Hard Work Pays Off

We hear this all the time, “Hard work pays off”. And often we may wonder, does it really? Or does hard work just lead to harder work? Yes and yes. Hard work does pay off and it can often lead to greater opportunities, greater responsibility, and greater demand in most cases. But I want to tell a story about a young man who over the past several years has learned the value and importance of working hard with no expectations for glory or recognition.

His name is Elijah Collum and yes he is my son, but I have to reserve this time in our lives to express how very proud I am of this young man. Elijah has always been a very quiet, reserved, and introspective child. He doesn’t say much to a lot of people, but when he does speak it carries weight, meaning, and often passion and wisdom beyond his years. This young man has been playing sports since he could walk. He loves to compete. His favorite sports are football and basketball. And yesterday he was given a full ride scholarship offer to attend the University of Texas San Antonio to play football.

Now, this is the culmination of years of very hard work on his part. You see, I have watched this young man wake up every morning at 5:30 am before school and head straight to the weight room to workout every day before school for weeks on end. Then he carries a 4.0 gpa and works hard at school, followed by long hours of practice and games every week. During a season of life where there have been several distractions, ups and downs, and many chances for him to throw in the towel and quit or walk away, he simply refused to give up. Instead, he put his head down, faced the storms of life all around him, and doubled down on his work ethic and became even stronger. There was no glory. There was no major attention. Just the daily “grit and grind” of working hard every day with no expectations for any return.

And then the day came when it all worked out and the hours and hours of long hard dedication came to fruition in a single moment, a phone call with an offer to play Division One football for a university in Texas. This brought joy, smiles, tears, and laughter to our family and our home. It simply brought to life for all of us the continued value of working hard and yes things will eventually work themselves out.

Thank you for bearing with me and allowing me to share this proud moment as a dad. His story inspires me and I hope inspires you to keep working hard and one day it will all pay off. As one of my old mentors and former bosses told me one time about working hard with no expectations, “Collum, just keep chopping wood and making a wood pile.” I hear you Dr. Dunn and that’s just what we are doing. Chopping wood and making a wood pile. God bless and Godspeed to everyone out there working hard. Keep going, you can do it!