WHAT YOU CARRY FORWARD

Oh, teach them this, will you? 

Teach children to reimagine what it means to win. To see winning not as the trophy or the glowing digits on the scoreboard or the fleeting thrill of cheers, but as something richer and deeper.  

Teach them to relish the contest itself. To embrace the sheer joy of testing themselves against others who have sweated and prepared just as fiercely. Praise the process. Commend the brilliance and quiet courage of digging deep to uncover what resides within. Show them that true winning isn’t about the medal but about the moment. That electric instant when courage meets exhaustion, and they keep going anyway. When they give everything; every ounce of effort, every scrap of courage.  

And when the game ends, encourage them to take pride not only in the outcome but in the effort.  Excellence achieved and resilience displayed, are timeless qualities. Trophies gather dust and medals tarnish while stored in shoeboxes in the attic. But the striving, the competition, the discipline, that’s what lasts. 

True winning isn’t what you take home. It’s what you carry forward. The work. The sweat. The spirit.

Always has been. Always will be.

Letter Written By Russ Davis, Executive Director For The 90+ Project