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Once upon a time…
It was the first class of the semester and Professor Harkin challenged the students to get to know someone they didn’t already know. Josh stood up to scan the room, when he felt a warm hand touch his shoulder. He turned to find a wrinkled up, little old lady beaming up at him with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?”
Josh laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave him a giant squeeze.
Josh inquired, “What brings you to university at such a young and innocent age?”
“I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids.” She grinned.
“But seriously,” Josh leaned forward. He was curious about what motivated Rose to be taking on such a challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a degree, and now I’m getting one!” she smiled.
After class Josh and Rose walked to the student union building and shared more stories over coffee. They became instant friends. Every day for the next three months, they would leave class together and talk nonstop. Josh was often mesmerised as Rose shared her wisdom and experience.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. Somewhat of an avant-garde style icon, Rose loved to dress up. She revelled in the attention she received all over campus. At the end of the semester Josh invited Rose to speak at his football banquet. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium.
As Rose began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her all cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.”
The room roared with laughter and Rose cleared her throat to begin,
“To live, to TRULY live, we must be willing to risk. To be nothing in order to find everything. Dreams don’t work unless you take action. The surest way to make your dreams come true is to live them. When you start living the life of your dreams, there will always be obstacles, doubters, mistakes and setbacks along the way. But with hard work, perseverance and self-belief there is no limit to what you can achieve. Don’t make excuses; make improvements. We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. The secret to staying young is finding humour in every day. You must also have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are already dead and don’t even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. I am proof that you can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world is open to you.”
She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose” And challenged the room to study the lyrics and live them out in their daily lives.
Rose went on to obtain her degree. One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all that you can possibly be.
“Who told you it was too late? And more importantly, why did you choose to believe them?”
― Richelle E. Goodrich
If the path you’re walking on seems to be leading you to nowhere, stop and choose another. It’s never too late to change direction. Change can be scary, but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving, and progressing. Reinvent yourself over and over and over and over and over until you find home. There is no timeline for the soul. It matters only that you manifest your genius, it doesn’t matter when. It’s never too late or too early. Every day, you reinvent yourself. You’re always in motion. But you decide every day, forward or backward. It’s never too late to get started on a new path. Don’t let your past or the opinions of others hold you back from going after what you truly want. You are the captain of your ship, so steer yourself in the direction of your dreams. It’s never too late to throw away the script and start again.
“…By the time I would finish school I’ll be fifty? He smiled.
“You’re going to be fifty anyhow”
― Edith Eva Eger
I am confident in my talents, skills and abilities. I will keep moving forward no matter what happens. I am an action taker. I am extremely focused on achieving success. I find it easy to set goals and achieve them. I am a success magnet. I am proud to be such a hard worker. I have what it takes to manifest my dreams into reality. I have an intense desire to get all I can out of life. I am highly focussed and I go after what I want. I take action every day. People look to me as an example of living life on my own terms. I know I am destined for great things. When I think about my dreams I get a rush of excitement. I know that my future is going to be even more amazing than I could possibly begin to imagine.
“Live your life and forget your age”
– Norman Vincent Peale
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