Food for thought

[Charles R. N. Crooker]

Dear People,

When life seems at its most difficult, when you have
to dig deep for every last ounce of energy to face
your day, a little inspiration can do wonders to keep
you on track to your dreams and goals.

Inspiration comes in many forms, and the good thing is,
you never have to look too far to find some.

You might be inspired by the courage of true heroes
like Rosa Parks or Mahatma Gandhi, the quiet determination
of a loved one facing terminal illness, the brilliant
notes of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, or the cheerful face
of a small child.

When I feel discouraged, I often turn to the words of
Maya Angelou.

Maya encouraged me when I first started and she
said, “You will be great. Keep going.”

I held onto those words. When I started to doubt myself,
I’d choose to believe her more than the internal chatter
that was telling me I was no good.

Her words continue to touch my heart, including some I
want to share with you here. I hope they encourage you
as much as they have me.

One of my favorite quotes from Maya is this: “I can be
changed by what happens to me; I refuse to be reduced
by it.”

I love those words because they are so empowering. As
you go about life, you experience so many things that
change your life, change your direction, and change
your outcomes.

But when you refuse to be reduced by your experiences,
it means that every single thing that happens to you
adds value to you. No one can take that away from you.
No one can take away the courage, the determination,
and the wisdom that grows from your experience.

Maya stressed how critical courage is when she said,
“Courage allows the successful person to fail and to
learn powerful lessons from the failure, so that in
the end it was not a failure at all.”

People often ask me how I became so successful. I
became successful because when I failed, I did not stop. I
looked at a failure as a great lesson but with some
really prickly thorns.

When you give yourself permission to fail, you’re
actually giving yourself permission to succeed. You’re
giving yourself permission to be wherever you are
at that moment. It’s a very powerful thing to do.

Now write Maya’s quotes (or some of your favorites) in
your journal, put them on your vision board, or tape
them to your refrigerator for a quick booster shot of
inspiration when you need it most.