Hard Work, Determination, and Persistence: 3 Keywords in Life

Kevin speaking to our nation's youth about proper fitness and nutrition

9:00 a.m. CST – Roosevelt High School was my first stop today.  My goal was to inspire and motive all 700 students listening to my speech.  There were four important points I wanted leave them with. They were:

1. To “NEVER give up because There is Always a Way”.
2. It’s not what happens to you that matters, it’s how you choose to respond   to what happens that  is important.  Make good decisions! Make it happen! Like Nike says “Just Do It!”
3. The only failures are the ones who don’t learn from their mistakes. Our kids tend to want to quit too soon. I encourage and try to motivate and inspire them to “Never Give Up! There is Always A Way!”  with hard work,  determination, and persistence anything is possible to bring out the champion that lies within us all.
4. Greatness is all around you.  Do not be afraid to ask for help from someone who is successful at something that you want to do. I personally sought professional coaches to help me bring out my message of “Never Give up!” like Coach Bill Synder at Kansas State University. Another coach was Tony Robbins, who is an author, successful coach & founder of Robbins Research International. I attended his two week seminars as I strived to be the best person, author, athlete and motivational speaker I could become. 

Kevin's name on the big screen at Cardinals Stadium

I encouraged the students to improve a little each day and keep a journal to track their challenges and improvements. By keeping a daily journal, they can identify areas they need to improve and have accountability to make the necessary changes. When they look back at the journal they can see that even small improvements each day when added all up can move mountains. For the “Fitness 4 All 50 State Tour”, we will be providing the youth, teachers, and parents with the daily accountability journals to they can keep track of their fitness and nutrition choices. When I’ve followed up with students at other schools that took this advice to heart I’ve always found it was a strategy that really worked to improve their success in school. 

Kevin being introduced at the St.Louis Cardinals game

At the end of my talk, I presented an autographed copy of my book, “There’s Always a Way”, to the school’s library. This book is very inspiring and I know that many people will benefit from reading it. **If you would like to order the book you can find it in my store on my website www.kevinsaunders.com ** I really enjoyed my experience at the school.  The students were great and were very interested in hearing about the Tour and what I had to say.  I believe education is the foundation to all accomplishments and I encourage everyone to keep learning throughout their lives. Learning new things helps keep a sense of wonder and discovery within us and keeps us young.  I learned lessons of life from Coach Bill Snyder who orchestrated “the greatest turnaround in college football history” at Kansas State University.   I’m passionate about learning and strive to pass that excitement on to students whenever I present as an educational and school speaker.

Kevin's Book "There's Always A Way"

10:15 a.m. CST – We head to Beaumont High School, where I spoke to a much smaller group of about 70 students.  I really enjoy interacting so closely with students. I like getting a chance to hear what they have to say, getting to know their concerns and being able to give them the tools to overcome any challenges they might face. Many students and teachers have told me I really made a difference in their lives and their quest for an education and nothing makes me feel better. The school principal gave Dora, Andy, and I a “Not at Beaumont” t-shirt.  This was the principal’s most popular quote.  I also presented this school with a signed copy of my book, There’s Always a Way, as well as a copy of my comic book. Once my book Revolutions is done (the story of my journey across the country pushing my wheelchair) I’ll be sure to get them a copy of that as well.

Kevin pushing hard to help spread his message of proper fitness and nutrition