Mike Vallely

• Top Professional Skateboarder, California
• Professional skateboarder since 1986
• Developed “Barnyard deck” skateboard that is credited with the evolution of the skateboard shape to its current popsicle deck

TESTIMONY & ADVICE

I am optimistic about this life and the world that we live in. Even in the face of historical and current events, I believe in the potential of the human heart and that regardless of the condition of this world, that love should be our highest aspiration.

From a very early age I was conscious of my soul and I believe strongly that we continue to live after our physical body dies. In turn, I believe that the choices we make now will affect us in the life after. So, I make my choices carefully and I encourage others to do so as well.

Marriage and family are the greatest expression of love in this world. Therefore, it is in the home where all things, good and bad, begin and thus set the tone for the rest of one's life. Broken homes, marriages, and families make for a broken world, so we must strive to keep our homes intact and filled with love and happiness.

Keeping my mind sober and my senses active I find allows me to address the heartaches of this life with endurance, and to accept the blessings of this life with even that much more appreciation. Therefore, I do not consume alcohol; I do not, nor have I ever found the need to take any drugs of any kind; nor have I ever smoked and I continue to refrain from any other type of addictive habits. I don't see any redeeming value in partaking in any of these things. I only see self-loathing, pain, and the death of one's mind, body, and spirit.

We all have a road to walk and a story to tell. The road I have walked has been detailed for the world to know and I accept that and I have continued to learn from it. My story has shown that violence solves nothing and really only begets more violence. I have learned that the only battlefield where there can be a true victory is the one inside of our hearts and minds. We must fight against the violence in ourselves in whatever form that violence appears whether it is in addiction, apathy, or physical force. In the end, it is these weaknesses that deter us from the path of love, self-respect, and the full realization of one's purpose on this earth.

Individuality has been the foundation of my soapbox for many years, but not as an excuse not to participate or not to be a team player, quite the opposite really. We all have been blessed with skills; we all have been given gifts, every one of us. It is only when we begin to look at our own lives and begin to use the tools and gifts that have been given to us that we will see what great and awesome things we can and should be getting done in our homes, our communities and in our own lives.

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Tom Lehman

• PGA Golf Professional
• PGA Tour Victories: 1994 Memorial Tournament, The Presidents Cup. 1995 Colonial National Invitation. 1996 British Open Championship, The Presidents Cup, THE TOUR Championship. 2000 Phoenix Open

TESTIMONY

I was an athlete and a student, and it seemed that my whole life was wrapped up in having to be good at what I was doing. But the ups and downs, the successes and the failures, really gave me a sense of the emptiness on which I was putting the emphasis of my life. It got to a point where I was feeling very hopeless and very despairing about what the meaning of life was.

Finally, I went to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting where they talked about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ--how we're separated from Him by sin and how He forgives our sins. They talked about how He can give us peace and hope and joy and unconditional love and acceptance. And that's exactly what I was looking for.

When I got away from involvement at school and was a twenty-three-year-old kid out on my own, I learned that if you don't have that circle of supporters around you, it's a struggle. It's a maturity thing. I had to learn how to get disciplined, how to pray, and how to walk with God on my own.

I think that everything you go through helps you develop character. And the Bible talks about how God allows you to go through good times and bad times so you'll be trained by what you go through. Then you'll learn how to persevere, how to develop character, how to be more open and, hopefully, how to be more like God. I really feel like every good thing and every bad thing you actually go through is experienced in order to make you more like Christ--if you'll allow it to train you in that way.

In our Bible studies, we talk about doing things for the glory of God and not for the pleasures of men. That's one of the ways you can keep yourself focused on being everything God wants you to be on the golf course. You need to play for God and God alone. Whatever else comes along is nice, but it doesn't really mean as much as having God say, "Well done."

The message I try to convey is that we are unconditionally loved, and we are eternally accepted by God, regardless of our successes or failures in business. Or in life.

At the beginning of my pro career, I put so much emphasis on money and in being successful that all of the things I felt from age fifteen to age twenty-two were shot down by the things I saw all around me. I went from doing things for God's glory and trying to be His kind of guy to trying to make money and be successful, just for myself. It took my being knocked way down to realize that God wanted me to be His man. He wanted me to be His man with my family, with golf, with everything I did. And to start putting the focus on God and say, "God, I'm going to be whatever You want, go wherever You want me to go. If You want me to quit golf, I will. If You want me to be a golfer, I will. Take me where You want and I'll follow.

As I get older, I see that relationships are what's important in life. A relationship with God is wonderful. He loves us unconditionally. And we need to love the people around us--hopefully the same way. And that's much more meaningful and lasts a lot longer than any success on the golf course.

Used with permission of TheGoal.com

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