It is popularly suggested that cockroaches will inherit the earth if humanity destroys itself in a nuclear war due to their high radiation resistance levels. But I also think this might be because cockroaches have something else engraved in them that makes them relentless and prevents them from giving up.

I’ve said it time and time again about how fortunate I was to grow up in a family with two parents that worked full time jobs. My parents installed a sickening work ethic in me from an early age and taught me that the only way to become truly successful in life was through hard work.

I had my first paying job at 6 years old delivering newspapers with my brother. By 7, I was walking the neighbours’ dogs around our neighbourhood at $5/Dog per hour. By 12, I was selling cans of pop out of a cooler at the beach at $3/Can (premium price for the convenience). And by the time I was 14, I literally could not wait until I could apply for my Social Insurance Number so that I could start a real job and start making some real money!

I also learned the value of a dollar (quite literally actually) as that’s exactly what my Dad would pay me to mow the lawn in the summer and shovel the driveway in the winter.

What some people might view as child abuse or child labour today, I view as an extremely important and valuable lesson that could not be taught in any school or learned out of some text book. My parents were preparing me for the real world. The world in which life isn’t always fair. The world in which you lose sometimes. The world in which sucks at other times. The world that can push you and hold you down, unless you know how to get up and fight back.

Preparing For a Pandemic

Besides Bill Gates and possibly a few others, I don’t think any of us were actually prepared for COVID-19. It’s incredibly sad and unfortunate as to how many lives this Global Pandemic has destroyed and continues to destroy to this day. As I write this week’s blog I’m saddened to report that there has been an estimated 1.04 million deaths world-wide caused by this pandemic since it began at the end of 2019. I know many people who have lost both their jobs and their businesses throughout this economic crisis. And even though I’ve tried to remain positive and determined to remain relentless within our own business, there have been times when I myself have felt like just giving up and calling it quits.

But as soon as the thought of quitting something that I’ve worked so hard to grow enters my mind, I think about all the other things in life that I was never allowed or allowed myself to give up on.

Let’s be honest, no 6 year old wants to get up at 4:30am in the morning to deliver newspapers. But I did.

And do you have any idea how much dog shit I had to pick up when walking all those damn dogs in my neighbourhood throughout all those years? I do.

And as for selling cans of pop at the beach? Besides being able to interact with cute girls in bikinis on a daily basis, that job was one of the worst ones I ever had prior to turning 14, as I spent the entire day sitting out in the sun sweating my ass off in order to make less than $50 bucks!

Building An Asset

But looking back now, I realize the all those gruelling, shitty and disgusting jobs that I did over my childhood and teenage years, for very little money, prepared me for the current climate in which we now call our “New Norm”. Every job I ever did helped build an asset in me which cannot be destroyed regardless of how difficult or challenging life becomes. And this was an asset in which my parents gave to me. An asset that could never have been if I was given an allowance, allowed to sleep-in, or handed a free ride.

I feel bad for the people who are out there taking advantage of this Pandemic. Here in Canada, I know of people who have been collecting CERB for the past 6 months, who certainly do not need any financial help. I hear of stories of people refusing to even look for work, when they can just sit at home and collect their EI benefits. To me, this is not only absurd, it’s also selfish and revolting behaviour. There are people out there that actually need financial assistance. And that is what financial programs such as CERB and EI are created for.

As disgusted as I am from some peoples’ greed, I actually continue to feel sorry for them though. For they weren’t raised to work hard. They weren’t raised to never quit or give up. And they weren’t raised to be cockroaches……..

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance