Be Bold

(Okay, so technically this image isn't a "perfect fit" for this post, but COME ON! That's just funny right there...)

"What has influenced my life more than any single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered...I would have probably gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every now and then published a dreary book about French literature."

-W. Somerset Maugham (novelist, playwright and short story writer; notable works: Of Human Bondage, The Razor's Edge, The Letter and Rain)

Much emphasis and broo-ha-ha is given to the pursuit of overcoming personal obstacles; of achieving goals despite one's shortcomings and/or lot in life. Who doesn't love a story of someone overcoming the odds and emerging victorious? I know I do.

But sometimes I think these stories - while certainly inspirational and encouraging - may serve as unintentional road blocks to pursuing our dreams, or we think that once we achieve one desired goal the rest of our lives will fall into place.

Fill in the blank:


If only I could _____________ then _____________.


Once I ___________ then I'll be able to _____________.

Here's my challenge to you. Don't use your limitations as excuses for pursuing your dreams. You may just find the very thing you thought was holding you back wasn't really an issue in the first place.


I know this is a busy week for many of us, so I'll leave you with just a few more quotes to ponder:

"When the resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness: it is always urgent, here and now, without any possible postponement. Life is fired at us point blank. - Ortega Y'Gasset

"God always gives us strength enough, and sense enough, for everything He wants us to do." - John Ruskin

"If you wait around for the world to give you what you think you deserve, you are going to be sadly disappointed when you get it." - katdish