The road not taken
Life has nothing to offer people who are average. Life rewards greatness. But greatness is achieved through walking through the rough valleys and mountains that a few would really dare to. All superstars we watch on television are great because they do what many others fail. In life, a lesson says, once in one’s lifetime, for one mortal moment, one must make a grab for immortality; if not, one has not lived.
We all want to be great but we fail to be great because we take the path that many people take. We do the very same things and expect different results. Achievers and great people walk a different path. They crave challenges, they take risks that many other people consider unthinkable and that is why they are great.
When a young man saw Archilles preparing to go into battle against the toughest Slonian general, he told Archilles: “Slonian you are fighting is the biggest man I have ever seen. I wouldn’t want you to fight him.”
Archilles rode his horse and replied: “That is why nobody will remember your name.”
Archilles killed the once feared Slonian general and earned great respect. Take the road not taken and people will be amazed. If you achieve what everybody achieves, the world will not celebrate you, you are no different to anybody. Great leaders are famous for undertaking decisions that seem unbelievable and succeed with them. They are not afraid of failure. You just have to be tough, ambitious and know exactly what you want.
Your greatest lies in following your opinion. Les Brown was right: “Never let the opinions of others become your reality.”
Walk on your path to achieve greatness. You will certainly survive failure after failure but never give up in the belief in yourself. Move forward, push to the edge and live your dream.
Consider the amazing story of Malawi’s impressive lady Susan Chatha. When she opened a tailoring school, for the whole year, it only enrolled one student. Would you have kept it if it were you? Two years down the line, the school has enrolled beyond its 40-people capacity and its expansion plans are taking shape. Never give up, walk on your path and that is where greatness is.
When Nick Vujicic was building his professional speaking dream, he called 42 schools for an opportunity to speak and they all said no. The 43rd school offered him an opportunity. And when he went there, he was told that he would only speak for 10 minutes. He was disappointed. He spoke for 10 minutes and his brother ridiculed him that he would better do other things. But that road not taken made a difference. He started receiving calls to speak at schools and now he is one of the world’s most sought-after speaker. Never give up. Achievers do not give up.
In the film entitled The Life of Your Dreams, it is said that far too many people have no idea of what they can do because all they have been told is what they cannot do. They do not know what they want because they do not know what is available for them. Most people live and die with their music ‘unplayed’. They never dare to try.
We fail to take our own road because of fear, because we think that others will see us as being mad and because no one else has ever tried what we want to do. We self-restrict our capability. It is no secret that if you think you can, you are right and if you think you cannot, you are also wrong. To achieve greatness free your mind. Let go fear, doubt and disbelief. If you take the road everybody takes, then you barricade yourself in the dungeon of second-class citizenry. You already know the wide road you are taking. You know exactly where it ends but if you have to be great, that is not where you want to be.
Walk on your path with confidence. Not everybody will agree with you, leave them behind and keep on hunting for your dream. Believe in yourself, believe in your decisions and leave aside those who do not share your point of view. Demonstrate such confidence in your ideas that the fear of failure, which follows the others, retreats.
Bill Gold says: “Refuse to stay in one line with mediocrity, write your own ‘book’ of life and create by denying traditions.”
Now is the time to walk on the road of your dreams
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