The stories of people achieving unusual success despite all manner of handicaps never fail to capture our attention. They're inspirational to be sure. But they're much more than that if we study them closely.
The boy whose legs were terribly burned and who was told he'd be lucky to ever walk again becomes a champion track star. The woman blind and deaf from birth becomes one of the most inspirational figures in the century. And the poor children who rise to fame and fortune have nearly become commonplace.
In this age of unprecedented immigration, we read about and see on television examples of people who arrived in this country without any money and without knowing a word of English and who within a surprisingly short time have become wonderfully successful. In fact, the typical Korean family that has immigrated to the United States during the past 20 years has a higher average income than the average American family that was born and went to school here.
Now how does that happen? Freedom, personal liberty, is the most precious thing on earth. It is also one of the rarest; hence its great value. People who manage to get to America, despite mountainous problems and miles of red tape, often find themselves free for the first time in their lives. It's a joyous, wonderful experience for them. And in this newfound freedom, they set to work to find a place for themselves. They go to work serving their new country and its people. Time means nothing to them.
To them, being free to pursue their own ends in the richest, freest country on the planet is everything. They all go to work. And they work hard and their work is excellent, first-class, as good as they can do it, and it's priced fairly. There's no complaining or sense of entitlement. All they want is the opportunity, and once that's theirs, they make the most of it.
In New York City, a Korean family managed to buy a small convenience grocery store in Midtown Manhattan. The first thing they did was clean it. It sparkled with cleanliness. Then they stocked it with everything they felt the people in their area wanted in the way of things you find in a grocery store. They were open early in the morning; they stayed open late at night. They never failed to smile and give a friendly greeting to their customers. Naturally they became wonderfully successful. They were open seven days a week. One day customers coming to the store found it closed and on the door was a sign giving the reason why. It read, "We've gone to Yale University to watch our son graduate." That's an American story. It's the true story of people who found joy and freedom and in the opportunity to serve their fellow man and make the most of it.
What sets these people apart, people with such vast handicaps such as not knowing the language, not knowing the right people, not having any money, or the boy with the burned legs who becomes the champion runner or a Helen Keller, blind and deaf, who becomes one of the most inspirational figures of our time? What in the world's the answer? The answer, if fully understood, will bring you and me anything and everything we truly want, and it's deceptively simple. Perhaps it's too simple.
The people we've talked about here and the thousands currently doing the same thing all over the country are in possession of something the average American doesn't have. They have goals. They have a burning desire to succeed despite all handicaps. They know exactly what they want; they think about it every day of their lives. It gets them up in the morning and it keeps them giving their very best all day long. It's the last thing they think about before dropping off to sleep at night. They have a vision of exactly what they want to do, and that vision carries them over every obstacle. It's what drives them at every level.
This vision, this dream, this goal, invisible to all the world except the person holding it, is responsible for perhaps every great advance and achievement of humankind. It's the underlying motive for just about everything we see about us. Everything worthwhile achieved by men and women is a dream come true, a goal reached. It's been said that what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
It's the fine building where before there was an empty lot or an ancient eyesore. It's the bridge spanning the bay. It's landing on the moon. And it's that little convenience store in Midtown Manhattan. It's the lovely home on a tree-shaded street and the young person accepting the diploma. It's the new baby in its mother's arms. It's a low golf handicap and a position reached in the world of business. It's a certain income attained or amount of money invested. What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
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