A person can do the impossible

What follows is a piece that was originally supposed to be the prologue or pre-introduction to my book.  It was left out of the final printing, but I thought you might be interested in reading it…

In April 2005, I gave my first Toastmasters speech in Baltimore, Maryland.  This speech, called the “Ice Breaker” speech was the beginning of a part of an amazing personal journey which just continues to get better each and every day.  In this speech I talk about the fact that I have been told many, many times that I should write a book and I discuss all the different subjects pertaining to my life that I could write about.  This book is the end result of that first speech, which I have included below.  My one wish is that all who read this book will be inspired and encouraged by its content and that in touching the lives of those who read it, I might be an instrument in the hands of the Almighty to bring about healing and wholeness to those who can relate to any part of it.

Doing the Impossible….

On my refrigerator there is a piece of paper with a quote on it.  In my library, taped to my desk is another piece of paper with the same quote on it.  In my schedule book there is yet another piece of paper with the same quote on it. The quote says:

A person can do the impossible if she has enough reason to make it happen.

I keep this quote in prominent places in my home to remind myself, that I am the one who authored this maxim.  It is the underlying theme in my life.  It is a testimony to the strength of the human will. A strength that I believe was part of how man was created in the image of G-d.  It is also a reminder to me of how much I have been through in my life.

Ask any of my four children, and they can quote this phrase to you from memory.  It never ceases to amaze me how many times a child will say “I can’t” to something, only to realize after a lot of coaching and maybe even a few threats, that they “can”.

There have many times in my life that people have told me that I ought to write a book.  When I think of all the amazing things that have happened in my life, I have to stop and wonder which subject to write about, which part of my life do I tell?

I could write about the fact that I was conceived out of wedlock and that I thank G-d that abortion wasn’t legal when I was born, or I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you today.

I could write about being an alienated youth who got hooked up with the wrong crowd and ended up experimenting with alcohol and drugs.

I could write about the importance of faith and the strength it gave me to clean myself up and turn myself around.

I could write about being sexually assaulted and learning how to live life as a victor and not a victim.  Learning that sexual abuse was not about love or sex but control and power, and that although I had no choice in becoming a victim to my abusers the first time – they were bigger, stronger, older and more powerful than I was, I did have complete control over whether I allowed them to continue to abuse me emotionally by giving them “permission” to haunt me for the rest of my life.  I had to make the choice to pick myself up by my bootstraps and move on with my life without making the excuse that the painful past was the reason for my lousy present.  Continuing to make those excuses would have been the most self-defeating thing I could have done and would have destroyed me eventually.  The road from victim to victor begins with a single conscious decision to start down the path, to cut off the abuser’s right to haunt you and to give yourself permission to begin the healing process.

I could write about having been physically abused and learning appropriate parenting skills that would allow me to break the cycle of violence and raise my own healthy and whole children.

I could write about home schooling my four children and the honor and privilege of having graduated my oldest child from high school even though he had never stepped foot in a “school”.

I could write about growing up so poor that there were times when rice was all we had for dinner, and then as an adult, devising a method for creating menus, budgeting and time management that I have been able to pass on to others in the form of a workshop.

I could write about a lifelong battle with low self-esteem and recurrent situational depression, and that it amazes me to this day that I am still here on this earth.  This battle has led me on a search for my purpose in this world and a desire to not only find out what it is, but to fulfill it.

I could write about being a morbidly obese adult who was in an electric wheelchair, in pain everyday of my life and bound to die before the age of forty.

I could write about making the toughest decision of my life – one that many people are quick to judge but have no clue what it means to walk in my shoes, to take my health and my future in my own hands and risk everything by making a very difficult medical choice that could have killed me and ended up saving my life.

But maybe, in reality, I have already written all of those stories, all rolled up into one infinitely complex and yet oh so simple statement:

A person can do the impossible if she has enough reason to make it happen!

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, and especially not yourself.  Understanding not just in your head, but deep down in your heart that you can do anything you set your mind to is the key to accomplishing great things with your life.  It’s never too late to start.

A person can do the impossible if he has enough reason to make it happen!