Growin' Up Gregory

Most athletes, or even us non-athletes who've played some sports, can sit around with our buddies and share stories of the biggest hits we've had or the best plays we've ever made.  We remember the good ole days whether it was Dixie Youth, Rec League, high school, or even backyard pickup games where we made some of our most amazing plays ever.  And for high school athletes looking to earn college scholarships, coaches will often go through hours of film to pull out the plays that showcase their player's talent, skill, and strength at its best.  Sportscenter has become famous for its daily top 10 plays.  We all like to see the highlights.   But the highlight reels that we often see leave something out.  They leave out our failures.  They leave out our grind that it took to develop the skills to make those big plays.  You don't just get up off the couch one day and decide you'll go play a sport or compete in an event at a high level.  It's...

This topic has been in my studies and on my mind for several weeks now.  I talked about it on Mother's Day at church with a friend who was party to some of the stories I could tell (don't worry I won't call you out here lol), had the pleasure of teaching it in Sunday School and even sharing with our older crowd at a Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting. It's a story that many of us have lived, admittedly or not, proudly or not, but nevertheless we have lived it.  It's a story of transformation and renewal.  If you ask people who know me about the 2018 John Gregory, they will likely tell you many good things.  I have a successful career, a happy family, well educated, kind, polite, and serve in various roles in an effort to give back to my community. But that wasn't always me.  Yes, I was one of the "good" kids in high school, college, and even shortly thereafter to some extent.  I never committed any major crimes and stayed out of trouble for the ...

I remember as a child my dad having me get outside on the weekends or when we weren't in school to help on projects around the house.  It may have been working on fences, something to do with the pool, or fixing one of the many broken pieces of equipment that he's owned over the years.  My part was typically just the simple stuff, following his directions step by step while we worked on that day's project.  And I honestly never realized the thought and planning that went into some of these seemingly small tasks at the time. But this weekend, we finally began doing some of the more serious landscaping at our new (1 year old) house.  Before we could start the actual work, Britt and I had to decide where flower beds were going to be, where the walkway would be, which bushes and flowers to buy, what kinds of stones, etc.  There were a ton of decisions to make before we ever even got dirty. Next came the calculating and buying step.  We had to figure out how...

I recently did something that I never thought would happen...or at least not any time soon.  I cut my workout days back from 5 days per week to 4.  Now I know for some people who aren't as into working out as I am, that doesn't sound like a big deal.  But excluding vacations and days to rest before races, I have honestly worked out at 5AM (or earlier) almost every weekday since February 2010.  My fitness and training was, and probably still is, an addiction.  And I honestly wasn't sure how I would handle not training that one day of the week.  I assumed that I would be sluggish, that it would mean I was lazy, and that I would instantly get weaker and fatter.  But none of that happened.  Actually, I feel more refreshed throughout the entire week and haven't noticed any drastic changes in my strength or size so far.   For someone who had always lived by the mantra that the more effort and work you put in, the more results you will get ...

I count myself one of the lucky ones.  I have been given an opportunity in my life to grow up in a great town, get an education both locally and in a neighboring small town, and then be given an opportunity to pursue a rewarding career in my hometown.  Yes, I consider being "stuck" or "left behind" in Union to make me lucky. Nearly 13 years ago, a local company took a chance and hired a 22 year old kid not long out of college with no experience who was looking for a job primarily because I was too lazy and unmotivated to go back to school to become an accountant.  When asked why I wanted to get into banking my response was literally this, "I don't know, I just heard it's a good career to get into."  Looking back, I don't even think there was a need for the position I was hired into, but for whatever reason it happened.  And I believe that it has worked out well for both the company I work with and myself. My message to young people, and pot...