There is a famous story of a lady from Tennessee in America. Her name was Wilma Rudolph. In her early childhood she had very serious injuries in her leg that was incurable by medicine. The specialist doctors told her that she would never be able to put her foot on the floor for her whole life. But she, though a little child, told her mother, “I want to run on these legs and be the fastest lady on earth.” The doctors said that these were just imaginations of an ignorant child; she was a medically hopeless case.
But little Wilma’s mother told her that one gets one’s abilities from God. “Just persevere, have faith, and do not be discouraged.” In a couple of years Wilma was able to take off the orthopedic foot she was wearing for support. She put her foot on the floor and took her first step. At school she entered into a race, and she lost; she came in the last place, way behind everyone else. People were laughing at her, ridiculing her. “What are you doing in this race?” In every race she ended up coming last, but she had faith that she could do great things with the help of God, if she persevered.
Some years later, in 1960’s, she won three Olympic gold medals and set world records for running. Her self confidence was not based upon her successes or her achievements; her self confidence was based on faith in God and her faith in herself—whether I win or lose doesn’t matter, I’m going to try.
-Radhanath Swami
