time I would see him. One of my top motivating factors as a player, and now as a coach, is simply realizing that today might be the last day I get to be around the game of basketball, so if it is, how do I want my last day to go down? We don't live this way, but maybe we'd all have a better awareness of the mortality of our relationships, our careers, and our own lives if we did.
I found one of my motivational bands today on my dresser, amongst a pile of them, and instantly put it on. It says "No Shortcuts". I made this 4+ years ago in memory of Gwaltney, because one thing that stuck out to people about him is that he didn't take any. It's a reminder to earn everything. It's a reminder that life is like a game of Shoots and Ladders, sure some of us land on the right spots that shoot us up to bigger and better things, but for most of us to win, we have to go the long way. The long way sometimes takes patience, and it always takes a lot of effort, a lot of tries, but you feel better when you win that way.
I'm guilty of taking shortcuts. We all are. When we take one, we start looking ahead to find the next one. But I think if you focus on where you are right now, and how many turns you have to take to get to where you want to go, maybe then you find more success. That success is bought. You pay a price for it, and the more you're willing to pay, the more you end up giving. But the more you end up giving, the greater the return at the end of it all.
I'm thankful for Matt Gwaltney, and I can live for years to come and not be half the man he was. I'm thankful that, while he's on my mind every night when I say my prayers, that what he meant to so many people is back in the forefront of my mind, so that I might work harder tomorrow. Be greater for the ones you've lost. Live in your own reality. No shortcuts.
http://www.remembrance.vt.edu/2007/biographies/matthew_gregory_gwaltney.html
-TP
"The are no shortcuts to greatness."
I've always made it a point to be pretty open and honest about my life experiences, the good and the bad ones. Like everyone, I've lost some people who were very near and dear to me, and probably even a few more than many. I'm absolutely amazed at the strength of Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Romeo Crennel this past weekend. He led his team, as any head coach must, despite the tragedy he bared witness to. No two situations are alike. I won't even begin to say, "I've been there, I know how you feel," because I don't. Only he does. All I can do is admire him, admire his team, and thank God that he put people on this Earth who show us the right way to deal with adversity, for its through Crennel's example that we all can learn.
That Chiefs tragedy though reminded me of one of those losses I had to deal with, and I spent a lot of time thinking about Matt Gwaltney today.
Chiefs QB Brady Quinn said something I learned years ago and many times over, don't ever take for granted having anyone in your life. With social media and technology, text messaging, and all of that, we are quick to take short cuts in keeping in touch with those we care about. One day, every one of us will be gone, and I'm a firm believer that those things have already been planned out. It's cliche, but true, that we can't take anyone for granted, that we'll see them again tomorrow.
Matt Gwaltney was someone I looked up to from the first time I met him. As an 8th grader, walking into the weight room in the field house at Thomas Dale High School for the first time, I looked up to the upperclassmen who were already where I wanted to be. Gwaltney was one of those guys, and when I started spending as much time as I could at the Chester YMCA, he was a familiar face that I had met at the high school I was about to start going to. He was a senior on the varsity, a great student, polite, thought he was funny (haha), and he was smart. I learned so much from him, just by watching him play, watching him interact on and off the court. To this day I don't think he knew how much I looked up to him, and I guess maybe I didn't realize it either at the time.
I had just left my 8:00 a.m. class on April 16, 2007. I was a freshman at Methodist University, and I was stopping by my dorm on the way to get treatment in the training room on my injured left wrist, that I was still rehabbing from an injury during the season. I remember someone asked me, knowing that I was one of only about a handful of students from Virginia, if I had heard what had happened at Virginia Tech. I remember turning on the television and seeing those same images that have been played back a million times over. I was one of the thousands of people picking up their phone and calling friends and loved ones there, trying to get through and make sure they were safe. That pretty much dominated my day, and then that afternoon, I found out from a friend and then my mom that Matt was one of the victims.
Up until that point in my life, I'd lost family members, but never a friend, someone just a few years older than me that I aspired to be like. I don't remember my state of mind, but I know that when I drove home the next day to pay my respects and try to clear my head, it was a sad, lonely drive. I do remember the last time I saw G-Walt (as I always called him). It was just a few months before in December, home for a few days over the holiday season between practices, where I always saw him, at the YMCA. He was in between semesters of grad school at Tech, and up there shooting one night. It was just me and him in the gym, and I don't remember what we talked about, really. I'm sure we talked about my season, college life, how his grad school was going, stuff like that, and probably a few jabs at who was still the better shooter, and maybe a joke or two about how he knew me when I was 13. You better believe every time you saw Gwaltney he'd have some witty comments, always accompanied by that sly grin. But I do remember telling him that I looked forward to seeing him again that summer.
It's easy to think, wow what should I have said if had had known it would be the last time I would see him. One of my top motivating factors as a player, and now as a coach, is simply realizing that today might be the last day I get to be around the game of basketball, so if it is, how do I want my last day to go down? We don't live this way, but maybe we'd all have a better awareness of the mortality of our relationships, our careers, and our own lives if we did.
I found one of my motivational bands today on my dresser, amongst a pile of them, and instantly put it on. It says "No Shortcuts". I made this 4+ years ago in memory of Gwaltney, because one thing that stuck out to people about him is that he didn't take any. It's a reminder to earn everything. It's a reminder that life is like a game of Shoots and Ladders, sure some of us land on the right spots that shoot us up to bigger and better things, but for most of us to win, we have to go the long way. The long way sometimes takes patience, and it always takes a lot of effort, a lot of tries, but you feel better when you win that way.
I'm guilty of taking shortcuts. We all are. When we take one, we start looking ahead to find the next one. But I think if you focus on where you are right now, and how many turns you have to take to get to where you want to go, maybe then you find more success. That success is bought. You pay a price for it, and the more you're willing to pay, the more you end up giving. But the more you end up giving, the greater the return at the end of it all.
I'm thankful for Matt Gwaltney, and I can live for years to come and not be half the man he was. I'm thankful that, while he's on my mind every night when I say my prayers, that what he meant to so many people is back in the forefront of my mind, so that I might work harder tomorrow. Be greater for the ones you've lost. Live in your own reality. No shortcuts.
http://www.remembrance.vt.edu/2007/biographies/matthew_gregory_gwaltney.html
-TP
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