One of the inspiring things about my profession is the extraordinary people that I have the opportunity to meet around the country. This past Monday was a perfect example. I had the privilege to speak at The University of Southern California with all of the student athletes. This was my second time speaking at USC and the experience was just as phenomenal. Every person that I met in the athletic department was first class and went out of their way to make me feel welcome. The student athletes from the football team to the volleyball team were an incredible audience and very kind.
In my presentation, “Playing Big in the Game of Life” I talked with them about being a leader and making a difference in their community. I shared with them the power of living and leading your life with gratitude, respect, and the law of reciprocity. A law that reminds us to “do unto others as you would have others do unto you” and that what we give out comes back.
One of the student athletes that I met after my presentation is doing just that. His name is Greg Woodburn, and he is a distance runner on the USC Track & Field team. In November of 2006 he started a shoe donation program called “Share Our Soles” (S.O.S). The program is dedicated to collecting, and then washing and donating used (but in good condition) running shoes to underprivileged youth in distant nations and local inner-city communities. By providing these children — many of whom have never before owned a pair of shoes — with running shoes, S.O.S. aims to encourage a love for running and in turn spread its many benefits, from positive self-esteem and increased confidence to improved health and new friendships. To this date S.O.S has collected, cleaned, and distributed 3,107 pairs of running shoes.
Greg’s program is making a world of difference to deserving youth from Los Angeles to Mexico to as far away as Africa by giving them a chance to “lace ’em up, to take a step forward — and never stop running”. He is an example of one person making a difference and living an extraordinary life.
To find out more about this amazing program and how you can help visit:
