Millions of people are making New Year Resolutions. I can't really admit that this is an annual practice of mine. If it works for you though, I'm all for it. I just think that if I wasn't doing it on, let's say, Aug. 10 of 2009, I'll be doing it on Jan. 10 of 2010.

But here are a few "resolutions" of mine that I try to adhere to as best I can year-round.

- Eat well.

- Move a lot.

- Stretch.

- Strengthen body.

- Walk, walk, walk.

- Drink lots of water.

- Get annual physicals.

- Eat fruit daily.

- Eat salads, love them.

- Love my wife.

- Read as much as I can.

- Enjoy my time outdoors.

- Work hard.

- Find time to relax, de-stress.

- Play; if it's good for a child, good for me.

- Play racquetball more.

- No onions, please, I hate them.

- Finish writing another book.

- Be emotionally mature.

- Remain spiritually optimistic.

- Don't judge other people. (Walk in their shoes first.)

- Appreciate each and every day, carpe diem.

- Help other people more.

- Keep Bill Powell in mind. (see below)

Again, these are not my New Year Resolutions, but my All Year Resolutions.

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I would love to have met Bill Powell. This gentleman could teach us all a thing or two about life. I recently read Mr. Powell's obituary in the New York Times; he passed away last month at the age of 93.

When Mr. Powell returned to his home of Canton, Ohio, after serving his country in World War II, he was denied opportunities to play golf on public courses. Mr. Powell was black. He had fallen in love with golf as a young boy caddying for white golfers. Since he couldn't play on public courses and there were no courses for black people near him, Mr. Powell applied for loans, hoping to build a course. No luck there, not to a black man in his area, as this was 1947. Good enough to fight for his country, but allowed to play golf with white people or get a loan? No way.

Mr. Powell didn't stop. He borrowed money from two black physicians, bought some land, did most of the labor himself, and in 1948, he opened Clearview Golf Club in Canton, Ohio. His regular job was as a security guard, and he chose the night shift so he could work on his golf course by day. Soon after his golf course opened, vandals stole flag sticks and racial slurs were scrawled on the course. This kept up for a number of years.

But he persevered, and Clearview Golf Club is now designated as a national historic site. Now here's the "kicker." From the time he opened his course in 1948, Mr. Powell welcomed anyone to his course, black and white.

"Why, white people like to play golf, just like black folks do. I wouldn't think of denying access to my golf course just because of the color of their skin. Foolishness, just downright foolishness," Mr. Powell once said.

What a man. Let's add another resolution to my list above. "Never give up. Never give in. Believe in yourself, even when others don't." That one comes from Mr. Powell, not me.

Lewis Bowling teaches physical education at N.C. Central University and Duke University and is a personal trainer certification examiner with the American College of Sports Medicine. He can be reached at 530-6224 and at Lewis_Bowling@yahoo.com.