Encouraging Words: Hey, Cowboy!

Have you ever been to a rodeo? If not in person, then you’ve probably seen one on television. Did you notice how many guys are wearing tight Levi’s, Stetsons (or look-a-likes) and boots at those events? But have you ever seen those guys on a horse or a 2000-pound bull? I think not. You and I know the majority of those guys aren’t cowboys; they are what we call posers. They talk like a cowboy; they dress like a cowboy; some of them even walk like a cowboy, but they ain’t cowboys. Folks used to call them drugstore cowboys.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with dressing like a cowboy if you like that kind of clothing. I own several pairs of boots and used to wear them all the time. But what’s wrong is when you and I try to make people believe we are something that we’re not. Tim Foley, a former player on the Superbowl Miami Dolphins Football Team, said that he pretended to be a corner back until he developed the confidence to be one. In deference to Tim, he’s being a bit modest because you don’t get drafted by a NFL team without already possessing a lot of talent and skill. But Tim’s point is well taken. Sometimes you do have to dress like a cowboy, talk like a cowboy and pretend to be a cowboy to convince yourself that you CAN be a cowboy. However, here is the point, at some point sooner or later you gotta get on a horse and ride like a cowboy.

I encourage you to put on your tight Levis, white hat, snakeskin boots, mount your horse and ride like the wind. You can be a cowboy. As Jiminy Cricket said, “You just gotta believe.”