How an Inspirational Quotation Can Last a Lifetime
Posted: Tuesday, November 04, 2008
by Celia Rooney
A New Success, LLC
When times get tough and you think your dreams of success are far away, you need some special tools to keep you motivated. I find that posting inspirational quotations on the refrigerator and computer monitor reminds me that no matter what happens, I can keep working toward my dreams. My favorite one is this:
*Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. (Goethe)
In high school, I wanted more than anything to become a teacher. I did everything I could to learn about teaching and volunteered to tutor disadvantaged children in reading on Saturday mornings. I was dedicated. But I was also one of seven children, and while we never lacked for any necessities and my parents did their very best to give us as many advantages as they could, there was not a lot of money available for college educations. When my older brother got into Princeton (as was my mother's dream), all monetary efforts went there. My older sister lived on campus at Kutztown. I knew early on as number three that if I was going to get to college and live my dream, I would have to do it, for the most part, by myself.
I worked hard in school and received some small scholarships and grants. I worked in the delicatessen of a local A&P food store, clerked at a department store, and worked odd jobs and babysat to put together as much money as I could. I still had to get loans. I commuted. My father gave me his old "puddle jumper" so I could shuttle myself back and forth to work, college, and home. My junior year, my parents lent me the $250.00 I needed to live on campus for one semester, saving me over an hour driving to add some study time to my day. I owed them a great debt of gratitude for teaching me independence, hard work, sacrifice, and dedication. I would never have appreciated my education as much if it had been handed to me.
And I did it. I had a delay of three years between my junior and senior years, but that is a story for another day. After we married and had our first child, my husband (who was in ROTC at Rutgers) and I were sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. We were far from home, and I still remember how my fingers froze as I hung my husband's uniforms and the baby's diapers out to dry in the bitterly cold wind that swept through the plains in winter. We counted out pennies to buy milk for the baby at the end of the month. Yet we believed in our purpose and direction in life. We were blessed. He survived Vietnam as a helicopter pilot, receiving medals for his heroic service. I got my teaching certificate that same year, living at home in New Jersey where I had started out. I became a teacher and supported the family while my husband went to law school. Later I started law school the same year we added two children to our family. Later still, we had to deal with the aftermath of a serious auto accident, a story for another day. Challenge upon challenge presented itself to us, yet we believed we could do it all.
Time and again I have felt the message that I was not done yet. Those of you who have known adversity as we have--lean times, injury, lost jobs, the nearly unbearable loss of our second child, suicides in the family, all of the painful things life can send, take hope from this. When you have dreams, you are empowered to take bold action to do the things you feel called to do. Your spirit rises up when you need it the most. You will know the deep joy and satisfaction in what you can accomplish. There is the magic of it: whatever life hands you, you can get through to reach success. Inspiration is all around you during hard times. Your mind will be uplifted and your action inspired. Begin it. And keep going no matter what. Your dreams will become your reality.
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Celia Ann Rooney is a writer, teacher, and attorney in Philadelphia. She has published many articles in trial lawyer publications and writes an annual supplement in products liability law for Bisel Law Publishers. She is the author of a series of eBooks which examine the science and art of success in the success stories of real people and articles on the subjects of achieving business success and self-improvement. She is co-founder and CFO of A New Success, LLC. Contact her directly at crooney@anewsuccess.com.
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