Pride

I am an Aberdeen Central High School Golden Eagle

I am a Northern State University Wolf

I am a Sun Devil.

I am a brother of Pi Kappa Phi

I am a South Dakotan.

I am an Arizonian.

And I am an American.

I have to be honest…when the Olympics come around I get a little excited.  One of the few things in this world that truly brings us together is Pride. The Olympics has this incredible ability to unite us, and remind us of the wonderful country we live in.  As Americans, I feel we truly take for granted the beauty associated with that red, white, and blue.

This lack of appreciation is evident in many places, especially in politics.  Everyone seems to be fixated on our economic slump, health care debate, or the newly elected President Obama.  Whether it be the high unemployment rate, or constant disagreement about health care plans, there is nowhere else I would rather been than in the United States.  Yes, I completely understand we are currently having a little trouble, but other countries have their problems as well. America seems to have started a vicious cycle of electing heroes to save the day, and then kicking them to the curb when the change doesn’t happen overnight. I am far from a political person, but it truly bothers me to see President Bush be disrespected the way he was, only to see our next President, Obama, be treated with the same blatant disrespect.  We made the choice, live with the decision.  Disrespect and hate will not solve our problems.

 It has been my dream to be at Arizona State University since I was a little kid. My grandma constantly bought clothing with some scary looking guy grinning with a pitch fork embroidered on it.   Eventually I took a tour and fell in love with the land of Sparky.  I came to my first football game proud in gold, but was later incredibly disappointed with the pride of others.  Our football team had somewhat of a rough season, and the student section voiced their angry opinion at every game.  If it wasn’t for the gold they were wearing, you would have thought Oregon, USC, or Cal brought a real big student section full of ASU haters.  Our fans constantly complained, especially about our quarterback.  This embarrassing lack of pride killed me, for many reasons.

I run track and lift side by side with the football guys…I know damn well how hard those guys work out in the weight room.  They are incredible athletes, who dedicate their lives to what they do, and to some extent…they do it for you.  What do they get in return?  Booed, hated, and disrespected on their home field.  It really is comical when I hear some overweight drunk guy in the stands yell “How did you not make that pass?” Could you do any better? Hey big guy…this isn’t Madden.

Trust me, I want our football team to do well just as much as the others.  Our athletic department’s budget relies heavily on the success of our major programs like football and basketball; I completely understand Track and Field doesn’t make the big bucks. By booing and hating, they are not helping the situation.  Have a little patience, and especially some pride, and eventually success will come our way.  In the meanwhile, how about you support the already successful athletic teams?  Like the 2008 Men’s and Women’s Track and Field National Indoor Champions, or the 2008 Women’s Softball National Champions, and the defending National Champions on our Women’s Golf Team?  

I will never forget where I came from, and every day I fully appreciate where I am. Whether it be your high school basketball team competing for a state title, or our US Olympic Team competing for gold, have a little pride.

Keep your head up like your nose is bleedin,

TJF

Find meaning.

I am a firm believer that inspiration should be the guiding focus in our lives.  I also believe that inspiration can be found any and everywhere.  As I have said before, the cup is either half full, or half empty. Your interpretation of life’s everyday messages heavily impacts the direction of your life.  I have always been a fan of Will Smith movies, but “Pursuit of Happyness” particularly had a profound impact on me.  One scene
 in particular:

“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. If people can't do something themselves, they want to tell you that you can't do it.

"You want something? 

Go get it. 

Period.”

This fall I had mono, and I found myself, a ridiculously energetic and inspired individual, stuck inside my room for a month and a half, slowly but surely losing all heart.  I spent every day sleeping, eating, and watching meaningless movies. Every day I saw my dreams of running fade further into the dark abyss that was my lack of motivation.  I have watched “Pursuit of Happyness”  a million times, but one day that scene and it’s meaning truly hit me.  I literally paused the movie, and printed off the words
You want something? 
Go Get it. 
Period.
in enormous letters, and pasted it to the center of my wall. 

To me, that one line, from that one movie, that one day, guides my life.  Looking at it deeper, it is really quite simple.  Whatever it is in your life, whether it be a job, a sport, a date, an ideal body, or an A on a final exam, if you want something bad enough, go get it. Period. 

Obviously there should be steps, a progression, into achieving your dream.  As a kid I fell asleep many nights reading Michael Jordan’s biographies, and he truly embraced the idea of stepping stone success.  He didn’t wake up one day as the best player to ever play his sport, broke things down and took things step by step.  First he had to be the best in high school, then college, then the pros, etc.  The real guiding force in any journey is the inspiration, the motivation.  You have to decide what you want, and then go after it.  If you truly want something as bad as you say you do, you will make every other aspect of your life form in the right direction to guide you to your goal. I know this sounds like it came straight from “The Secret”, so please forgive me if it seems like I am going all philosophical on you.  I don’t believe in the planets magically aligning to help you get that “A” you want in Comm class, but I do firmly believe in complete and utter focus.  I am sure you know people who talk but never follow with action.  They say they want this job, or that girl, or to lose a few pounds but are afraid to try, and unwilling to actually put in the work that is necessary.  If you truly want something bad enough your priorities will shift.

For example, after truly embracing the quote from “Pursuit of Happyness”, I arranged my life in a way that would positively guide me towards my dream of running.  I am much like a “Rudy” on the track team, and I wasn’t gifted with the incredible talent that many of my friends and teammates were given, so I need to do all the little things right, perfect in fact, to see the success I want. I knew I wanted it bad enough, so the pain and hard work were irrelevant. I changed my social life, I still went out to see my friends, but I didn’t drink, and I went to bed at a decent time.  I changed my diet, and focused on what I needed, not what I wanted.  Many of my teammates are on scholarship, since I am not that fortunate I have to work.  I had way too much on my plate, so I quit one of my jobs and focused more on being financially efficient.  I was completely willing to sacrifice minor necessities for the ultimate goal.

The essence of my example is focus.  I do not focus on all the little things that I cannot control, like natural ability and scholarship money.  Instead, I focus on all the little things in my life that I do have control over, like my social life, nutrition, time management, and financial efficiency.  All these little changes executed daily, cumulatively bring me closer to my dream.

This is my dream, and my experience, all of which is rooted from a random movie on a random day.  Think of how many songs, books, articles, shows, and movies you experience daily.

Find meaning.


Keep your head up like your nose is bleedin,
TJF 

Welcome to Ford's Fort. Please take off your shoes.

Hi.  My name is Taylor Joseph Ford.  I was born and raised in a little town called Aberdeen, South Dakota.  About a year and a half ago I packed up my Jeep and Uhaul and drove 1,680 miles to Tempe, Arizona to follow my dream.  Since I was a kid I wanted to live in sunny AZ and run Division 1 track for the ASU Sundevils.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am generally a happy guy. Please pardon me in advance if I am not politically correct on my life statement, but I guess you could say I am like a fat girl at prom; I'm just happy to be here.

Jackie Robinson put it best: "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." When deciding what to write about for my blog, I came to realize that like myself, I wanted my blog to be different.  Popular culture, the media, news, and other blogs all seem to be critical, negative, and generally pessimistic across the board. To those who are fortunate enough to enter Ford's Fort, I guarantee you will be leaving with a smile.  I will focus on the brighter aspects of pop culture.  I want my friends, excuse me, VIP members of FF, to leave smiling like Enzyte Bob. I hope that me, and my blog, will show you that the cup is half full, not empty, so drink up!

Keep your head up like your nose is bleedin,
TJF