DETERMINATON

In 1883, 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 injured and left with a certain amount of brain
damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
“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.
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible
physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to
what many others have to face.
The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that
dreams that seem impossible can be
realized with determination and
persistence, no matter what the
odds are.
Even the most distant dream
can be realized with
determination and persistence.

JUST P.U.S.H!

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord
told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man
did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to
sun down; his shoulders set squarely against the cold,
massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of
his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and
worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary
(Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into
the weary mind: “you have been pushing against that rock for
a long time, and it hasn’t moved.” Thus, giving the man the
impression that the task was impossible and that he was a
failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the
man. Satan said, “Why kill yourself over this?”
“Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.”
That’s what he planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled
thoughts to the Lord. “Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my
strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock
by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
The Lord responded compassionately, “My Servant, when I asked you to serve Me and you
accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you
have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push.
And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really
so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands
are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.
Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to
have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to
exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. Now I, my servant, will move the
rock.” At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what
He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means,
exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.
When everything seems to go wrong .................................. just P.U.S.H!
When the job gets you down ............................................... just P.U.S.H!
When people don’t react the way you think they should ... just P.U.S.H!
When your money is “gone” and the bills are due ............. just P.U.S.H!
When people just don’t understand you ............................ just P.U.S.H!
P + U + S + H = Pray + Until + Something + Happens

WEAKNESS OR STRENGTH?

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of
one 10-year-old boy who decided to study Judo despite the fact that he
had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese Judo Master Sensei.
The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three
months of training the master had taught him only one move.
“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”
“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,”
the Sensei replied.
Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy
easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time,
his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.
Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared
to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out.
He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.
“No,” the Sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard.
Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.
He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match.
Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.
“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”
“You won for two reasons,” the Sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most
difficult throws in all of Judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your
opponent to grab your left arm.”
The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

A LESSON FROM A FROG TALE

A group of frogs were hopping contentedly through the woods, going about their froggy business,
when two of them fell into a deep pit. All of the other frogs gathered around the pit to see what
could be done to help their companions. When they saw how deep the pit was, the rest of the
dismayed group agreed that it was hopeless and told the two frogs in the pit that they should
prepare themselves for their fate, because they were as good as dead.
Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs began to jump with all of their might. Some of
the frogs shouted into the pit that it was hopeless, and that the two frogs wouldn’t be in that
situation if they had been more careful, more obedient to the froggy rules, and more responsible.
The other frogs continued sorrowfully shouting that they should save their energy and give up,
since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs continued jumping as hard as they could,
and after several hours of desperate effort were quite weary.
Finally, one of the frogs took heed to the calls of his fellows. Spent and disheartened, he quietly
resolved himself to his fate, lay down at the bottom of the pit, and died as the others looked on in
helpless grief. The other frog continued to jump with every ounce of energy he had, although his
body was wracked with pain and he was completely exhausted.
His companions began a new, yelling for him to accept his fate, stop the pain and just die.
The weary frog jumped harder and harder and - wonder of wonders! Finally leapt so high that he
sprang from the pit. Amazed, the other frogs celebrated his
miraculous freedom and then gathering around him asked,
“Why did you continue jumping when we told you it was
impossible?” Reading their lips, the astonished frog
explained to them that he was deaf, and that when he saw
their gestures and shouting, he thought they were cheering
him on. What he had perceived as encouragement inspired
him to try harder and to succeed against all odds.
This simple story contains a powerful lesson. Your encouraging words can lift someone up and help
him or her make it through the day. Your destructive words can cause deep wounds; they may be
the weapons that destroy someone’s desire to continue trying - or even their life. Your destructive,
careless word can diminish someone in the eyes of others, destroy their influence and have a lasting
impact on the way others respond to them.

MOUNTAIN STORY

A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!”
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: “AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Curious, he yells: “Who are you?”
He receives the answer: “Who are you?”
And then he screams to the mountain: “I admire you!”
The voice answers: “I admire you!”
Angered at the response, he screams: “Coward!”
He receives the answer: “Coward!”
He looks to his father and asks: “What’s going on?”
The father smiles and says: “My son, pay attention.”
Again the man screams: “You are a champion!”
The voice answers: “You are a champion!”
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: “People call this ECHO,
but really this is LIFE.”
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world,
create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team,
improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it.”
“Your life is not a coincidence. It’s a reflection of you!”

DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER!

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped
off the train in Boston and walk timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University
President’s outer office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at
Harvard and probably didn’t even deserve to be in Cambridge.
“We want to see the president,” the man said softly.
“He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary snapped.
“We’ll wait,” the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged
and go away. They didn’t and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the
president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.
“Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she said to him.
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time
to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer

office.
The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, “We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was
happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a
memorial to him, somewhere on campus.”
The president wasn’t touched.... He was shocked.
“Madam,” he said, gruffly, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and
died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.”
“Oh, no,” the lady explained quickly. “We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to
give a building to Harvard.”
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then
exclaimed, “A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over
seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”
For a moment the lady was silent.
The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it
costs to start a university? Why don’t we just start our own?”
Her husband nodded.
The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr.
and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to
Palo Alto, California where they established the University that
bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that
Harvard no longer cared about.
You can easily judge the character of others by how
they treat those who they think can do nothing.

THE OBSTACLE IN OUR PATH

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to
see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers
came by and simply walked around it.
Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting
the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On
approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side
of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his
load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the
king indicating that the gold was for the person who
removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant
learned what many others never understand.
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to
improve one’s condition.