A few weeks ago I took my Molly (12) and Gavin (10) to see an inspirational talk put on by Jen Groover and Vince Papale called, “Empowered to Be Invincible.” They were a bit hesitant when I told them where we were headed; not only was I keeping them from their sports practices that night (not something I typically do) but I also told them they had to look “nice enough.” As I suspected, however, the grumbling prior to the event gave way to curiosity as it got underway, and before long it was smiles all throughout.
Jen started the talk with some great quotes and tidbits of wisdom. She had a few stories thrown in about her twin girls that the kids found very relatable. One story in particular resonated with Gavin. Jen taught her twins the power of a positive attitude with the mantra “I only have good days.” One day one of her daughters wandered around the house all day repeating “I only have good days! I only have good days!” Later that day, Jen’s other daughter came around a corner on a scooter and ran over her sister’s foot. In pain (and plenty mad), she loudly stammered out “I ONLY HAVE GOOD DAYS!!” Talk about mind over matter! Now, because of Jen, our family tells each other every day that “I only have good days!”
Jen also mentioned in her talk—and chatted with Molly after the event—about keeping a “drama-free zone” with the girls in school. Seventh grade is a tough year and I’m proud of how Molly is handling herself, but hearing Jen tell Molly to be a leader and start that “drama-free” movement was awesome.
Vince Papale, Eagles’ legend, then entertained us and motivated us with his heartfelt story of dreaming big and never giving up. Several times during his presentation he mentioned his wife, Janet Cantwell-Papale, and how she was a world gymnast. Ding, ding, ding! I knew there were many reasons that we were meant to be there that night; clearly Molly skipped her gymnastics practice that night so that she could be inspired and motivated by Janet! After the event, Janet spent some real quality time asking Molly about her sport, her skills and gave her some really great advice. She asked Molly what her aspirations were with gymnastics, and pushed her to identify her vision. It reinforced the point that it is important to really dream big, to say that wild and crazy dream and then to work towards it. Molly has since put her 1st place medal from States on her vision board, inspiring her to visualize and think big about her upcoming Nationals competition.
As we were talking about gymnastics, Vince came up and said to Gavin, “Let’s hang over here.” He took Gavin over to the couch and they sat down together. Now here we are a few weeks later and Gavin is still talking about how Mr. Papale took the time and really wanted to get to know him. He said, “Mom, he is really famous and he was asking about me and mysports and sharing stories of his son and lacrosse. All these other people wanted his attention but I could tell he wanted to talk to me.” I’d say that is pretty powerful. You may recall from the movie Invincible, which loosely told the story of Vince’s path to the Eagles, that Vince always stopped to ask others about them, and it was great to see he truly lives that way. He knows how to make someone feel special and inspire them to greatness. Since this event, Gavin has been working harder on his lacrosse (which I blogged about here) and has even agreed to be my running coach. I don’t think it’s just a coincidence.
The event was terrific for the kids, and I’m glad I pushed through the grumbling and made them go. I believe in the power of positive living, and for the most part I feel I live it. I often speak to my kids about the power of positive thinking and the importance of seeing the glass half full, but the message is SO much more powerful when someone besides Mom tells them these things. The messages and stories they heard that night will forever shape who they are. I truly believe this was a defining moment in their lives for so many reasons, and I’m grateful to Jen, Vince and Janet.
If you would like to learn more, check out where Jen and Vince will be next here.
Also, if you haven’t read my previous post on the power of having positive role models in your life, you can check it out here.
