Living to Win

(Jackson, TN) I met a very interesting young lady at the Spaghetti Store tonight in this west Tennessee town. It’s always amazing what you can find out about folks if you just start a conversation and ask a question or two… or three.

I am always impressed with young folks who wait on tables. You will usually find that they are either working their way through school or working a part-time job to help their parents out. Either of those scenarios is very honorable. They have figured out that the world owes them nothing and have decided they have to earn their way.

Lori is 22 years of age. She works two jobs and has finished two years of college at Jackson State. By day she is a pharmacy technician at a local Walgreens. At night she works as a waitress at the Spaghetti Store. She also happens to be an active member of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson.

And unlike most 22 year olds, she has saved her money.

In fact when she was 20 years old she bought a house. And she did it on her own without help from her parents. She said the house is a modest one with one bedroom. But she has just finished redecorating it. To be honest, I don’t know many (any) 20 year old girls who buy houses on their own.

I asked one of her co-workers if she could say two things that described Lorie what would she say? She quickly replied, “She is a workaholic and she sleeps with a shotgun.”

Lorie made me feel better when she told me the shotgun is actually behind the door. I didn’t ask but I got the impression she knows how to use it.

I also got the impression that one of these days, Lorie will have a lot of folks answering to her. As I have said here several times before, most people live everyday just to get by. A few folks live to win.

This Lorie is living to win. And I'm quite sure there are some folks reading this who can learn from her.