Many people have inspiring stories to tell and have succeeded at reaching their goals. They realize that no matter what the odds are in life, you can always push yourself to the next level. A little bit of determination here and there, can really make a difference on your life. A professional football player named Jim Leonhard, was one of those people.Although he didn't get recognized throughout high school because of the small town he lived in, he chose to walk on at the University of Wisconsin.



In the article, " Rise Above ", I learned that Jim Leonhard became a hard-working man and fell in love with football in the seventh grade. He once said, " I could have gone Division II and played football and baseball , but I wanted to test myself at the highest level. I was confident I could excel in Division I." This proved that he was unflinching at doing what he can, to reach his goal. Barry Alvarez noticed that Leonhard was a athlete. From Leonhard's experiences, I began to get a better feel about how never giving up, can benefit you no matter where you came from. Leonhard's hometown is Tony, Wis., which has only 105 residents. But this didn't stop him from working hard and getting to where he is now.



Working hard in life to succeed is a very strong path to take. But when you constantly motivate yourself to do better and seek higher expectations, you begin to create determination. You start to become more confident about what you can do. Reaching goals in life is a challenge, but how you approach those goals can change how difficult you think life may be. " This will certify that the above work is completely original."