Influencer of the Week: Cancer-Conquering Super Bowl Linebacker

Influencer of the Week: Cancer-Conquering Super Bowl Linebacker
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The All American linebacker with the crazy face paint -- that's how Mark Herzlich was defined during his stellar football career at Boston College.

Then came cancer.

Doctors hoped to redefine the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year as Mark Herzlich, cancer survivor. Finished with football, yet alive and well. But Mark disagreed.

He had a goal.

Always ambitious, he was still determined to become Mark Herzlich, NFL linebacker. Cancer be damned. He's my Influencer of the Week because he inspires and models this mindset: A goal is a dream with a deadline.

After his devastating diagnosis of Ewing's Sarcoma, Herzlich set a deadline: September 4, 2010. That's the date when he would beat his rare form of bone cancer. That's the date when he'd get back on the field at Boston College.

Not only did he accomplish that goal, but he set and reached another goal, and another. That's why he's now Mark Herzlich, New York Giants linebacker. Mark Herzlich, Super Bowl player. Turns out, the former face paint fanatic was not so crazy, after all.

A goal is a dream with a deadline. Have you set a deadline to make your dreams come true?

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