Do you remember a time in your childhood when elephant jokes were the "in" thing? Questions like, "How do you get down off an elephant?" Do you know? You don't get down off an elephant; you get down off a duck!Or how about this one? Why do elephants paint their toenails red? So they can hid in cherry trees. Ever see an elephant in a cherry tree? See. It works!
Then there was this one. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
One bite at a time...that's how we can get any large task done. Break it up into manageable bites...or another way to say it...break it up into small steps.
Take any huge undertaking - to keep it from becoming overwhelming - break it into manageable steps. Like running in a marathon. This may seem an impossibility but if you practice running a little at a time, before you know it you have worked your way up to the amazing marathon.
How did Terry Fox take the seemingly impossible task of running across Canada and see it as manageable? He focused on taking one step at a time.
Leaving St. John's Nfld. on April 12, 1980, Terry began his Marathon of Hope. His goal was to collect $1 for every person living in the country. At that time, Canada had a population of about 24 million.
He ran 143 days and 5, 373 kilometres before having to give up his run. But he initially raised a total of $24.7 million. He reached his goal and oh, so much more. To date, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $360 million. And to think...Terry was just taking one step at a time.
Terry had two phenomenal strengths. The first was his dogged determination to turn his dream into a goal: a smart goal. It was smart because it was specific; he had a specific plan to raise that $1 per Canadian. It was measurable; the success of the plan would be measured by dollars collected as his journey progressed from the east coast toward the west. His goal was attainable - although he didn't think so when he had to quit his run in Thunder Bay because of a relapse. But it was attained; he raised his $1 per person in Canada. His goal was the amount of money collected; the number of kilometers was the method to do that.
It was realistic. Terry believed in the generosity of Canadians and he knew that nearly everyone's life had been touched by cancer. He knew that no one wanted to lose another loved one to that horrific disease. And lastly, his goal was timely. Cancer was reeking havoc in lives across the nation and it was only going to get worse. Time was of the essence.
Many of us, like Terry, have a dream. We hang on to that dream with the hope that one day it will come true. Few of us ever speak of our dream for fear others will either laugh, scoff or maybe even worse by putting pressure on us to do something about it. Like a nervous mother, we guard, protect and nurture our dream waiting for the right timing. After all, some things can't be rushed...like tea. The best flavour is in the steeping.
So our dreams are steeped and steeped and steeped. But eventually, the tea is steeped. The timing is right. If there is any purpose to making the tea, now is the time for that purpose to be fulfilled.
Is the same not true of our dream? Is there a purpose that needs to be fulfilled? Then why do so many of us just leave our dreams - like tea in boiling water until it's gone too cold?
Perhaps it's because we know that our dreams are too vague; that we have no clear vision. We, too, need to ensure that we convert our dreams into smart goals: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. It is when we can articulate those dimensions of our dreams that we can set a path before us and begin the journey with the first small step.
Once you have your smart goal, break it down into manageable steps. Like a boulder that can be broken down into rocks...rocks into stones...stones into pebbles...your dream can be broken down into smaller goals. Steps that when put together build a staircase to your dream.
Courage was Terry Fox's second strength. He took his dream, made it a goal and stepped out with courage. Imagine what courage he needed to not only endure the long hours on the road in the dead of night, the courage to endure the agony of the blisters on his left foot and the courage to put himself in the public eye for his cause. Cicero said, "Courage is the virtue which champions the cause of the right."
Do we have the courage to pursue our dreams? Do we have the perseverance to realize our dreams? Do we have the dogged determination to turn our dreams into a goal and then have the courage to pursue and persevere?
Merri Macartney - Speaker, Author
LIVE LAUGH LEARN Programs
www.merrimaccommunications.com
merri@merrimaccommunications.com
Phone: 1.519.396.3476 Fax: 1.866.864.7982
116 Jeater Street
Kincardine, Ontario
Canada N2Z 2X3
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