Mary Crowley was the CEO of the highly successful Home Interiors company during the 1970s.  One of the quotes attributed to her was that a person needed to find something he/she loved to do; practice it until you were good at it; give the product away to others for free until people were willing to pay you for it; and then fulfill your dream successfully. (This is a very loosely stated version of her quote.)

    The desire to do something successfully must be the fuel driving a person’s dream.  Zig Ziglar talks of having “intellectual ignorance” which means not accepting the fact that something “new” can’t be done.  With the “desire” driving the engine of invention, a person can press on until he/she reaches success.

    I must admit that I haven’t met too many students in the past decade who have shown me such “desire” or “drive.”  I can think of two who have not only achieved their dreams…but both of them did so at an unusually young age.  One of these young men actually opened his own company while he was a student at Lawton Academy.

    In my own life, I had two “desires” which drove me to the successes I have enjoyed during my lifetime.  One of the major “desires” was just as Zig Ziglar talks about: “when life gives you lemons…make lemonade out of it!”  My desire to get out of the inner city where I lived my childhood, and out of the poverty my family endured was a “burning” desire which I fed by consuming every book and National Geographic Magazine I could lay my hands on in the school libraries.  The other driving force was to be able to help children who have been victims of abuse and/or neglect.  My path to success has come about as my faith in Jesus grew and I claimed the Bible promise: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  

    I have journaled much of my life, and these journals attest to the phenomenal answers to prayer and guidance in my life.  So, I agree with Mary Crowley on one more factor.  She said, “I turn my troubles over to God every night…because He’s going to be up all night anyway!”

    Finally, I can say this has been a wonderful ride…all the ups and downs have not prevented me from realizing my dream.  No, it is not an easy task to climb the steps to success; however, it is well worth the effort!         Kay