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These stories were written by people like you. Read how their lives were changed for the better by adopting positive values. Be inspired by them.
The following stories have been tagged with ‘Encouragement’
Inspiration/Encouragement - Thomas Hathaway "Coach"
This one is for you Coach Thomas Hathaway (1932 to 2012). "Coach" was my college cross country and track coach at the University of Indianapolis from 1989 - 1992. He had an amazing way to encourage and inspire his high school, collegiate and recreational athletes whom he coached over the years. He ran a total of 131 marathons in his…
Read MoreThe Miracle
I have a son who is now 5. He was born 12 weeks premature. When he was born, the doctors told me and my husband that the odds were not in his favor. We were told he had a 12% chance to survive. And IF he did survive, he had a 99% chance that he would be a vegetable or…
Read MoreA Child With Special Needs Will Succeed!
Our only son was born 4 weeks prematurely, didn't breathe for about 5 minutes. He stayed in an incubator in intensive care for 16 days. When he was 14 months old, a neurologist told me very crudely that David had Cerebal Palsy and the best thing would be for him to placed in in an institution. My husband was furious,…
Read MoreNotes of Encouragement
The charter school my children attend promotes learning 9 different moral character traits that change monthly. I volunteered to create a bulletin board each month that would help explain and highlight the different moral character traits. One of the traits is encouragement. I wanted to do something that would encourage the kids who really need it, but I couldn’t single…
Read MoreWhen Life Gives You Lemons...
When my friend Lesa was diagnosed with cancer I wanted to do something for her, so the first day of her treatments, another friend and I went to the hospital to spend some time with her. We bought her a small clown and named him Lemon-Aide. We gave Lemon-Aide to Lesa and told her he was to go with her…
Read MoreAbout My Child
My child started working for a company when was 18 teen years old and she still has the job to this day. One thing she needs is a car to get back and forth because right now she walking to work. She is a good child, she finished high school and is now trying so hard to do both things.…
Read MoreConcert
I don't have a story to tell, but want to thank you for the ad on Fox TV which airs every morning. It was just on again and I got a lump in my throat again watching it. It shows a little boy playing the piano at a concert and the theme is Encouragement. I look forward to it every…
Read MoreYou Are More Powerful Than You Think
I have personally helped to encourage a special person in my life. He came from a very unfortunate situation where he was put down everyday and told not to try new things. He was told not to ask questions and that it wasn't necessary to get educated. I made it my goal to change his life for the better, to…
Read MoreLottery Mishap
When my hyperactive son was six years old, I had to stop at a busy gas station for fuel. I walked in with my son to pay for the $10 in gas and also asked for six Lottery Scratch tickets that cost $2 each. The total should have been $22. The cashier asked for $16. My boy distracted me enough…
Read MoreDon't Worry
Five years ago during training to be a softball umpire I was assigned to be behind home plate in my very first game. The varsity catcher looked at me and asked if it was my first game, I said yes and asked, "Does it show?". She just looked at me and said "DON'T WORRY YOU'RE GOING TO DO JUST FINE".…
Read MoreBlood Donation
I had gone to donate blood for an emergency surgery. The person who called me asking for blood was actually a friend of the patient. He told me that he was having a very tough time in getting donors as the blood group was a rare type. Later, he confessed that he has never given blood and on seeing the…
Read MoreSharon's Story
I am in a wheelchair. However, the wheelchair is not in me. I talk to people wherever I am. A smile can brighten up anyone's day. I hope people see me in the chair and think, "Hey, if she can laugh and smile so can I."
Read MoreGoing Back To School
My boss wanted me to go to college even though I had been out of high school eleven years. I was scared and afraid of failure. Many people told me I had a good job. I didn't go to college because it was a lot of work. A couple of weeks later while on the way home from work and…
Read MoreVolleyball
We, the freshman class, were playing volleyball vs. the upperclassman last week. I'm not really an athlete so I just stood in the background and pretended to play. No one ever believed that I could do anything. We were tied and down to the game point. My crush Luke was the best server on the freshman team and was just…
Read More"Failure Is Not An Option...IN THIS LIFETIME!"
