Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - May 3rd

Fear makes come true that which one is afraid of. - Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Refuse to become a victim of your circumstances and give a lift to your potentials each and every day against the wish of any obstacle you encounter! - Israelmore Ayivor, The Great Hand Book of Quotes

Have you ever been told you cannot do something?  Has someone degraded you or talked down to you?  Most likely, the answers to these questions are yes because we have all dealt with issues like these. Someone may have intentionally or unintentionally said something that affected you.  I know this has happened to me and I have been working to overcome these barriers in my life.  

A couple weeks ago, I heard the story of Glenn Cunningham and it challenged me to strive toward overcoming the obstacles and barriers in my life.  Glenn was the first man to run the mile in four minutes and eight seconds on an indoor track.  What is unique about Glenn Cunningham is that he overheard a doctor tell his mother when he was eight years old that he would surely die. 

Each morning, Glenn would warm the schoolhouse before his teacher and classmates arrived.  On one cold morning, someone had mistakenly put gasoline in the kerosene container he used to start the fire and disaster struck when the school was engulfed in flames.  Over half of Glenn’s body was burned and the lower half of his body had no motor ability.  Time and time again, Glenn was told he would never walk, definitely not run and would be confined to wheelchair for the rest of his life. 

Through determination and support of his family, he refused to be confined to a wheelchair and continually pushed himself to overcome obstacles and “perceived” barriers in his life.  On a sunny afternoon, his mother wheeled him to the backyard.  Instead of staying in his wheelchair, he pulled himself across the yard.  He pulled himself up with the assistance of the picket fence.  Day after day, he would push himself and finally he developed his motor abilities so he could stand up and then walk and finally he started running.  He would run everywhere and that is how he became a college runner and then set the indoor track record.     

CHALLENGE: Overcome the barriers that are in your life due to past hurts, mistakes, etc.  Eleanor Roosevelt said it best, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  Take back your life, forget those past hurts and become everything you have dreamed of and more!

To read the full story of Glenn Cunningham, go to: http://www.wanttoknow.info/050702powerofdetermination

“Sometimes your belief system is really your fears attached to rules.”

― Shannon L. Alder