The Winners Code

GEORGE CHINGARANDE | Monday November 17, 2008 00:00

Beethoven was blighted by deafness, yet he overcame the obstacles to become an accomplished and acclaimed composer and performer. It was said that man could not fly, yet the Wright brothers defied the gravitational pull. It was believed that it was impossible for man to run the mile under five minutes, but Roger Burnster showed us the way.

The steam engine, the rocket, landing man on the moon and cure for leprosy are all examples of things that people in the yester years said could not be done.

If anything, the world is full of things and accomplishments that people said could not done.

The truth is that all these things were never impossible.
The real problem lay in that man laboured under the false and enervating assumption that these things were impossible. Everyday the ambitious soul is faced with mammoth challenges and sometimes with goals that look like impossible dreams.

The big question is -what does it take to turn an impossible dream into reality?Impossibilities can be grouped into two categories.

 Firstly, there are those things that other people say are impossible, then there are those things that you believe in your heart are impossible. It has been shown time and again that people can thrive and succeed against all odds even when everyone around them doubts their capabilities. However, hardly can anyone succeed when he believes that the task before him is impossible.  The greatest power and indeed, the only true power that we have is the power of self-confidence.

When you lose trust in yourself, you have lost almost all the power that you have. Self-confidence is what gives us the courage to go against the grain and to pursue an agenda that everyone thinks is a lost cause. Self- confidence is what gives the winner the fuel to persist when everyone has given up. And self-confidence determines the degree to which we are prepared to expend effort in pursuit of our dreams. It is impossible to pursue an improbable dream unless you have got a good measure of belief in yourself and your abilities. As a principle, winners do not doubt, and doubters don't win. Nothing worthwhile can be achieved by a heart full of despondence and doubt.

To pursue an improbable dream you need the courage to be yourself, and not conform to the traditions of men. Tradition will tell you that things cannot be done. Tradition will also tell you that things have always been done this way. However, the lives of great achievers teach us that most of the traditions of man are vain and meaningless.

Sometimes it is necessary to swim against the current in order to achieve your greatest dream.

If the Wright brothers had followed tradition they would never have flown the first plane. If Helen Keller had conformed to tradition she would have lived her life in the shadows of oblivion.

Many things are called impossible, just because nobody has ever really made a serious attempt. This is true about life in general, but it is also true about your life.

Your achievements at the moment are a reflection of the efforts that you applied in certain areas of your life. The things that you consider impossible will remain un-attempted, while the things that you consider possible will get some form of attention. Winners are those that muster the courage to attempt the things that people consider impossible.

We can never know what is possible and what is not possible until we try. Similarly, we can never know our true potential until we stretch ourselves to the maximum.

To pursue an improbable dream one needs the courage to persist in the face of adversity. No one ever said the journey would be easy.

The important thing to remember is that although the road may be bumpy the destination is still reachable. Beethoven, in his later years could not even hear the applause of his audience nor receive their feedback, yet he did not give up. So many of us rely on other people to motivate us, but the true winners are those that appreciate that the buck stops with them. The praise and the encouragement of other people is just a bonus.
 It is your responsibility to encourage yourself and to urge yourself forward.

Above all to pursue an impossible dream one needs the courage to take the initiative.
The journey to an impossible dream is often lonely. The majority will tell you that it is impossible; hence they will not offer much in terms of constructive advice.

There will be no one to show you how and none to stand with you in trying times. It calls for you to think for yourself, plan for yourself, and execute your plans. No one can pursue your dream on your behalf.

There is no dream too big, and no mountain too high. However, it must always be borne in mind that man's greatest enemies are his own apathy and his own stubbornness and self-doubt.
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