This is a sample of Belief Building, my monthly newsletter. The mailing list is currently closed.
Hi!
In order to achieve anything, we need to believe that it is possible. Sometimes it takes longer than we think… but there is always a way…
When Diana Nyad was almost 30 years old, she made her first attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida. However, rough seas meant she had to abandon the 110 mile crossing.
Thirty years later at the age of 60, she still believed it was possible and decided to try again. She failed twice in 2011, once due to an asthma attack and once due to jellyfish stings. In 2012, her fourth attempt failed due to stormy weather.
In 2013, at the age of 64, wearing a suit that protected against jelly fish stings but swimming without a shark cage, Diana successfully completed the crossing. It was her 5th attempt.
It took almost 53 hours and a team of 35 people but Diana became the first person to ever complete this challenge. Diana has written a book about the experience called, “Find a Way” inspiring us to persevere and never let age be a limiting factor.
“Never miss twice” is a mantra used by James Clear, author of ‘Atomic Habits‘.
We are all going to have a bad experience or get derailed by a circumstance beyond our control but the key to pursuing our goals is to get back on track the next day. We can keep going. Every road has potholes but we can drive past them. Sometimes journeys are longer than we initially thought, but we can keep going.
It is said that when Thomas Edison, (one of the world’s greatest inventors), was asked how did it feel to have failed so many times, he replied with “I did not fail 1,000 times, the lightbulb was an invention with 1,000 steps”.
Keep taking the next step.
“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.” Oprah Winfrey
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” Henry Ford
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Thomas Edison
Sinead Huskisson 