“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho
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“I am determined to become the greatest baseball catcher in history!”
This declaration was made by an eight-year-old boy to his mother one summer. Those who overheard him would often respond, “Dream on, you foolish boy.”
His mother, with great patience, advised him, “You are merely eight years old; now is not the time to discuss unattainable dreams.”
Nevertheless, the young boy remained resolute, ignoring anyone who tried to dissuade him from his ambition. Upon graduating from high school, he confidently walked across the stage to receive his diploma.
After presenting the diploma, the superintendent inquired, “Please share with the audience your aspirations.”
The young man beamed, straightened his posture, and proclaimed to the crowd, “I am going to be the greatest baseball catcher that ever lived!”
Laughter could be heard among the attendees at the graduation ceremony.
To make the long story short, that young man went on to etch his name in baseball history. At one point, the legendary manager of the New York Yankees, Casey Stengel, was asked for his opinion on the young man. His response was, “Johnny Bench is already the greatest baseball catcher to have ever played the game!”
What makes this narrative so remarkable? At the tender age of eight, Johnny Bench had already established his life’s ambition. Throughout his career in baseball, he was honored twice as the most exceptional player. What began as a mere dream evolved into a tangible goal that was ultimately realized.
“You can have anything you want, if you want it badly enough,” American president Abraham Lincoln once said. “You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.”
The world is populated with individuals who believe that certain things are impossible. We refer to them as pessimists. Conversely, there are those who maintain that it is achievable. These individuals are known as optimists. A pessimist is akin to someone who experiences seasickness throughout the entire journey of life. In contrast, an optimist is a person who discovers considerable contentment even in the darker aspects of existence.
I was reminded of this story: During a war, the Army was drafting young men by the thousands. A simple young man walked down the street right in front of the draft board office. A neighbor, who saw what he was doing, told him, “You had better stay away; you might get drafted into the army.”
The teenager, who had actually not even heard of the war, did not understand what it was all about. So, the neighbor explained the situation. After hearing it, the teenager answered:
“Well, I always figure I have two chances: I might get drafted – and I might not. And even if I’m drafted, I still have two chances: I might pass and I might not. And if I pass, I still have two chances: I might go overseas or I might not. And even if I go across, I still have two chances: I might get shot and I might not. And even if I get shot, I still have two chances: I might die and I might not. And even if I die, I still have two chances.”
Ever heard of Edgar A. Guest? In 1895, he worked for a newspaper in Detroit and worked his way up from office boy to eventually becoming a “Poet of the People.” With the consent of the Free Press, Guest’s “poem a day” went into syndication and appeared in over 250 newspapers.
Next time you are confronted with negatives and negative people, take time to read this statement from Guest: ““There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done. There are thousands to prophesy failure. There are thousands to point out to you, one by one, the dangers that wait to assail you. But just buckle in with a bit of a grin, just take off your coat and go to it. Just start to sing as you tackle the thing that ‘cannot be done,’ and you’ll do it.”
To end today’s column, allow me to share another anecdote: When he was a little boy, he suffered horrible burns as a result of an accident. The doctor told his mother that he would almost surely die. If he should ever live, he would likely never walk again.
The little boy didn’t want to die, and to the amazement of the doctor attending he survived. But with all the damage to his legs, the doctor reminded his mother again that he would be a lifetime invalid.
Once more, the boy made up his mind – he wouldn’t be a cripple, not be an invalid, he would walk and run! It looked helpless – the legs dangled uselessly. He was released from the hospital and his mother massaged those legs after the burns had healed.
When he was taken outside in his wheelchair he threw himself from the chair on wheel and pulled himself across the grass, dragging those useless legs to the picket fence, where, with great effort, he managed to raise himself to a standing position. He would then walk around the yard, pulling himself along beside the pickets. Soon, he wore a path.
With more struggles, daily massages by his mother, an iron will, and determined perseverance, he began to stand alone, walk with help, and then walk alone. Soon he was running! His goal was to become the fastest human in the mile distance.
Soon, the sheer joy of running became his life. In college, he made the track team and one day in Madison Square Garden in New York, this young man with perseverance ran the mile faster than any human being before him. Yes, you’re right, the man was Dr. Glenn Cunningham, the fastest human miler in his day.
“You never achieve real success,” Dale Carnegie said, “unless you like what you are doing.”
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