“Failure is not an option” is a very well known quote. But my father, Mr. Edwin F. Jackson, told me after the near failure of the Apollo 13 mission back in the late 1960's that “failure has a time-line.” You have to know that my father was a true genius. He was born in 1917 and he died in 1990.…
Read MoreLove Bomb
I parked my car in the large crowded lot and walked toward the supermarket. A blond woman passed me pushing a nearly full cart to her car. She smiled at me and said hello. I did the same. She was a plain Jane, probably in her 40s. She reached her car and began unloading her groceries. I walked back toward…
Read MoreSee You there
The day was a typical summer day - sunny, bright sky, and so much fun...you would think. Unfortunately, I was stuck working. I worked at a amusement park and wasn't really excited about working there that day but it had to be done anyway. Well while I was working I had this huge family come up to me and ask…
Read MoreMy Mother
My whole life I have never lived with my real dad, so everything that I have done has been with my mother. She has inspired me a lot in my life. My family has struggled a lot since my mother has always been the only source of income for our family, not to mention she had to balance working and…
Read MoreMessed Up Life!
My life got pretty crazy when I turned eleven. I broke my wrist and sprained my ankle playing basketball, my best friend turned out to be the guy I love, I had a ton of boy drama, lots of friend drama'pretty crazy. But this isn't about any of that, its about the one guy that changed my life forever. I'd…
Read MoreEncouragement and Believing
I just watched Track Coach and it brought back memories of when I was in grade 6. I joined the cross country running club. I hated running but joined because my friends were in the club. I worked hard and no matter how hard I trained, I constantly came in dead last. After yet another meet where I came in…
Read MoreAn Unlikely Genius
My story is a simple one. First of all, I'm the youngest of six children and I don't live in the best part of town. I started out at a school where 93 percent of the student population lived in poverty and a report card was simply a bunch of letters to most kids. This school was known for its…
Read MoreThe Gift of Self
I was a very young mother of two, when my husband of nearly ten years died very suddenly. Bob, who had just turned 34, had, had a fatal arrhythmia in his sleep. I was 31, with a thirteen month old baby and four year old–both girls. My family did not live close by, but everyone was there to support me…
Read MoreFrom Spark to Flame
When my now 19 year old daughter was in Grade 3, all of Mrs. Mathews' students were given a small pot with a bean seed to plant. Green string beans it seems are pretty hardy and the perfect seed to use when promoting green thumbs in young children. That same plant was also a most unexpected source of understanding and…
Read MoreHaving Faith In Yourself
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." This quote has always seemed to describe me perfectly. All throughout my high school career I have always been the person to play it safe. I would sometimes venture out of my comfort zone by trying something new, but would easily become discouraged when things didn't work…
Read MoreThats What Parents are For....
I still remember it so well, that night before my boards exams... Even though I was a topper of my class, subjects like history and geography sent chills down my spine. At around 10pm, my brother went to his room, and my parents also left. No one asked me how was I feeling...I had so much anxiety; I felt like…
Read MoreMother Hen
I remember that hot summer afternoon when I was finally taken to the hospital to get a glimpse of my much-awaited sibling. I had a baby sister and in my five-year-old mind what was of utmost importance was that now I had my very own playmate at home. My father and I waited outside the hospital room for a few…
Read MoreTeach Them In the Way To Go
I grew up in a very proper Catholic family. Five brothers and me, with just enough of all the right ingredients to make it a childhood well remembered. It was a very strict upbringing, and, in those days, more the norm than not. My father used some unusual techniques to teach us and rarely spared us from the school of…
Read MoreHow You Going to Feed That Pig?
“How you going to feed that pig?” Dad's question rendered me speechless. I had been saving to buy a pig for months, and when somebody gave me a dollar for my sixth birthday, I had $5 to buy the pig. Then he said: “I have a deal for you. I'll furnish the feed for your pig, and you can furnish…
Read MoreMy Generous Sister
My sister Jane talked me into training for a marathon even though I was in terrible shape, and not athletic like her. I often wanted to quit, but she spurred me on, and always had a positive attitude. She was very disappointed that she couldn't go to the New York More Marathon with me, but, as is typical of her,…
Read MoreNew Kid On the Ward
I was a scared 10-year-old girl in the hospital having reconstructive surgery. This was back when you checked into the hospital the day before your procedure. I was shy but met some of the kids in the ward. I was pleased and surprised when they walked me to the elevator as I was being wheeled down for surgery. But nothing…
Read MoreYou Are Going Places
It was another dreary and gloomy day. I had come home from school, changed my clothes and gotten ready for work. I work at a local restaurant in town as a cashier, seater and busser. I went to work feeling down and out. And to make matters worse I was busing that evening. It's the same thing over and over…
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