A number of times I have found myself in a seemly comical position: hands frantically up in the air, heels almost touching back head, while attempting to catch a bus! If you live in a big city overly dependent on public transport for day to day commutes, you will relate well with my story! This often doesn’t end up good! Having failed a number of times, and having ended up looking like a street clown, I gave it up! I don’t chase the bus anymore!
However, one bright morning at the train station, I saw this young lad having a word with his mates: “I can catch that train from here”, he said. At that point, the train was just zooming unto the platform. The boy was some 250 yards away from that platform! Intuitively, without waiting for a nod of approval from his pals, he dashed forward with the speed of lightning! Every muscle rippled in pain. Every step forward seemed like two steps taken backwards. And with every breath drawn, the next seemed an impossible task. His friends wandered, can he make it? No; he will give up when he sees his folly! But the lad endured. A couple more steps and he could be aboard the train.
On another day, with a bit of luck, he would make it. But on this day, as he takes the one last step that will take him aboard the train, the automatic doors closed! One step short! He became the clown, the laughing stock of his peers. His friends jeered him!
But was he a clown? Was he foolish? Or was he just daring and brave? Were his friends superior to him for not attempting the stunts he failed at pulling off? Which is worse, to fail or not to try at all?
The truth is: you never know what you cannot do until you try! The wright brothers were only a bicycle mechanic when they made the first plane! The first surgery was performed by a barber! A mere gardener discovered Saturn! The guy who commanded the battle against Goliath was not a soldier – just a shepherd!
So why should you not try the impossible! Why would you not have a go at living the dreams of your youth! How can you call it quit before you even try!
This poor boy had dream. Hard as it may seem, he believed with all his might, and he chased it! What made Steve job chase his Apple dream? What kept Thomas Edison going after the light bulb after 999 failures? Is it a form confidence in the impossible? Is it a sense of adventure? Is it destiny? In our hearts we conceive dreams, however crazy they sound to the world, something pushes us to pursue those dreams. It is faith that overcomes the fear of failure.
My message is simple, be brave! Be daring! Take some adventures! Don’t be so afraid of failing so much that you tried nothing new! Don’t be afraid of being the street clown so much that you will rather not attempt grabbing an opportunity when it passes by! Sometimes we hit, sometimes we miss! But what make us believers are the attempts we make! No attempt is guaranteed to succeed neither is all certain to fail! But for the brave and persistent, for those who don’t give up on their dreams – good things will come!
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