Tough times never last, but tough people do

By David Tepera, March 25, 2020

“Tough times never last, but tough people do” is a famous quote by Robert H. Schuller that we all need to absorb. Rev. Schuller was an American televangelist who built an empire preaching self-belief. He wrote many books, along with famous inspiring quotes.

No, I didn’t follow him, but since we are all dealing with challenging times in our lives, I thought sharing some of his wisdom would be welcomed.

There’s no secret, each and every one of us are dealing with some type of loss from the coronavirus. The shutting down of multiple businesses, who typically hosts large numbers of people, is taking its toll, with no end in the near future.

We have to remember, especially those of us in Galveston County, we’ve dealt with plenty of disasters, including the latest from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

One thing we witnessed was how all communities came together as one. Well, my friends, we are in the same situation where brotherhood is a must.

When I was playing and coaching team sports, no one cared about your religion, political beliefs, race, gender or sexual orientation. The only way to win a championship is through team unity.

There were many games where we were losing in the fourth quarter. It was at that moment where leaders stepped up, licked their wounds and lifted their teammates to come back and win the game.

Today, I’m asking you to take on the same mentality. This is the time for each of us to become leaders of kindness, courteous, helpful and understanding.

We have many friends who are small business owners that had to shut down, with some to never reopen because of the financial loss. We are saddened for all their employees and families affected by this.

We at Ageless Muscle fitness center are in the same battle. This past weekend, Tina and I sat down over many tears as we develop a new plan to pull through and save our business. We understand, we are not in this fight alone because as Rev. Schuller told us, “problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines,” and, “let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.”

Please, do you part of responsibility, don’t spread hate, and only voice happiness and hope. We are in this together.