Do you have limits to what you can and can’t do? I’m not talking about physical limitations I am talking about actual limits of possibilities in any endeavor of life. Are there real limits to what you can learn to do? If I were to ask that question to a hundred people most would say that there are limits. That a person is not capable of doing whatever they want just because they have a desire to do it.
I do agree, a desire to do something is not enough but what about a desire mixed with action and a pig headed determination to see it through? Is this enough to overcome any obstacle? History has proven that answer to be yes. A person can do whatever they set their mind to. I believe anyone can accomplish whatever they desire and there are so many stories to prove that fact that it is not necessary for me to write about them here.
But what about when desire crosses the physical? When physical limitation would otherwise make the desire impossible? This is where most would say the physical limitation becomes real.
I want to tell you a story of my friend Nick Prefontaine. Nick is a real estate investor, public speaker and coach. Nick should not be any of those things. You see when Nick was 15 he was on a family ski trip and he had a very bad snowboarding accident. Nick, not wearing a helmet, hit his head and was in a coma for 3 weeks. Doctors told Nick’s parents Chris and Kim that their son may never walk, talk or even be able to eat again if he ever were to wake up. You can’t imagine the sadness and fear a parent would feel for their own child. Any parent in the same circumstance would want to take the place of their child but that’s not a possibility.
One fateful day Nick awoke from the coma. Not remembering anything Nick had to learn life all over again. How to eat, speak, and anything else he would desire to do. His body had to be taught all over again with physical limitations that were real and extremely limiting. But Nick had three things going for him, he had a desire to live an above average life, he was willing to put forward the action it would take to overcome the obstacles he faced and Nick had a pig headed determination to win. Of course you know how it ends because I told you the end before the beginning. Nick is a real estate investor, public speaker and coach. Nick is an amazing person who faced insurmountable odds and overcame them. He still faces some of those obstacles today but Nick never gives up. That is pig headed determination and we can learn a lot from it.
Here’s a link to Nick’s story. Less than 6 minutes a worthwhile use of your time.
When life gives you obstacles, real obstacles, you get the choice of the outcome by the way you see it. You have to see the end before it happens. If you see the end coming out poorly, it will. If you see the end exactly the way you would create it, it will. You get to choose your own ending. It won’t be easy but nothing worthwhile ever is.
This is your book. Write the ending you have always wanted.
To your lifelong prosperity,
David Mulvaney