Riki+S's+OpEd+Article

==//Integrity, determination, mental toughness; or lack thereof. //== ===//By Riki Schmitt //=== media type="file" key="rikis-muckraker-2011.mp3" align="center"

I do not hate anything. In fact I try, very hard at times, to keep away from the word hate. With that being said it is extremely difficult to say that I, with as much potency as possible, extremely dislike people that are weak. You know who I am talking about don’t deny it. I have friends that are weak, family members that are weak and I am sure there is an entire plethora of others that I do not even know about. Now, before I continue I must make it clear that I am talking about those that are mentally weak, not physically weak. People that break down when something bad happens, people that cannot push themselves, people that have absolutely no problem settling for second best because the effort to get to the best is just to difficult.I honestly hate people that ‘give up’, and it is probably the only thing that I truly can say I hate. My dad always told me, literally hundreds of times during my childhood, that Schmitt’s simply are not quitters. That when a Schmitt makes a commitment we stick to it, no matter the cost. If I know I am running a horrible race I persevere. When I know my essay sucks I stay up late and rewrite it. I don’t give up, I come back with an even greater vitality than before.My parents raised me with the integrity to be my best and never give less than 110% to anything I do in life. With this important trait that my parents instilled me with I was then able to go forth into the world and learn what determination was. I dislike not having a plan, or a general idea of where I am headed. It irks me when someone else doesn’t have a plan. I think it is just ridiculous to be in utter oblivion as to where you want your life to go, or what you are working for.I firmly believe that to succeed in life you have to have the determination to make a plan then you must have the mental toughness to overcome the obstacles that will most likely be in your way and possibly the most important ingredient would be to have the integrity to finish what you started, and to do it right.These three ingredients, integrity, determination and mental toughness, are all key to success in the world. They are the keys to abandon the lazy life style so many Americans, and humans, seem to lead today. Nothing is worse than looking back on your day, your week, your year and possibly your life and feeling as though you have not done anything important.Carl Sandburg once said, "There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud."Don’t be a Hippo, for goodness sakes soar, the sky is seemingly limitless so why not take advantage of the opportunity to spread your wings and simply fly? That is what we all strive to do and in the end it comes down to who wants it and who is too consumed with their coach potato ways.I’ll be in the sky. You can meet me there is you wish and if you have the qualities essential for flight. However, if you decide it is not worth the effort than I have to say, it is your loss, but I respect your choices. Do I agree with them though? Obviously not. We must agree to disagree but the things you will miss out on are endless. The clouds are beautiful from a different view, and a bird’s eye view can change your view on the entire world.So I am off to reach great heights and you, my friends, are more than welcome to join me is you wish.