DETERMINATION AND PERSISTENCE

When Glenn Cunningham was just eight years old, he suffered severe bums on his legs in a schoolhouse fire. They were scarred to the bone. The doctors informed his parents he would spend the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair. They were told, "Glenn will never be able to walk again."
Lying In a hospital bed, his skinny legs covered with scar tissue, Glenn made a vow. He announced, "Next week, I'm going to get out of bed. I'm going to walk." And that's exactly what he did.
His mother told how she would look out of the window of their farm house and see Glenn holding on to an old plow, attempting to make his twisted legs function. Before long he was not only walking, but running.
Then Glenn made a second declaration. He proclaimed, "Now I'm going to run faster than anyone has ever run." His persistence paid off. In 1934 he set the world's record in the mile and was honored as the outstanding athlete of the century at Madison Square Garden.
Perhaps you too have heard the echo of words such as "futile, hopeless, impossible and unimaginable. Remember, "never" doesn't have to mean never. Your aspiration and belief can still produce miracles.

- Neil Eskelin