COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — As individuals all across the nation and the world face hard times due to COVID-19, a motivational speaker is doing his best to encourage youth to keep their heads up.
Jason Wetzler, a professional speaker and a leadership coach who also served as the 2013-2014 National FFA western region vice president, said that it’s such an interesting time right now because everyone has been told to push the pause button on their normal life activities, but the world keeps spinning.
Wetzler said that although to some it may seem like the world is broken right now, it’s not — people just have to adjust to a different way of living.
Wetzler said right now — when FFA members are dealing with state conventions being canceled, leadership conferences being postponed and livestock shows being canceled or being put on hold — is the perfect time for them to figure out what their purpose in life is.
“They need to figure out their why and make the most out of their time,” he said.
Wetzler said during all this extra time FFA youth are finding they have right now, they should take some time to determine why they wake up every morning and what their mission and purpose of life is.
Wetzler said that he recently had the opportunity to interact with dozens of FFA members virtually through a National Ag Day seminar that usually would be held in person.
“FFA members are really cool,” Wetzler said, adding that he was able to talk to a lot of them virtually and learn what they have been doing to stay active in the FFA organization and help others in the community during these trying times.
Wetzler said that FFA members need to step up, keep a level head and stay driven during this time of self-quarantine and social distancing.
Wetzler said that FFA members need to ask themselves when they look back at the time period dealing with COVID-19, will their actions show that they got lost in quarantine and they didn’t do anything, or that they helped fellow FFA members and loved ones get through a challenging time by being there for them?