With the Olympics at the forefront of everyone’s minds and screens, we are filled with visions of young athletes overcoming impossible odds, training and working and sweating and crying and clawing and sacrificing and praying their ways to finding their dreams.
What’s your dream? To what ends would you go to achieve it? I know it’s not easy. There are roadblocks at every turn. Hurdles and obstacles like: It’s never been done before. I’m not strong enough. It’s a tough road. It’s not practical. When I’m older. If I was younger. I’ve never been formally trained. I’m not tall enough. I’m too tall. I don’t have enough money. I’m so busy. I don’t know how I’d get there. I’m exhausted. I don’t know anyone who does that kind of thing. I don’t even know where to start. ENOUGH! Or to use one of my favorite Italian words - BASTA! You could spend the rest of your life coming up with excuses why you never chased your dreams. OR… You could think of all the things you’re going to do today, tomorrow, before the Olympics are over to launch them into a reality. Oscar (Oz) Pistorious, aka The Blade Runner, is a double amputee. He plays rugby, water polo and tennis with prosthetics – unbelievable. But what is even more miraculous is OZ will be the first double amputee to run in the Olympics. Let me say that again. He had both of his legs amputated below the knee when he was a baby, yet he is running in the 2012 Olympics. He will be competing in both the 400-meter and 4 x 400 meter races for his native South Africa. Oz’s motto is. “You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have." It’s no wonder his last name rhymes with victorious. In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37 What abilities to you have? How are you going to use them today?
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Last summer, while checking into our hotel in Dresden, Germany I had the treat of meeting soccer legend, Brandi Chastain. She had her hair pulled into a ponytail was wearing a gray t-shirt, navy blue athletic shorts and cleats. She was kicking a pink Nike soccer ball in the hotel lobby. Yes, in the lobby. She is the woman known for kicking the winning penalty kick to win the U.S. Women’s National team the World Cup in 1999. She was in Dresden to be one of the lead ESPN announcers for the World Cup, speaking to tens of thousands of television viewers for two weeks straight.
When I asked Brandi what advice she had for young people who wanted to be soccer stars, she said, “Do it everyday. Kick it, pass it, dribble it, every day. When I was young, I kicked the ball against the side of the house for an hour every day. I got to know the ball so well, and how it would bounce off the house and where it would go if I tapped it a certain way and how to kick it back if it came to me a certain way, that when I was on the field, when I was in a game, I never had to think. I knew exactly what to do.” The same is true for whatever it is you want to achieve in life. For writers, like me, it means writing something every day. Stephen King says it in his book, On Writing. Anne LaMott says it in Bird by Bird. Do it everyday. That doesn’t have to be writing five chapters of my next novel. It could be a blog or a character sketch or a review of someone else’s work. But each day, I need to be conscious of word choice, descriptions, rhythms and flows of words. You want to learn how to cook? Chef up a meal every day. It could be scrambled eggs or a grilled cheese sandwich, but if you do it everyday, you’ll figure out too much salt makes your eggs taste like potato chips and how long to let your grilled cheese sizzle to get the cheese to melt to a perfect gooey consistency. If you want to get closer to God, read a chapter of the Bible every day and contemplate it. I promise you’ll get closer to Him. No matter what instrument you play, your instructor will ask you to practice every day. Play your scales. Work on the hardest part of your piece. Soon your ears will know the difference between a C sharp and a B flat. Your fingers will know how to move along the keys of a piano or the frets of a guitar. If your goal is to become a teacher, explain something to someone every day. It could be how to take care of a tortoise or how to French braid hair or plant pansies, or anything, but the more you practice explaining things to people, the better you’ll be at it. I promise. So, get going. Today, tomorrow and the day after that – do your thing. As Dr. Seuss said, “You’re off to great places, today is your day.” Today can be your day. You just need to get started. What can you do on a daily basis to help you achieve your dream? I recently went to see Snow Patrol play at a dated club in Cincinnati that holds about 1000 people. Let’s just say the last time I’d been to Bogart’s was when I was in college, and my friends and I were jamming to Royal Crescent Mob.
The place hadn’t changed a bit – not even the sticky concrete floors or the stench of stale beer or the dated wood paneling. Half way through the show the band played their song, “Run”, and at the chorus the entire audience began chanting along with the lead singer, Gary Lightbody, “Light up light up as if you have a choice - even if you cannot hear my voice.” Bogart’s echoed with the inspiring lyrics. Goosebumps ran up my arms. For a moment, everybody in the crowded club shared something. From the stage I could see Lightbody’s eyes well up with tears. He drew his hand to his chest and at the end of the chorus shouted, “Bless your hearts.” This is a band who has recorded and released five albums. This is the band who opened for U2 in their last tour, playing for stadiums full of tens of thousands of people, but that night, at a teeny, grungy club in Southern Ohio they were reminded they had potential. People identified with their music, sang their songs. Potential. We all have it. We just need to be reminded every now and then. Our God gives you everything you need. Makes you everything you’re to be. 2 Thessalonians 1:2 No matter where we are in the pursuit of our dreams, sketching out our plans or riding high in the rafters, we have days of discouragement, “no’s”, dings and doors slammed in our faces. But one fan singing along is all it takes to keep us going. Who do you need to encourage today? Who do you know who doesn’t see their potential, but might, if only you pointed it out? |
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