by Chloe West The statuette of an angel holding the hand of a little boy had been placed on a neglected back shelf in an antique shop. It was covered with soot and dust, lost amidst the clutter of jars, dishes, and ornaments. A man browsing through the shop discovered the figurine and had an inspiration: He would rescue it from oblivion, restore it, and give it a place of honor among his Christmas decorations. At home in his basement workshop, the man covered the angel and the child with glistening white paint. Then he painted the wings of the angel and the hair of the little boy with sparkling gold. Each brush stroke worked magic. The old, grime-covered statuette vanished, and a shining, new one appeared. The statuette was transformed before his eyes into a thing of radiant beauty. As the man painted, he thought, Isn’t this what happens…
By Jon Gordon Failing is a blessing, a stepping stone that leads to success. Here’s why. Almost everyone knows that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. But most don't know that Walt Disney was once fired from a newspaper for a lack of ideas and his first cartoon production company went bankrupt. With all of Dustin Hoffman’s success, it’s hard to believe he worked as a janitor and an attendant in a mental ward because he failed in his first attempt as an actor in New York. Can you imagine Bob Dylan getting booed off the stage at his high school talent show? It’s also hard to fathom Steven Spielberg not getting accepted to UCLA film school because of average grades. And it’s easy to forget that Steve Jobs was fired from Apple at 30… The fact is, everyone fails in life, but it is a…
by Elena Sichrovsky „You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.“ – Christopher Robin (A. A. Milne) The first time I read this quote, I thought of a story I had just read about a young man with extraordinary athletic skill and ability. At just nineteen years old, Rafael Nadal already knew that he wanted to be a world champion tennis player.It was 2005, and having won his first Grand Slam title that year and charged up to No. 2 in the ATP rankings, he seemed poised to scale the heights of greater success. However, after several weeks of discomfort in his left foot, the doctors discovered he had been born with a rare foot disease that caused one of the bones in his foot to swell and inflict frequent intense pain, with the potential to halt his entire career overnight. This twist…