Hard Work and Determination || The Brandon Burlsworth Story

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and GREATER Productions but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #GREATERMovie #GreaterTheMovie http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

I don't know about you, but I have been a total Olympic junkie so far for the Rio Olympics. I am not sure why, but I don't remember watching much of the London Olympics, but I've been all in on Rio. I don't discriminate on sports, I've watched literally everything from volleyball to ping pong. On that note, you gotta watch some ping pong before it's all over, those guys are wacko x100 and I love it. 

I'm especially a sucker for the stories that pull at your heartstrings... which is pretty much all of them. The adversity that many of these athlete's have faced is astounding, and their perseverance is exceptional. Like the 41 year old gymnast, Oksana Chusovitina, competing in her SEVENTH Summer Olympic Games and has a child the same age as the girls she was competing against on vault, or Simone Manuel (from Texas!) who became the first African American woman to ever win an Olympic Gold Medal in swimming!  

I grew up as a die hard athlete, playing any and all sports, as long as it didn't involve kicking a ball with my feet (read: soccer wasn't for me). Basketball was my drink of choice, and I worked year-round at honing my skills. As the daughter of a great collegiate basketball player who never quit until he accomplished his goals, it was instilled in me from the second I picked a basketball up that I had to work hard if I wanted to be great. I was a gym rat all year long, I knew there was really no such thing as an offseason. 

The one thing that every successful athlete has in common is their constant desire to be the first in the gym, the last to leave and the one who always gives 110%. This is true for the Olympians setting records, this is true for the Olympians who are defying the odds of age and race and gender and this is true for a young man named Brandon Burlsworth.  

Brandon inspired a new movie, GREATER, which comes out in theaters August 26th. I was lucky enough to be one of the few able to pre-screen this movie, and it couldn't have been better timing with the motivational olympics currently happening, and my mom, my number one fan and support system, in town from Virginia. 

Now, I am obsessed with football movies that were inspired by true stories. I've seen Remember the Titans approximately 456 times, and The Blind Side 237 times. I'd probably have watched the Blind Side more, but I have a hard time dealing with Lee Anne Tyohy's intense dislike of my beloved alma mater, The University of Tennessee! Totally kidding, kinda. GO VOLS! 

Well Brandon's story, also set around the greatest conference in the world, the SEC (just my opinion, of course) is about the hard work and perseverance it took for Brandon to become the greatest walk on in the history of college football. Brandon's high school coaches told him, quite frankly, he wasn't very good at football. He was uncoordinated and gangly, but he had a desire and work ethic that paralleled no one. His brother, who was 16 years older acted as a father figure to Brandon, supporting him every step of the way, and his mother was his number one fan and motivator. 

To be a great athlete, it honestly takes so much more than skill. It takes passion and an incredible support system. My mom and dad were just that, they were there for me every shot, every loss, every let down, every accomplishment, every win, ever setback... they were there for me. Just like Brandon's mom and brother who were his rock and his constant support system. 

I don't want to ruin the movie for you, but Brandon, who was told he'd never play a down at the University of Arkansas took that as motivation to be the best. He was the first on the field, and the last to leave. Brandon eventually earned first team All-American honors. Amazing, huh?

This movie is so much more than a football movie though. It will make you feel like you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to. It'll make you want to support the ones you love, and it will make them want to lift you up in return. The move is about football, family and having faith in yourself and your abilities, whether you were born with those abilities or not. 

Brandon will make you want to take on the world. Whether you are an athlete, a blogger on a mission to make a living by being your own boss, or whatever your passion is, you need to do yourself a favor and go see GREATER when it comes out in theaters a week from Friday, August 26th. 

Here is a sneak peak, I promise you'll dig it.