The Will to WIN

If you knock enough times, someone will eventually open the door, right? But what if your patience and persistence are wearing thin and you quit without knowing if the next tap produced the sound that summoned the person on the other side? When do we ever know if enough is enough and it is time for a change?

Consider the story of Florence Mae Chadwick. Florence was born in 1918 in San Diego and developed a special knack for swimming at an early age. Even though she would go down as one of the greatest female endurance swimmers in American history, for some reason she could not master the short pool swims. In 1936, she tried out for the Olympics but failed to qualify because the distances were too short. Realizing her weakness, she decided to focus on her strength. How much more could you do in your own life if your focus was to make your strengths stronger and not put so much attention on where you are weak. The sad fact is most people in our circle of influence sure help to magnify the areas we lack instead of shining light on where we excel.

Fast forward to July 4, 1952. Florence was going to become the first female swimmer to cross from Catalina Island to Palos Verde, CA. It was a nice day by California standards, yet the water as usual was ice cold. Florence set out mentally and physically prepared for the feat. After 15 hours and 55 minutes, the fog was so dense she asked to be taken out of the water. To her surprise when the fog lifted, she was less than a half mile from her goal.

One more push, just a few more strokes and a little more resolve and she would have made history that day, but as she would later say she gave up too quickly. As fate would have it, 2 months later Florence set out one more time to accomplish her seemingly impossible task. Even though the fog came along just as dense as before, she persevered that day and finished in less than 14 hours. She would tell everyone that the only difference was her willingness to go where she could not see and have faith that provided her enough strength to make it.

How often in life do you set out with high hopes and expectations yet you quit your pursuit only to find out you were so close to your goal? I always think about the soldiers at the foot of the cross that windy day on Calvary when Jesus hung there waiting for his ascension to glory. Those men were so close to the cross, yet so far from Christ. They mocked and laughed at him only to find out later how close to salvation they truly were.

Life is all about going around one more turn, saying yes one more time, opening one more door, or looking out another window. It is sad to see the ones that quit too soon and sink like the Titanic with their treasure still in them. The good news is that it does not have to be that way. Regardless of where you are or what you have, if you have a breath in you there is still hope for grand things to happen. Dreams are not made by those who walk away - oh no, it is the man who believes that achieves and in him shall he conceive the greatness and the will to receive. It is hope that makes the difference so let's all pull together in true hippie style and make the world a better place. I will go the extra mile and push you to do the same.

peace to you
Dale