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Be a Warrior: Help Add Value to Your Community

A friend asked me this week did I ever go "off duty." I thought that was such as odd thing for her to say, but she had just spent 24 hours with me and witnessed a day in the life of the Tuohy family. She laughed and said, "Michael Lewis missed on his description of you as a 'warrior princess'." She said, "You are more like a 'trained warrior'."

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Later that evening, I reflected back on our conversation and thought she was really more right than wrong. Life is like a battlefield! Now don't start sending me correspondence about how I've never been to real war etc.... Hey, you are exactly right; I'm just using this as an analogy. BUT we all need to be warriors in life. A trained warrior who is prepared for battle has a much better chance of victory than an unprepared warrior. I am constantly assessing, scanning, analyzing, preparing, plotting...just ask my friends and family!

Before I left Baltimore last week, I wanted to make sure Michael had batteries, candles, bottled water, a plan etc....Irene was headed his way. I arrived home Friday just as SJ was pulling out of the driveway for his football game.  I was quickly going over a list in my mind; do you have two pair of socks? Do you have your water bottle? Start drinking water now to be hydrated, etc. You get the picture.

There are two things we can do in life-step up or step down. I would hope that we all would choose the first. If we don't step up and be a warrior, then we are doing nothing. Doing nothing relieves us of any responsibility, takes zero initiative, lacks any conviction, and has no risk or rewards. Cowards do nothing. That's the easy thing to do. However, we all know that anything that is worthwhile in life is usually not easy. We are losing the battle today as warriors because too many good folks are doing nothing! We need real men and women, regardless of their age, race, size, or color to "man-up" and prepare for battle.

Remember age is not an excuse for ignorance or stupidity! This little general can tell you what a difference we can make if we are firm, yet gracious and have integrity and courage in making decisions to do the right thing. We don't want our children or our grandchildren to pay the price because we did not fight the battle to stop poverty, love those who aren't loved by anybody, protect the weak, be moved by social injustices, and stand in awe and not judgment of those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

I know we can't fight every battle, but we can try and make a difference when an opportunity comes our way. Be Ready! So when your opportunity arises, I hope and pray you will step up, cross the battlefield and fight to inspire self-worth in others and to add value to your community!

Image credit: Billy Hara

Don't forget to  follow me on Twitter @LeighAnneTuohy and play #TuohyTrivia on Tuesdays for a chance to win a $25 donation to the charity of your choice for answering the question correctly. Learn more about my family's charity at The Making It Happen Foundation.

Miss one of my previous posts? You can view them all HERE


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