If you don’t believe you can, you will look for evidence that you aren’t. If you do believe you can, you will look for opportunities so you will.
Read on for the stories of three people who faced significant challenges in life but believed they could succeed – and did.
Theodore Roosevelt
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
From an early age Theodore Roosevelt suffered from severe bronchial asthma that would wake him in the night panicking as he gasped for breath. These attacks lasted well into his childhood and along with other illnesses left him thin and small for his age. At the encouragement of his father he began the process of exercising and weight lifting to transform himself into a muscular man unafraid of any challenge.
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. His political career took him from a New York State Assemblyman, to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy to the Governor of New York to the Vice Presidency before becoming the 26th President.
Gail Devers
“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
Gail Devers was diagnosed with Graves’ disease early in her running career. The treatment caused her feet to swell and form blisters to the point where she could no longer walk and had to be carried or crawl. Her doctor considered amputating her feet. She was determined to run again and after the treatment ended she returned to training.
Gail Devers went on to win three Olympic Gold Medals in running. She also won fifteen other gold and silver medals in world running championships.
Marie Curie
“Life is not easy, for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.”
Marie Curie’s family lost their property and fortunes in late 1800’s political struggles in Poland. The left her and her siblings without the financial wherewithal to pursue higher education without significant effort. After working as a governess and tutor for five years to pay for her sister’s education, Curie was able to attend the University of Paris and obtain her degree in Physics by studying during the day and tutoring at night often eating nothing more than buttered bread and tea due to a lack of finances.
Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only person to win twice in multiple sciences – both Physics and Chemistry.
