Recently I was re-reading Home Town Tales by Philip Gulley.  The book published in 1998, contains short “feel good” stories told by a Quaker minister.  Every few years I get one of his storytelling books from my office library (I have 2 of them) and read a few stories as part of my sleep routine.

One of his stories was from his youth.  His family made ice cream on the back porch on hot summer evenings. He is a good storyteller and gives great background and details of this memory. 

In this story he tells about turning the ice cream crank and how it started out easy and got “progressively harder”.  He said, “Anything worth having is worth working for.”

Boy, is that the truth.  I thought of a gal I am coaching and our recent conversation.  She was sharing her thoughts on her new fitness routine.  She was excited and motivated at the beginning.  It was easy for her to make the time to walk her 30 minutes every day. 

However, it is hard sticking with this daily activity.  It is not easy for her to create this healthy habit. 

In her own words, she said the same thing that Philip Gulley said about making ice cream.  Her dreams and goals are things she really wants. It takes a great deal of effort to achieve them.  When she reached her short-term goal she knew her hard work had paid off.

She reminded me of Philip. He ate delicious homemade ice cream only after the effort it took to turn it.