IF YOU WERE FRANCIS PARKMAN

Francis Parkman was born I 1823. During his adult life, the renowned American historian suffered so acutely that he could not walk for more than five minutes at a time. His eyesight was so wretched that he could crawl only a few gigantic words on a manuscript, but he contrived to write 20 magnificent volumes of history. He was elected to the hall of fame in 1915.
A careful observation will show that every human being can come up with an excuse not to take action. None of us has a perfect world or a perfect life. We all have something that can stop us from being what we want to be, that is if we allow it. Someone once said; ‘nobody can stop you from doing what you want, if that is what you have set your mind to do. You can always find a hook to hang your excuses on, but they are just excuses. You don’t have anyone to blame but yourself. Nobody makes you fail but yourself.’
You may have heard the story of John Foppe, an American born without hands. HE COOKS WITH HIS LEG, TYPES HIS BOOKS WITH HIS LEG, DRIVE WITH HIS LEG, name it, just about anything anybody can do with hands.
Do you know that Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, founder of the 24-hour radio and television stations in Nigeria could not talk properly for the first twelve years until he was operated upon?
There was this story about a software manager, a hardware manager and a sales manager who were driving to a meeting when the tyre of their vehicle burst. They all got out of the car and looked at the problem.
The software manager said; ‘I can’t do anything about this, it’s a hardware problem.’ The hardware manager said; ‘maybe if we turn the car on off and on again, it would fix itself.’ The sales manager said; ‘hey 75% of it is working lets ship it.’ The question then is, have they provided solution to their problems? Have they reached their destination?
Whatever happens, we must keep our destination in view. Obstacles and challenges that we encounter on our way ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS OUR DESTINATION. In the journey of success, you will hardly see anybody who had a smooth trip. There must be potholes and bumps on the road, but it’s not enough to terminate the journey. Have you seen anybody who decides not to go home because the road leading to his home is bad? Somehow we all make it to our homes irrespective of how difficult it is. For example with all the news about the Ore-Benin road in Nigeria, even times when travelers spend days there, yet it has not stopped people from plying the road.
No excuse can stop you from fulfilling your purpose on earth. Regardless of the challenges, there must be something you can do. It all requires patience and discipline. If others can make history regardless of the obstacles they faced, then you too can leave your footprints on the sand of time.
YOU WILL SUCCEED!
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