See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero – The Tony Hawk Story.
Life Lesson #99 – Try, Really Try.
Every afternoon, Angel’s father would move the family car out of the driveway to let his son practice skateboarding. Angel was 9 years old when he first became interested in skateboarding. He read skateboarding magazines, and even a book by Tony Hawk. In fact, Tony Hawk became Angel’s HERO, and he wanted to be a champion skateboarder, too, but right now, he was just learning.
There were two older boys in Angel’s neighborhood who came by on their skateboards and saw Angel practicing in his driveway. They started teasing him and laughing at him. One day, Angel’s father saw what was going on, and he hurried to talk to the boys before they left. He said, “I see what you boys are doing to Angel.” Then he sat down in the middle of the driveway near the street. “Let’s talk,” he said. “You know, I find it interesting that Angel doesn’t laugh and make fun of you!” That got their attention! “Why would he?” sneered one of the boys. “Oh, because in his future, he’s an infinitely better skateboarder than either of you ever will be, and he knows it.”
“What?” the other boy said. “Well, you see,” said Angel’s father, “He works at it. He works hard just like he works hard in school and makes excellent grades! He sees a lot of success in his future, and he’s willing to work to make that happen. You could say that right now, he’s a HERO to his own future self—something you boys should consider for yourselves instead of wasting your time picking on little kids.”
Well, the two boys had never really heard anything like that before. And the truth is that Angel’s father was really a HERO to them that day, because that was the day they really began to understand.
– Jim Lord