Never Give Up! Actually, these words by Winston Churchill, (giving his most powerful and shortest speech ever) who after the war when invited to speak at a University, walked up to the podium, very dignified, took a breath and said, ” Never, never, never, never, NEVER, give up!” Then turned, and sat down. What is really notable is he truly practiced what he preached; constantly on the radio as a cheerleader and coach…empowering his people.
During the war there were times when the English fighter planes were out-numbered literally ten to one, or greater, yet the pilots fought unceasingly; coming down only to refuel, grab a quick cup of something and go right back up, sometimes days on end, without sleep. Daily, Churchill was spurring them on. Hitler said of his adversaries, in so many words, he’d never seen such tenacity in all his life…and he was right. I can attest to this. When I was living in England in the late sixties, I often would bring up the subject just to get first hand feedback from those who had “been there done that!” One guy told me… “No question about it, if we were to run out of bullets, we would have thrown rocks or even our furniture if necessary. We were determined not to let them step foot on our soil.”
The old adage “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the dog that counts!” And so it is with your dream, your goal, your will. The stronger your passion, the more focused you are. The more assured you should be of reaching your mark.
If you’re reading this and saying, “Yeah, but I missed my chance.” I say, “What a crock!” If you tell people, “I would have been a good teacher if I went to college.” Or, “I could have been a good entertainer. I had a lot of talent.” I say, “Who are you trying to convince?” You are not fooling anyone. If you are not a teacher, if vou are not an entertainer, or Doctor, or Lawyer or whatever…truth be told you are not because you chose “Not to Be” these things. So when you say, “I coulda…I shoulda…I woulda…,” you’re not fooling anyone. Let’s face it. You are exactly in life where you chose to be. BUT here’s the good news. As long as you are breathing, you still Can Be.
Laura Ingalls Wilder (Author of the famed Little House on the Prairie series) didn’t publish her first book until she was 65. Colonel Sanders was 65 when he launched KFC. And Grandma Moses was 76 when she painted her first canvas (and made more money in one year than her and her husband made on the farm in their entire lifetime until then!) So, you can do either of two things. One, decide on becoming what you say you always wanted to be, or two, stop the pretense and enjoy where you are…after all, you put yourself there!
Know this, you are filled with all this “potential” but you are the only one who can bring it out. Why not choose to share it with us, before your light goes out. To quote Mae West (this gal was awesome!), “I’d rather wear out…than rust out!” And if you choose not to change your life per se’, you can just change your attitude ala Mae West, “For a long time I was ashamed of the way I lived.” When asked, “Did you reform?” Mae West replied, “No, I’m just not ashamed anymore!”
In another time and place, another great leader (and General), Hannibal, never let anything stop him (as was evidenced by him doing the seemingly impossible…taking elephants over the Alps). He said, “We will either find a way or make a way!” Such conviction is the stuff of those who succeed. It makes no difference what the challenge is, even illness, if your doctor says the statistics show the odds are against you. Remember this. According to Benjamin Disraeli, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” There has never been another you, therefore, No–one knows what you are capable of. (Not even you…or DO you?)
In essence…attitude is everything! You have to SEE the end result in your mind’s eye, but most importantly, you have to KNOW that you will succeed. This knowingness takes practice. For now, just know that you cannot succeed in anything until you realize that you can and then “lock on it!”
Helpful Hint: If you want to do something, DO IT! Don’t “try”. Eliminate the word “try” from your vocabulary. It not only weakens you, but translates into negative results.
See all things as you desire them to be. You are more powerful than you know. As you think, so you create.
Tags: Attitude, Empowerment, Focus, Know, motivation, Never give Up, Positiveness, Sucess