PURSUING PASSIONS WITH
POSITIVITY AND PERSISTENCE
BY HALEY PANDELOS, PTHS JUNIOR
A
s the students at Peters Township High
School got ready for their winter break, they
were invited to hear a message of hope and
kindness from author, educator, entrepreneur
and motivational speaker Wesley Lyons during a school-
wide assembly. Lyons is a former professional football
player for the Pittsburgh Steelers who delivered an
impactful message about the role of positivity and
kindness in our lives.
Lyons shared his
passion to become a
professional football
player, and how he
eventually shifted his
passion to motivating
and encouraging
others to follow their
own dreams. His three
keys to determine
success are: Positivity,
Planning, and
Perseverance.
In order to
accomplish personal
goals, Lyons stresses
the importance of a
positive mindset. He
demonstrated how
thinking positively
leads to a desire to
achieve goals. He went
on to stress that not
only do people need
to think positively
themselves, but they
also must surround
themselves with
positive influences. Consistent, negative comments and
thoughts will ultimately lower morale and keep you from
your goal.
“You develop hope from what you hear,” said Lyons “and
when you start thinking about the things you hope for,
you start to dream big.” And according to Lyons, all dreams
are realistic.
“A lot of the time we have these dreams, and people tell
us they’re not realistic,” he added. “Realistic really means
that you just can’t go from zero to one hundred. You need
a plan.”
Lyons emphasizes the fact that working towards
goals takes time and determination. A lot of that time is
planning on what to do next.
“If you have an idea of what you can do, you have to
have the confidence to go after it,” said Lyons.
As an example, Lyons used his personal experience
working with the Steelers to explain the importance of
creating a plan.
“We would go to the training facility for twelve hour
days,” explained Lyons. “We only spent two of those hours
on the field, and the rest of the time we were coming up
with a plan to defeat the opposing team.”
Along the way
there are going to be
setbacks, but Lyons
explains that setbacks
are just challenges
that occur in any
process. If one plan
does not work, there
is always the option
to go back to the
drawing board and
figure out another
solution.
With Lyons’s three
part method, the
opportunity to achieve
life goals and dreams
can become a reality.
He hopes to inspire
students to take a leap
of faith towards their
own aspirations and
goals.
The visit to Peters
Township High School,
sponsored by the
PTSA, supports the
school’s work with
Rachel’s Challenge and the school’s theme this year of BE
the ONE.
“Every day we see our students displaying acts of
respect, kindness and compassion at school,” said Principal
Lori Pavlik. “But we also recognize that stress, frustration,
and negativity are also part of daily life in our world.
It is our hope that showing positive examples like Mr.
Lyons can show our students that they can overcome the
challenges they will face.”
Lyons challenged the students to keep working
until they find a plan that works to reach their goal. He
reminded them that “Every time we fail, we’re actually
getting a step closer to reaching our goal.”
PETERS TOWNSHIP
❘
F E B R UA RY / M A R CH 2020
69