When Henry Ward Beecher was a young boy in school, he learned a lesson in
self-confidence, which he never forgot. He was called upon to recite in front of
the class. He had hardly begun when the teacher interrupted with an emphatic,
"No!" He started over and again the teacher thundered, "No!" Humiliated, Henry
sat down.
The next boy rose to recite and had just begun when the teacher shouted, "No!"
This student, however, kept on with the recitation until he completed it. As he
sat down, the teacher responded, "Very good!"
Henry was irritated. "I recited just as he did," he complained to the teacher.
But the instructor replied, "It is not enough to know your lesson, you must be
sure. When you allowed me to stop you, it meant that you were uncertain. If all
the world says, 'No!' It is your business to say, 'Yes!' And prove it."
The world says, "No!" In a thousand ways:
"No! You can't do that."
"No! You are wrong."
"No! You are too old."
"No! You are too young."
"No! You are too weak."
"No! It will never work."
"No! You don't have the education."
"No! You don't have the background."
"No! You don't have the money."
"No! It can't be done."
And each "No!" You hear has the potential to erode your confidence bit by bit
until you quit altogether. Though the world says, "No!" To you today, will you
determine to say, "Yes!" And prove it?
From "One Minute Can Change a Life" by Steve Goodier
Thanks to Life Support System Publishing, Inc.
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