“You cannot dream
yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge one yourself.”—James Anthony
Froude, from verybestquotes.com
Persistence is not something we’re born with. By its very nature,
it usually requires years of disciplining our minds, if not our bodies.
The other
day, I mentioned 8-year old dancer and partial amputee, Alissa Sizemore, in an article.
In this post, I will spotlight two more incredible cases of people who dared to
dream in unbelievably harsh circumstances. (My research comes mainly from
Wikipedia and holocaustsurvivors.org.)
Joni Earecksen Tada
Google calls
this remarkable lady an “evangelical Christian, author, radio host, and founder
of Joni and Friends, an organization accelerating Christian ministry in the
disability community.”
Ms. Tada
dove into a pool that was too shallow as a teen. As a result, she became
paralyzed from the shoulders down. Unsurprisingly, she suffered from anger,
depression, suicidal thoughts, and religious doubts.
Did that
stop her? Not on your life! She immediately started painting pictures with her
teeth and selling them. Here are her current credentials: author of about 48
books, conference speaker, made several musical albums, starred in an
autobiographical movie of her life, advocate for disabled people, and survivor
of breast cancer.
Joseph Sher
This amazing
Holocaust survivor grew up in Poland, where many of the worst Nazi atrocities
were committed. He saw loved ones and acquaintances disappear, get tortured and
killed, or get shipped off to the extermination camp, Treblinka. He was
relocated to the Jewish ghetto, subjected to slave labor, and survived typhoid
fever. He was also saved from a Russian camp for Nazi prisoners of war by a
kind Russian captain.
In 1949, the
gentle tailor finally made it through a rough voyage to New Orleans, Louisiana,
USA. He and the other passengers rejoiced, dancing in the streets of their newly-adopted
country.
My Conclusion
“The question for each
man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence, and
educational advantages; the question is what he will do with the things he has. The moment a young man ceases to
dream or to bemoan his lack of opportunities and resolutely looks his
conditions in the face, and resolves to change them, he lays the corner-stone
of a solid and honorable success.”—Hamilton Wright Mable, from verybestquotes.com (emphasis mine)
Do you hold the pen to write the story of your life, or have your
challenges taken over?
Please see more about determination in my book, Accept No Trash Talk: Overcoming the Odds:
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