In a big city there lived a man named Javier. Javier traveled from city to city for his job. He always stayed in the best hotels, ate in the nicest restaurants, and dated the most beautiful women.
One day, Javier was told he had to go out of the country for business. Javier traveled many miles and hours switching from plane to plane. He finally boarded a small plane with one pilot. On his way to the foreign land, the plane lost control and traveled to the ground very quickly. Luckily he and the pilot were okay, but were now stranded.
Javier was very angry and demanded the pilot solve the situation. The pilot turned to Javier and said, “Why would you want to leave, we have landed in paradise.”
Javier looked around and saw no such thing. “There is nothing here but trees, water, and land, said Javier. Where are the people?”
The pilot said “oh, people are this way.”
They walked for miles to a small village. They were greeted by an old woman who seemed frail and blind. Javier was uncomfortable in her presence. The pilot asked the woman for shelter and food until they could travel to the next town. The woman agreed and led them to a hut where they could stay.
Javier spent the day and night asking the pilot when they could leave and hating every moment he had to stay in the village. The pilot, growing tired of Javier, went to join the others in the village for dinner. When Javier started to grow hungry he snuck up to where everyone was eating. He found them not only eating, but the pilot surround by man, woman, and child as he told his story about their amazing survival. The pilot spared no emotion and cheered in their own victory.
“Why do you not share your story with him?” The blind woman said as she came up behind Javier, giving him quite a scare. He suddenly felt heavy with emotions and said, “The plane fell, we lived. What more is there to say?”
“That isn’t true,” she said. “This isn’t living. I am blind, but I can see your fallen heart. What a great sadness a man carries who cannot tell the story of his life being lived”
Javier leaned against the doorway and pondered what the woman said. Javier said, with hesitation, “What if they don’t want to hear my story? What if I don’t have anything to say? What if I have no victories?”
The blind woman said, “Everyone has a story. Everyone has a tale of strength and hoped, locked deep inside of their memory. Where you see pain, I see survival. Where you see disappointment, I see new opportunity.”
She walked closer to Javier and said “It’s all in how you look at things. Try now. Try and tell your story. The story of who you have been, the story of your strengths, the stories of your happiness. Don’t be blinded by the pity of your regret and fear.”
“You have been blind your how life. It is time to see.”
–
The message of this story is an obvious one, but here is an assignment.
You assignment for today is to think about something you did for yourself you were proud of. A story you would want to share with others. Put aside thoughts of it not being grand enough, or important enough. We all have something that pops into our head we are proud of. We all have a story of victory, no matter how small. It could be as simple as stopping your car to help an animal make it across the road safe, or the first time you surprised yourself with your physical strength.
No matter what that moment is, grab it and hold it. The next time you are in the middle of giving up on your goals, I want you to do me a favor. When you are having a moment of weakness, I want you to go back to the feeling of success you had and smile. That’s it, just think about how good you did in a moment of self-pride and smile. Force it if you have to.
After that, decide to view that moment of turning it around as a success. Log it as a success, not a failure. Logging the successes are so important. Seeing them as victories and not almost failures will continue to encourage the right mindset for everything in life you want.
Remember, it’s how you look at things that matter.
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Great story and great point. I am loving the motivation stuff Leigh.
Thanks Eric.
Printed.
Grateful.
Leigh do you have any more book recommendations like you did on that other post? I am dying for more motivational stuff that doesn’t have a dove on the cover
lol!
Sure do, I will make another post about it.
This really hit me. I definitely doing the assignment. Thanks Leigh!
“That isn’t true,” she said. “This isn’t living. I am blind, but I can see your fallen heart. What a great sadness a man carries who cannot tell the story of his life being lived”
Good line. Where did you get this story from?
I figured people could tell by the butchered writing
I wrote it. I watched this show on the Travel network once who talked about a business man who changed his life after becoming stranded for 22 days in a small village. It was sort of born from that.
Basically I had a point I wanted to make, and I thought it would be a little more interesting for readers.
The compliment is greatly appreciated.
Just the story I needed. Recently, like Javier, I have been bogged down by, work school, reading, and taking care of my family. I kept letting life lead me. I kept letting little things add up. I kept forgetting to remember when I had accomplished. Everyday i face myself with knowledge I know little about in hopes to gain. Over and over i start small in hopes of gaining. And life has it’s ways of taking you from that. Keeping you small in a universal need to gain. Looking back at my personal body transformation, coming from the short porker whose little league coach thought he had asthma each time he ran the bases to (the now) college student who can outperform most athletes my own age, I smiled and teared of over the joy that pausing and reflection has just brought from simply reminding myself of my accomplishment. From crying every night from middle-school bullies to ,now, excelling in life, work, school, and especially myself.
Thank you so so much Leigh for your helping hand in reminding myself.
That was awesome, thanks for sharing Macky.
Thanks so much Leigh. I was having a bad day and struggling with finding the good. This really helped!
Next time just do this