Les Brown tells the story of 2 young boys on an ice covered stream. One of the boys fell through the ice and the current carried him away from the hole he fell through. He was trapped, unable to get out.
The other boy looked around for help but he saw no one. What he did see was a stick, so he grabbed it and started pounding the ice above his friend’s head, pounding and pounding, trying desperately to shatter the ice and free his friend from certain death.
He did break the ice and pulled his friend to safety. A elderly woman who witnessed the scene called 911 and soon rescue personnel arrived.
And this is when it got weird. Because on hearing the story of how the boy rescued his friend, one of the fireman decided to try to duplicate what the boy had done. He took the stick the boy had used, found a place where the ice was just as thick as where the boy had pulled his friend out, and started pounding the ice.
But he couldn’t break it. This 200 pound fireman couldn’t break the ice with that little stick, but the boy could.
Why? Maybe, just maybe, it’s because no one told the boy he couldn’t do it. No one had set that limitation on him. All he knew was he had to rescue his friend, so he did it.
One day in Lebanon, Oregon, USA, a tractor flipped on top of the man driving it. The tractor was laying directly on his chest, making it impossible for him to move. All he could do was cry out for help, but even that was difficult because of the great weight on his chest. After every attempt to call out, the tractor would settle a little deeper into his chest.
Still, his 14 and 16 year old daughters heard his cry. Haley and Hannah ran to where their father was trapped and realized there was no one else to help them. And so using nothing more than their hands, their backs and the love they hold for their father, those two young girls together lifted the nearly 3,000 pound tractor off of their dad. They raised that tractor far enough that their father could pull himself out of harms way, and together they saved his life.
Those girls didn’t have time to wonder if it was possible. They didn’t have time to wait for help. They didn’t have time to think themselves into believing they couldn’t do it.
They simply did it. In both of these cases, the rescuers found strength they didn’t know they had. They took action and saved a life.
I have seen similar things happen in business. Someone didn’t know that it was impossible for them to start a successful business, so they just went and did it.
Whatever it is that you need to do – stop thinking about it. Stop telling yourself you can’t do it.
And just go do it.
Wow, what a powerful post! There is a certain thing that I have been wanting to try but keep thinking I will fail. Just what I needed to read. Thanks!
tanya recently posted…What Can and Cannot Be Discussed in Job Interviews?
Cathy, those are powerful stories. Heroism and love (of something) often go hand-in-hand. When I took a high profile job in sales in the NBA, I had never even been to a professional basketball game. Not once. Fortunately, my early mentors – most notable the great Larry Kindel (long deceased) – had instilled in me a process of dealing with new situations. So, for 90 days straight I researched and learned everything I could about the NBA audience and how companies felt they benefited fro buying a sports sponsorship. Let’s just say that job worked out really well.
My best mentor was my mother who instilled in me a belief that inspiration fueled with perspiration could accomplish just about anything. I’ll finish with this quote which really helped me get started as a writer – “The worst thing you write is better than the best thing you never write.” Thanks for an inspiring post. – Edgar