D West's first 40 yard dash was a disaster.  He stumbled after his first 4 steps and almost fell flat on his face.  However, he didn't stop running.  He refused to give up.  His first 40 yard dash was basically a scratch, but he didn't panic. 

West had one more attempt to run a pro time.  When he walked back to the start line he shook off the butterflies and relaxed his mind.  He got into his stance and sprinted without fear.  West had trained hard all of his life, so he refused to allow nervous energy to control his destiny! 

Many times people talk highly about their success and shy away from the conversation about failure.  D. West said, "failure is a part of the journey.  I use failure as a springboard to grow in life, to get better not bitter.  How we respond to adversity says a lot about our character!  How do you respond when your back is against the wall?  Don't give in to the negative pressure." 

When D. West stumbled in his first 40 yard dash he kept running.   West said, "I didn't put my head down, I raised my chin high and smiled at my first attempt.  I knew I couldn't make another mistake.  My career opportunity was on the line. Adversity was testing me and I embraced the challenge.  I did what I expected to do, I gave my best effort and it worked out."

Life will test you when you least expect it.  How we respond to undesired outcomes affects the results we produce.  ​West chose optimism over pessimistic thinking.
  
D. West defied the odds and became a professional football player at age 31, Florida Bobcats AFL DB. ​ What is even more profound, West didn't play
college football.  Nothing is impossible! Achieve the unthinkable.

I am blessed to be able to live a productive life and share my story with you. Life is bigger than me.  Failure is okay, use it, learn from it, grow through it.