Do you dream big dreams? Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you can be the best, and top all the rest? Good! Good for you.
It’s graduation season as I write this. At my daughter’s high school graduation ceremony, one of the speakers read from what has become a classic graduation gift – the Dr Seuss book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”
Here’s a snippet:
Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
And then comes the killer:
Except when you don’t
Because. sometimes you won’t.
During the graduation ceremony, the speaker chose to edit out all of these depressing portions of the story and read only those that sang of glory. The implication, of course, was that since these students went to this particular high school, they would never suffer disappointment. They would always reign above others. They would always win.
I found it disgusting. I wanted to stand and yell that she was missing the point. I was sickened by the reading of this edited sampling of what is a great book about life.
This is important. Despite our hopes and dreams, and even our best efforts, sometimes we won’t. We won’t get that job. We won’t get that promotion. We won’t win the trophy. Sometimes, we just won’t.
And you know what? That’s OK!
Keep reading the book. There’s more!
Yes, you’ll be down. Yes, you’ll be sad and disappointed and lost.
Break out of the waiting place. Step up and take action. Make a new plan. Act on the plan. One small step today. Another small step tomorrow. And soon you’ll be moving again.
THAT is the lesson we can all learn from this book. Not that you are great and wonderful (you are) and nothing bad will ever happen to you (it will). No. Rather, that bad things will happen. Disappointment will happen. Yet, despite that, we can keep moving, we can continue to dream, we can continue to push toward new heights.
Your mountain is waiting.
So… get on your way!
* Quotes are from “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”, by Dr. Seuss