What do the Royal Wedding and the NFL draft have in common?

Neither one can be judged by the early hoopla. Success is determined only over the long haul, and after adversity.

This is true is every area of life. A big splash is nothing compared to a deep pool. Anyone can be successful over one or two days. You’ve heard the expression, “Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it 100 times.”

The true success is the person who can find a way to persevere well after the initial excitement is gone. It’s the person who can find motivation on the ordinary days.

Marathon champion Grete Waitz, died recently, once told an interviewer, “I prefer to train in the dark, cold winter months when it takes a stern attitude to get out of bed before dawn and head out the door to below-freezing weather conditions. Anyone can run on a nice, warm, brisk day.”

For Cam Newton, selected first overall in the draft by the Carolina Panthers, the real work begins now. He’s proven that he can excel at the college level, and that he can impress the scouts. But how much time will he spend studying his playbook? Will he be as fanatical as Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts?