How will you finish?

Let me tell you about this video clip I saw on youtube some time ago. It was about Nick Vujicic, the man without limbs. You might know of him. I know that after I saw that clip, I will never forget him, or what he had to say. As he lay there, flat on his face, with no apparent way to get back up, he asked, “How are you going to finish? Are you going to finish strong?”

Don’t give up. No matter how difficult something may seem, no matter how tired you are, don’t give up. Even if you have tried a hundred times, and failed a hundred times, don’t be afraid to make that 101st attempt. If you never make that 101st attempt, you will definitely have failed. If you do try that 101st time…sure, there is still a chance of failure, but there is a chance for success as well… Besides, who put the limit at 100 attempts? Who declared that you had to stop after 100 tries?

I know a great many who wish for a life with no problems, no worries, no troubles. I am one of the rare few who are thankful for adversity. We are capable of a lot more than we imagine and I believe that the challenges in our lives are there to strengthen us, to hone us, to help us develop. Contrary to what some might believe, they are not there to trip us up or “run us over”.

If I had just given up at the point of my discharge two days before Christmas 2006; if I had just accepted the limit imposed by “full recovery isn’t possible, of course”; if I had allowed all the job and book rejections to break my spirit; if I had bowed my head and stopped trying at any point during the past three years, then, you certainly won’t be reading this book today.

While we were editing, I learnt of this quote by Samuel Beckett:
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

How will you finish? With a whimper? Or with a bang?

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