Happy Monday folks! I hope your weekend went well and everyone is safe from the Hurricane on the Gulf Coast. Today I want to use as a little Motivation Monday. I want to share a poem with you by Heartsill Wilson, yet further popularized by the college football legend, former Alabama head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. The Bear was said to have carried this poem around with him everywhere in his wallet and he read it every morning, and often to his players as a way of motivating them to strive for success.  

"This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. 

I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important, as I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving something in its place I have traded for it. 

I want it to be a gain, not loss, good, not evil, success, not failure, in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it." 

     We are all guilty of dipping our heads from time to time when life is weighing heavy. Those are the days when we could all use a little "pick me up". That varies from person to person on what exactly it is that can be your own catalyst. The moral of the poem rings through, no matter the case, however. Every single day is important because we will never get to relive it. It can be used in a positive way, a negative way, or simply squandered, which is still not a positive direction. With all the chaos going on lately and tragic events that seem to be out of our hands, this can be an extremely useful mindset to have in the pursuit of happiness for ourselves, as well as others. 

     It takes zero talent to put in effort at something. When we started the band we had absolutely zero knowledge of the industry and we were highly questionable from a talent standpoint. We had drive, however. We had determination, we had all the intangibles to go out and pursue a dream that sounded like a fairy tale to some people. Toughness, grit, and persistence helped us get through the many barriers standing in our path. Those barriers are still here, though. They do not just go away according to how far you make it, and we still carry that mindset with us, knowing that we still have countless barriers ahead of us in our career, and in life in general. One thing we have learned is you can't be a victim to your circumstances. It's not always good, and you have to find a way through it. It's not always bad either, and you have to find a way to strive for better even when times are good. 

     Today is a new day. What we do with it is our choice. Let's embrace the day. Let's embrace tomorrow, the day after that, and by the end of the week hopefully our circumstances will be a little bit better due to the fact that we set out to make every individual day better. Opportunity doesn't usually just fall in our lap. Opportunities are normally something that is created, then we have to go seize it. Let's use the day for good, and not squander it, and see how the results are looking in a month from now by having this mentality every single day. See y'all soon and happy motivation Monday!