WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?
by Joe Bonura, CSP
The Big C
While watching the pre-game show on ESPN last night, I noticed
that one of my favorite commentators, Stuart Scott, had lost a lot
of weight. It concerned me so I went on line and discovered that
Stuart has cancer. He won the battle the first time and his cancer
was in remission, but again, his cancer had returned.
He Still Works
What impressed me was his comment on Twitter: "Blessed by
prayers, I am back in the fight. C reared its head again. Chemo
every two weeks but I will still work and still work out . . . Here's
what I do right after chemo. Leave the infusion center and go straight
to do a P90X workout . . . That's how you . . . #Livestrong."
Stuart has every excuse in the world to sit back and relax, and
yet, he chooses to continue working. It is that attitude that will
make life easier for him no matter what the outcome.
Unexplained Lump
I can relate to what Stuart was saying because in 1959 my Dad
found out that he had a deadly cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma. When he
found a lump on his nose that would not go away, he went to four
doctors for diagnosis. The fifth doctor decided to operate to see
what was causing the lump.
Diagnosis Confirmed
The next time I saw my Dad was in room 232 at Hotel Dieu Hospital
in New Orleans, and he was minus his nose. My Dad was only 39 years
old. My cousin, who was a pathologist in Atlanta, drove all the
way from Atlanta to New Orleans to look under the microscope because
he did not believe that my Dad had rhabdomyosarcoma. He also confirmed
the diagnosis and told my Dad to get his papers in order.
Back To Work
When I visited my Dad in the hospital, he said that he had a goal
to retire at 55 years old from the wholesale meat business and he
planned to focus on that goal. He returned to work, but one year
later, the cancer was back, this time in the lymph nodes in his
neck. The doctor removed the lymph nodes and gave my Dad little
hope for the future.
No Excuses
Again, when I walked into the hospital room, my Dad repeated his
goal to retire at 55 years old. He went back to work, and did indeed,
retire at 55 years old. Today, he is 95 years old and counting.
He has lived with a prosthesis for a nose all his life and has never
complained about how unfair life has treated him. Before he purchased
the prosthesis, my Dad made sales calls with a bandage for a nose.
He didn't use the bandage as an excuse to not make sales calls.
Get Back To Work
My dad had every reason in the world to take it easy while he
waited to die. Instead, he went to work and focused on living while
he still had the opportunity. I watched him work every day, and
he didn't focus on his cancer; he focused on his business.
Living With Cancer
When my sister developed colon cancer 25 years ago, I sent to
her Bernie Siegel's recording of "Love, Medicine, and Miracles,"
which is also a best-selling book about living with cancer. My sister
listened to the recordings every day, and when Bernie Siegel was
speaking in Louisville, she came to hear him. She was encouraged
to live life with her cancer, and today, 25 years later, she is
living her life fully with no sign of cancer.
What's The Point?
What's the point? I have seen people, with a lot less than cancer,
decide to give up on life and business because of a minor setback.
The secret for a fulfilling life is to continue to live no matter
what the diagnosis. Circumstances will eventually change, good or
bad, but if you are patient and moving forward, the outcomes will
almost always end up for the better.
What's Your Problem
So I go back to my original premise for this article: What's your
problem? What obstacles keep you from moving forward? Acknowledge
your situation, Accept whatever it is, Adjust to the new circumstances,
and take Action to change what you can. That sure does beat sitting
on the sidelines waiting to die.
Do It Anyway
Stuart Scott has been fighting his battle with cancer since 2007.
He commented, "Cancer sucks, and the effects of chemotherapy
suck, and you are going to feel terrible sometimes. But you're going
to feel like that whether you're lying in bed or going to work or
working out, so you might as well go out there and live your life..."
© 2013 Joe Bonura & Associates, Inc. |