|
|
|
Pittsford, N.Y. —
Several times a week, Paul Valenti can expect a phone call from Ross Giardino asking to help pick up garbage around the city. Valenti may resist at first, but all Giardino has to do is say two words: Push Yourself.
After hearing those two words, Valenti is on his way to his friend’s house. After all, he has to say yes to something that has become his personal philosophy.
Valenti is the driving force behind the Push Yourself, which started as a motivational phrase but has become a Web site for people to share how they are improving themselves. For people like Valenti and Giardino, it’s a mantra of how they want to live their lives.
“We want to people to always be evaluating what they have done throughout the day,” said Valenti, who played soccer at Pittsford Sutherland and currently teaches health at Webster Schroeder.
“If you can think about that every day, it is going to make you do something. Every day we have the post of the day. There some amazing things people are doing, but their might also be some simple things that someone didn’t think about.”
“Push Yourself” centers around the four pillars where people can post their accomplishments: physical, intellectual, environmental and social.
People can post daily, about accomplishments that might seem minor such as parking further away or wearing pedometers. Recently a fourth grade teacher posted about how they are going to incorporate the Web site into their classroom creating a bulletin board for students to explain what they have done.
Valenti is the perfect spokesperson for this movement. This summer he has hiked some of the highest peaks in the Northeast and is shadowing Rochester Rhinos head coach Bob Lilley hoping to learn how a professional coach handles pressure.
“I’ll talk to anybody about it and will ask what do those words mean to you?” said Valenti, who’s family owns Valenti Sports, a sporting goods store that sells a whole line of Push Yourself gear. “I have always felt you have to do more to make a difference. If I want something to be better, I have to do something about it.”
Giardino has been friends with Valenti for several years and was one of the first supporters of “Push Yourself.”
Giardino posts something on the site every day, usually about his running exploits. He is also a firm believer in the environmental pillar, as he has spent many weekend afternoons cleaning up trash along Monroe Avenue in the city.
Several times a week, Paul Valenti can expect a phone call from Ross Giardino asking to help pick up garbage around the city. Valenti may resist at first, but all Giardino has to do is say two words: Push Yourself.
After hearing those two words, Valenti is on his way to his friend’s house. After all, he has to say yes to something that has become his personal philosophy.
Valenti is the driving force behind the Push Yourself, which started as a motivational phrase but has become a Web site for people to share how they are improving themselves. For people like Valenti and Giardino, it’s a mantra of how they want to live their lives.
“We want to people to always be evaluating what they have done throughout the day,” said Valenti, who played soccer at Pittsford Sutherland and currently teaches health at Webster Schroeder.
“If you can think about that every day, it is going to make you do something. Every day we have the post of the day. There some amazing things people are doing, but their might also be some simple things that someone didn’t think about.”
“Push Yourself” centers around the four pillars where people can post their accomplishments: physical, intellectual, environmental and social.
People can post daily, about accomplishments that might seem minor such as parking further away or wearing pedometers. Recently a fourth grade teacher posted about how they are going to incorporate the Web site into their classroom creating a bulletin board for students to explain what they have done.
Valenti is the perfect spokesperson for this movement. This summer he has hiked some of the highest peaks in the Northeast and is shadowing Rochester Rhinos head coach Bob Lilley hoping to learn how a professional coach handles pressure.
“I’ll talk to anybody about it and will ask what do those words mean to you?” said Valenti, who’s family owns Valenti Sports, a sporting goods store that sells a whole line of Push Yourself gear. “I have always felt you have to do more to make a difference. If I want something to be better, I have to do something about it.”
Giardino has been friends with Valenti for several years and was one of the first supporters of “Push Yourself.”
Giardino posts something on the site every day, usually about his running exploits. He is also a firm believer in the environmental pillar, as he has spent many weekend afternoons cleaning up trash along Monroe Avenue in the city.
“The Push Yourself movement has transformed my life,” said Giardino, a 1994 Penfield graduate and city resident. “It’s inspiring, it’s everything that should be somebody’s life. It’s something that can help anybody. You want to take one step in front of the other, trying to do the little things that have made the world better.”
The Nazareth men’s soccer team has been one of the biggest supporters of “Push Yourself.” Head coach Danny Gilbertson encouraged his players to post on the Web site throughout last season and this offseason.
Liam Connolly became such a fan of the site he soon started posting something once a day. The midfielder from Stratham, N.H. quickly adopted the philosophy by doing things such as cleaning up trash in a park after pick-up soccer game.
“One of the great things is that it’s a simple message,” Connolly said. “It does have the ability to be extremely powerful if you are willing to take it seriously. I enjoyed the movement so much that I kind of motivated myself to get involved into the intellectual, social and environmental.”
