"Do what you love, love what you do"  - The secondary tag-line for the Life is Good T-shirt company....those thoughts were running through my head when I was getting ready for yesterday morning's farewell speech to the graduating 5th graders at Ocee Elementary in Alpharetta, GA.

I love to get in front of a crowd and speak....I love the opportunity to share, motivate, and inspire, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to do just that at our local elementary school....Do what you love, love what you do! I like to say - find your passion, find your strength, find your Primo!!

Because I know all to well, that much is lost in translation from our children to us.....or they may not tell us anything at all....I wanted to share with you (hopefully some Ocee Mom's and Dad's have been directed here) a very abridged version of the speech I presented to the kids yesterday...It will give you the main points however, it will be lacking some of The Primo Lady's wit and obnoxious boasting about this years Field Day t-shirts ( aahem....beautifully designed and printed by Primo Activewear

I created PRIMO for you so you can have a visual of your inner competitive spirit; the competitive spirit that you must awaken whether you are competing against someone to win or if you are  competing against yourself to be or do your personal best. I created Primo to give you a fun way to picture in your mind what strength, hard work, perseverance, respect, a positive attitude and believing in yourself looks like...

 

...Reach down to your gut where he resides-

Don’t you know your strength comes from inside?

 This competitive spirit dwells in us all...

So many times he waits for your call.

 Competing to win against your opponent

Doing your best may be the component;

 Dig deep within as you go on life’s ride,

I tell you again strength comes from inside

 Primo is there, so go out on a limb

 He’s waiting and waiting for you to go find him!

**( a snippet from the upcoming Primo book)

 

I understand your theme for the week is ‘looking to the future’…. Your future is out there (pointing out the doors)... But it is not some place that you are going to, as much as it is some place that you are creating, and what you create will depend on how you think and how you act .

Each finger of Primo's "unusually large hands" represents a personal skill/ trait/attribute that when combined become 'Primo's High 5 Principles for Success'. How one thinks and how one acts in accordance to these principles will create your future...........Are you creating the future you want?

P =  Perseverance

R = Respect yourself and others

I  = It is all in the attitude ("It's is not who you are that holds you back, it is who you think you are not")

M = Make the right choice (you can choose right or you can choose wrong...either way, you will get a result....are you getting the results you want?"

O = Open your mind to new opportunities (often times the greatest things that happen to us are the unexpected thing that come into our life....be open to new opportunities)

I asked the kids to make a commitment to themselves on May 27, when they walk out those doors for the very last time, to persevere in all they do, to respect themselves and others, to maintain a positive attitude, to make the right choices in life, and to always be open to new opportunities!!!

** I've known many of these kids since kindergarten, a few I saw get on the school bus for the very first times as tears ran down their parents faces,   .... I'm so proud of them and wish them much health, happiness and success in middle school and in the FUTURE!!

.....................It's a beautiful thing!!!