Thomas Edison tried inventing the light bulb 1,000 times. He apparently had every reason to give up. His teacher had earlier said he was 'too stupid to learn anything'. He was also fired from his first two jobs as being too 'unproductive.' Today, he is believed to be one of the most determined people in the world.
You might have read about Starbuck's Howard Schultz who grew up in a housing complex for the poor. According to business insider, Schultz said in an interview with British tabloid, Mirror - "Growing up, I always felt like I was living on the other side of the tracks...I don't know why or how, I wanted to climb over that fence and achieve something beyond what people were saying was possible...' Today, his networth is more 2 billion dollars.
Oprah Winfrey became the first African - American TV correspondent in her state at the age of 19 despite being raised by a poor Grandmother. Michael Jordan who was once rejected from his high school basketball team now ranks as the greatest basket ball player of all time.
These and many more are people who have left their mark in the sands of time even when they had every reason to quit. That voice - within and without - that silently whispered impossibilities must have been hushed.
The past 8 days - and the few days before - since I took up the challenge to write an article a day has proven to me that I can silence any prompting within me that suggests anything at all is impossible.
I am gradually coming to terms with the Principle of Potential which Steven Cosby describes as 'the idea that we are embryonic, and can grow and develop and release more and more potential, develop more and more talents'.
With the underlying principles of patience, nurturance and encouragement, I have seen myself gradually pick up on my writing skills. This is not without the support and words of encouragement I have received from the initiator of Writathon, Osho Samuel and other writers who are trying to break the barriers hindering them from becoming prolific writers they want to be.
Just like we were embryos at some point after conception, we developed until we could crawl, stand, walk, run and jump, while learning to speak along the line. No stage of the development was skipped because each is necessary for full development.
This makes patience an indispensable virtue for any one who aspires to be great. Do not expect to turn out a novel of 50,000 words without first writing 400 words consistently. Your dream of playing the piano in an orchestra can only be actualized by first
confidently playing to your friends and family.
Today, choose to take those babysteps to greatness. Do not try to fly when you cannot run. Be like Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan who tried over and over again and have become sources of inspiration to us today.
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