January 2010 -- What's your excuse for not realizing your dreams? Could it be that you don't have enough time or money? Are you not sure you can? Are there obstacles or events in your life that prevent you from even trying?

We all have difficult times. There are many circumstances in all our lives that can be challenging and, at times, overwhelming. However, you have dreams of things you want in your life. Take the time to plan and pursue the things you really want. There is no excuse.

As many of you know, we recently lost a wonderful person and a great ambassador for tennis. Randy Snow offered no excuse. "NO XQs" became the theme for his company. He lived a full and meaningful life. He taught by example and leaves a legacy of many lessons for all of us to follow. Those lessons, to name just a few, are: Accept changes, dream big, and never quit.

Accept changes
You must learn to accept changes in your life. Randy was not willing to let one event keep him from living life to its fullest and committing to reaching very high goals. One of Randy's favorite quotes is by Wilhelm von Humboldt: "How a person masters his fate is more important than what that fate is." What happens in our lives may not always be within our control, but how you handle those events determines your future.

Randy was a great athlete and an outstanding tennis player as a junior in Terrell, Texas. He had a dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. After Randy was injured in a farming accident that left him without the use of his legs, he had to adjust his dreams. Because of his positive outlook, he was able to make many major achievements. He became an innovator in the wheelchair industry who not only helped improve designs for athletes, but improved the lives of so many disabled people. All this was because he was able to accept the change in his life.

Dream big
Randy showed us that you should dream big. He learned that we are only limited by our own vision of what we can achieve. Another favorite quote was by Eleanor Roosevelt: "Every day do one thing that scares you." In 1984, the Los Angeles games was the first Olympics to include wheelchair events and Randy was there. Imagine the exhilaration of being in the Olympic stadium preparing to participate in an event. Add to that the fear of not knowing how 80,000 people would respond to wheelchair athletes or whether they would be accepted as "real" athletes. Randy's dreams didn't let those fears stop him from reaching for the highest goals he could set and working hard to achieve them.

With his successes in wheelchair sports and his infectious personality, he was able to inspire people to think big and work to achieve their own goals. He was a 10-time U.S. Open singles champion, seven-time U.S. Open doubles champion, and Paralympic gold and silver medalist. He was the first Paralympic athlete to medal in three different sports - tennis, basketball, and track. He was inducted into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame, USPTA Hall of Fame, Paralympic Hall of Fame and in 2004, he became the first and only Paralympian inducted into the Olympic Hall of Fame.

He was a pioneer in a number of ways. He was involved in the design and development of wheelchairs for various sports. Randy was a business owner and author as well as a motivational speaker to Fortune 500 companies. Dave Kiley, who played on the gold-medal Paralympic basketball team with Randy, made a statement that I also believe to be true: "There is no other athlete of any kind that engaged people as well as Randy Snow." As a philanthropist and pioneer, he had the opportunity to meet several United States presidents and many celebrities. He even has a street named after him. RANDY DREAMED BIG.

Never quit
You must have the determination to never quit. There are many obstacles out there that will keep you from reaching your goals and realizing your dreams. Don't let these obstacles stop you. Find a way around them or seek an alternative that will keep you moving forward. You must keep your eyes on the prize and your mind clearly focused on your goals.

Randy devoted his life to wheelchair sports and wheelchair tennis in particular. He loved sharing the game of tennis and seeing the smiling faces of those he helped to discover the benefits of playing tennis. His last days were spent doing what he loved - leading wheelchair tennis clinics in El Salvador.

Randy's greatest legacy is how much he did for other people. He wanted to help those with visible disabilities and those whose disabilities aren't so visible. Randy was proof that in order to succeed today, you must have a 100 percent able-bodied mind. He pioneered an industry and forever changed the way the world sees a wheelchair athlete. He was a great athlete, inspiration, and friend. He refused to let one event keep him from living a full and valued life. There is no excuse.

"Avoid regrets by leaving, in each day, everything you have." - Randy Snow.