Name of Tip: The Hard Work Pays Off
Name: Gene Moses, 68
Description: Persistence is the ability to stick with something and never quit. It is steady persistence in doing something, despite obstacles, failure, or discouragement. Doing the hard work pays off in the end.
Instructions: Persistence comes from within a person; it’s something born and is a permanent fixture, but you can also learn it. Start by focusing on a project, something you feel good about; it doesn’t matter what it is. Try to succeed, and if you don’t, try again. Don’t let a person tell you to do it; do it for yourself. And continue to do it. You will get better at it; giving you character and making you a better person overall.
Learning: What does it look like if I set myself up to do something? I try to succeed, and if I don’t, I try again. Sometimes, it can look really bad. I spent a lot of time in prison, 40 years. What I did was robbery. I did federal time. I did 23 the last time, 10 before that, and 10 for Indiana. I walk my own walk and talk my own talk. I didn’t run with no gang. I didn’t run with anybody. I treat people with respect so that they will respect each other. It kept me alive. I was a loner. I didn’t get involved with any of that crap. I worked every day in prison. I did my business, not getting involved in anybody else’s affairs. That’s bad to do in the penitentiary because they’ll be waiting outside your cell the next morning.
When I got out in September 2021, they moved me into the Talbert House. It’s a treatment place for drug addicts and alcoholics, and also people who are homeless. When I got out, I didn’t have any paperwork. I didn’t have anything, and the counselors wouldn’t help me. So, I got my own paperwork: my driver’s license and social security card. I had to get social security started again because they took all my credits when I didn’t work for a 10-year span. I’m almost 69, a Vietnam veteran ’72-’73, and finally got all my paperwork and a voucher for an apartment. I couldn’t find anywhere to live. Then, one day, a lady called me and asked me about these bedroom apartments at the back of the Talbert House. I looked at them and moved in. This allows me to continue my life, stay clean, and be a good citizen.Story: If I walk the hills up Straight Street and get out of breath, I keep slugging; you know that is persistence. If I need to slow down, I slow down because I have to reach the top. I might stop for a second and take a breather. I had hepatitis C for 40-some years. My primary doctor got me a referral to UC. I got hooked up with a liver specialist, who put me on liver medication. I have been taking one pill a day for six weeks of the 12 weeks I have to take it. The good thing is after three weeks, my blood test showed no signs of hepatitis C. I will have to keep taking them even if I don’t show any symptoms or signs of it. So, I take them every day religiously. I feel a lot better. I’m not religious, but I believe in God and Jesus Christ and the holy mother, and I pray to them daily. I don’t go to church. My church is inside me.