I’m going to tell you a story, a special story
…. please, stay with me ……
It’s a story of self-belief and having the confidence and the determination to make things happen.
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There once was a young boy, a 4 year old, let’s call him Zac.
And Zac played his first Aussie rules game (that’s Australian football for those of you reading this somewhere else in the world) and he became hooked. He couldn’t get enough of the game, he played it, he watched it, he practiced, he bounced that ball every morning all the way to school and he told everyone who would listen that he was going to be a footballer when he grew up.
He reached his 100 games and then his 150 games before any of his peers. He not only played every week but he helped out in the club whenever he could, he filled in when other teams were short, he was a runner and a water boy when needed and he simply inhaled everything that had anything to do with the game.
He was determined to do whatever it took to achieve his dream, his goal of playing in the league games one day.
Now, this is where the adults in his life come into the story. They all supported him, without doubt, they took him to the games, they ferried him backwards and forwards from training in all weather conditions and at all times of the day. They turned up to his games and they encouraged him in his dreams BUT, and there’s always a but to a story with a moral.
Every adult in his life, at some point, said to him ‘that’s great but what else are you going to do, just in case the football doesn’t work out?’
Because, as adults that’s what we do.
We believe that we need to look at the down side to everything instead of firmly believing that something can be achieved we have to have Plan B in place ‘just in case.’
Well, that 4 year old boy, who’s now a mature 18 year old achieved one of his dreams a few weeks ago when he signed with a West Australian league club. He’s playing his first season as a colts player for the club and is well on his way to achieving his next dream of moving onwards and upwards.
Now the moral of this story is that Zac didn’t lose his confidence, he set himself a goal and he was determined to achieve it. He put a plan in place and he did what it took to be successful.
He KNEW he could succeed.
Yes, there were moments when he faltered, as we all do, but the difference here is that he didn’t allow those few glitches to stop him. He realised what had happened, he learned a lesson and he became even more determined.
And when his local league team cut him from the squad in the last couple of years, not once, but twice, he looked further afield. He didn’t say ‘they don’t want me so no one will’ he moved on and found a place where he could shine and where his dream would come true.
So what can we learn from Zac and all the other successful sportsmen and women?
We’re all here in the game of life and to be successful in that game we need to be determined, we need to know what we want to achieve and we need to have the confidence and the belief in ourselves to get out there and go for it.
Despite our doubts we are all perfectly capable of achieving whatever it is we set our mind to.
We just need to believe in ourselves and have the confidence to go for it.
Note: Thanks to Zac, my grandson for allowing me to use his story to motivate and inspire those a lot older than him to achieve their goals in life x