The Reason Why Some People Succeed Where Others Had failed.
Ishola Ayodele
In 1870, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island.
However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this
was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done.
He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could
be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling.
Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.
“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.
In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.
As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment. It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up.
Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed.
Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.
It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
This is one of the best examples of a
never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Always know that as you embark on your purpose in life you will face constraints. The law of constraints states that, "between you and a noteworthy achievement there will be constraints".
You should also know that due to these constraints you will fail not once not twice not even a dozen times. But what you must never do is QUIT.
You must keep trying after every failure. Just as Michael Jordan had said, "I can accept failure but I can not accept not trying".
Tom Hopkins once said, "The World does not judge a man by the number of times he fails but by the number of times he succeeds, but the number of times he succeeds is directly proportional to the number of times he fails".
This is why the world celebrated Thomas Edison today for inventing the light bulb forgetting that he failed almost 10,000 yes 10,000 times before he could produce the first light bulb.
In the fight between the stream and the rock the stream always win not due to strength or toughness but due to PERSISTENCE.
Persistence is what distinguishes between those who make things happen from those those who watch thing happen.
Martin Luther King Jr said, "if you can't fly, run, if you can't run, walk, if you can't walk, crawl, if you can't crawl just keep moving till you reach your goal".
And Abraham Lincoln said, "You must never give up until you make your last attempt and you must never make your last attempt until you succeed".
I want you to know that, "There is no circumstances greater than your determination to succeed".
*"The greatest tragedy of life is not that we die but that a man can live without fulfilling his/her purpose in life"*
What is the purpose of life?
Please share your thoughts with me by clicking on the post a comment box below.
Ishola Ayodele is a Public Relations practitioner and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
He offers the following services to Large Corporations, SMEs and Individuals.
Result Oriented Communication,
Effective Crisis Communication,
Effectual Political Communication,
Reputation and Image management,
And Impactful Presentation Coaching.
He can be reached on
BBM 58ED6030,
twitter @ishopr and via Email: impactfulcommunications@gmail.com
Ishola Ayodele
In 1870, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island.
However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this
was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done.
He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could
be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling.
Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.
“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.
In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.
As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment. It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up.
Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed.
Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.
It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
This is one of the best examples of a
never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Always know that as you embark on your purpose in life you will face constraints. The law of constraints states that, "between you and a noteworthy achievement there will be constraints".
You should also know that due to these constraints you will fail not once not twice not even a dozen times. But what you must never do is QUIT.
You must keep trying after every failure. Just as Michael Jordan had said, "I can accept failure but I can not accept not trying".
Tom Hopkins once said, "The World does not judge a man by the number of times he fails but by the number of times he succeeds, but the number of times he succeeds is directly proportional to the number of times he fails".
This is why the world celebrated Thomas Edison today for inventing the light bulb forgetting that he failed almost 10,000 yes 10,000 times before he could produce the first light bulb.
In the fight between the stream and the rock the stream always win not due to strength or toughness but due to PERSISTENCE.
Persistence is what distinguishes between those who make things happen from those those who watch thing happen.
Martin Luther King Jr said, "if you can't fly, run, if you can't run, walk, if you can't walk, crawl, if you can't crawl just keep moving till you reach your goal".
And Abraham Lincoln said, "You must never give up until you make your last attempt and you must never make your last attempt until you succeed".
I want you to know that, "There is no circumstances greater than your determination to succeed".
*"The greatest tragedy of life is not that we die but that a man can live without fulfilling his/her purpose in life"*
What is the purpose of life?
Please share your thoughts with me by clicking on the post a comment box below.
Ishola Ayodele is a Public Relations practitioner and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
He offers the following services to Large Corporations, SMEs and Individuals.
Result Oriented Communication,
Effective Crisis Communication,
Effectual Political Communication,
Reputation and Image management,
And Impactful Presentation Coaching.
He can be reached on
BBM 58ED6030,
twitter @ishopr and via Email: impactfulcommunications@gmail.com
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