This is basically a story on Theodore Roosevelt. Yes, that Theodore Roosevelt.

From age twelve he suffered terribly from asthma. He was tall, gangly and frail. Life was a struggle. One day his father said to him "Theodore, you have the mind but not the body. I'm going to give you the tools to make your body. It's going to be hard but I think you have the determination to see this through".

At that age you would think that would be lost on a child. Especially one born into great wealth but his younger sister later recalled she saw a "steely resolve" in young Theodore. His father built a gym on the second floor porch of their home.

Theodore worked out feverishly every day for the next five years to build muscle and strengthen his upper body against his weak lungs and for the future. He literally "worked" weakness in the form of asthma out of his body.

All of this virtually prepared him for what he later called "the strenuous life". Life threw a lot at him. He lost his wife and mother in quick succession, faced powerful political enemies, dealt with elections, faced world wars and survived a nearly fatal assassination attempt.

He truly believed that his physical training prepared him for all of this. He built what he later called his "inner citadel".

Have you prepared yours? If things suddenly got worse could you handle it? We tend to take weakness for granted. We assume that our disadvantages are permanent and atrophy from there. Not everyone accepts their bad start in life. They remake their bodies and their lives with activities and exercise and prepare themselves for the hard road.

Finally, and I love this quote!

" Nobody is born with a steel backbone. We have to forge that ourselves".

Stay strong!

Martin O'Toole