I’m sitting at the COLE Publishing booth at the WWETT Show in Indianapolis as I write this.

Moments ago, I listened to the opening keynote speech delivered by Rocky Bleier, a former NFL running back who played on Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the 1970s that won four Super Bowls. Although an avid football fan, I’m a bit young to have much knowledge about that era, so Bleier’s story was mostly new to me. The main beats are that after college at Notre Dame, the Steelers drafted Bleier in 1968. After his rookie season, he was part of another draft — this time by the U.S. Army.

He served in Vietnam, where he sustained injuries in both legs, first a bullet from enemy fire and then shrapnel from a grenade. While recovering in a hospital in Tokyo, doctors told him his football-playing days were over. But Bleier returned to the Steelers and gradually worked his way back into playing shape. By 1974, he was finally playing significant snaps again, serving as primary running back Franco Harris’ No. 2, for a Steelers team that won its first Super Bowl. He maintained his role, helping the Steelers win three more Super Bowls to close out the decade.

In sharing his story, Bleier’s message that he homed in on for the WWETT Show crowd was a simple one of commitment. In life, there are two choices: Commit to continually learning and work hard at trying to get better, or don’t do any of that. So really, there’s only one choice, he said, because why would the decision be to not try to improve?

Bleier recounted what Steelers coach Chuck Noll said when he first arrived in Pittsburgh, after the franchise had seen basically zero success for close to four decades. The team’s problem, Noll said, was that they weren’t any good. That’s not to say that they couldn’t become good, but they had to come together and truly commit to improvement — learn, exploit strengths and take advantage of every opportunity.

Here at the WWETT Show, I know I’m surrounded by contractors who are committed to improving their businesses and their lives. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have bothered to come in the first place. This is a place to learn, to look for opportunities.

Another story that Bleier shared: When he was recovering from his war injuries, in the bed next to him was a triple amputee. This man was in far worse shape than Bleier, yet every day Bleier said he maintained a positive attitude and worked at getting better. The man made that choice, despite his condition. Bleier was inspired by this man while he worked to return to football. It took some time, but Bleier committed and each season he got a little stronger, a little better in some way. Then one day he found himself a key cog of the Steelers’ Super Bowl-winning machine.

So I hope you make that same choice for yourself and your business — the only choice there is to make.

Enjoy this month’s issue.