I read this story about this little girl who was born on June 23, 1940 in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee. She was born prematurely at 4.5 pounds, and she was the 20th of 22 siblings from two marriages. her father was a railway porter and her mother was a maid. When she was 4 years old, this little girl contracted infantile paralysis which was caused by the polio virus.
She eventually recovered, but was required to wear a brace on her left leg and foot until she was nine years old. Eventually her leg and foot grew abnormally and was twisted from having to wear the brace. She was then required to wear an orthopedic shoe for support of her foot for another two years. The doctors told this little girls mother that this little girl would most likely never be able to walk. But, her mother refused to believe what the doctors said and, she continued to BELIEVE and HAVE FAITH and took matters into her own hands. She would routinely drive her little girl from Clarksville, Tennessee to Meharry Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee (About 50 miles) for treatments for her twisted leg. Eventually the doctors taught her how to do the treatments at home so she wouldn't have to travel. She, started treating her little girl at home, and when she treated her she would push her and refused to let her feel sorry for herself, she would encourage her to be her best. She was determined to make sure this little girl could walk and run and play just like all of the other kids. But, despite the mothers best efforts, by the time the little girl was twelve years old she was also forced to deal with several bouts of polio and scarlet fever, which she ultimately survived.
But, through HOPE, FAITH, LOVE, DETERMINATION, PERSEVERANCE and a rigorous treatment plan and care from her mother. The mother and the little girl both got their wish. The little girl shed her handicap and at 12 years old she could finally walk. Now, feeling a bit AMBITIOUS and CONFIDENT, this now 12 year old little girl wanted to follow in her big sisters footsteps and wanted to play basketball. So she tried out and made the basketball team. In fact she became a basketball star in her high school setting the state record for scoring and she led her team to the state championship. One day while she was practicing, she was spotted by the Tennessee State track and field coach who, when he spotted her knew that he had found a natural born athlete. He recruited her and she joined Temple's summer program at Tennessee State and trained regularly and raced with his "Tigerbelles" (The name of the team) for two years. By the time she was 16, she earned a berth on the U.S. Olympic track and field team and came home from the 1956 Melbourne Games with an Olympic bronze medal in the 4×100 m relay to show her high school classmates.
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome she won three Olympic titles: in the 100 m, 200 m and 4×100 m relay. She ran the 100-meter dash in an impressive 11 seconds flat. She also won the 200-meter dash in 23.2 seconds, which set a new Olympic record. After these wins, she was being hailed throughout the world as "THE FASTEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD". Finally, on September 11, 1960, she combined with Tennessee State teammates to win the 400-meter relay in 44.5 seconds, setting a WORLD RECORD! In 1960, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games.
So, what's my point? This little girl was told be the "experts", she was given an "expert Opinion" that said she was never going to even be able to walk. That would have been enough information for her mother to give up on her and for everyone to feel sorry for her and for her to start feeling sorry for herself and just give up and never even try. But, her mother would hear nothing of the sort. her mother SUPPORTED her daughter and ENCOURAGED her daughter. She pushed her and told her great she was and how great she was going to be. That SUPPORT and ENCOURAGEMENT far outweighed the "experts" opinions. Wilma Rudolph was quoted as saying " My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.". She was also quoted as saying "My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother."
Every single one of us has some kind of flaw, and we receive plenty of information from "experts" and society and life that says that we cant accomplish our dreams, and we will never be able to accomplish our goals. We receive information everyday that says we aren't good enough, fast enough, strong enough, smart enough to run our own businesses or to launch brand new careers in fields that we want to be in or to go back to school. Etc. But, There will always be a small voice from somewhere in your life that says "YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH, SMART ENOUGH, FUNNY ENOUGH, STRONG ENOUGH etc to achieve your goals and live the life of your dreams." "YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO ACCOMPLISH WHATEVER YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH!" YOUR SUCCESS OR FAILURE IN LIFE WILL DEPEND ON WHICH VOICE YOU CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO AND BELIEVE. ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS TURN THAT QUIET VOICE THAT SAYS YOU CAN UP, SO THAT IT DROWNS OUT THE VOICES THAT SAY YOU CANT. LISTEN TO AND BELIEVE AND FOLLOW THE VOICE THAT SAYS YOU CAN! And if you don't have a voice in your life telling you that YOU CAN, Well, let me introduce myself to you as that new voice in your life telling you that YOU CAN! Now, who are you going to listen to and believe, me or them?
WHATEVER THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, THE MIND CAN ACHIEVE
-Napoleon Hill
THE WORLD IS YOURS! GO GET IT! AND THAT'S AN ORDER!
PEACE!
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