There are as many flavors of what it means to be successful as there are Baskin and Robbins or Ben and Jerry ice cream delights.
I began to think about the common denominators of success. You know; the ones that encompass everyone regardless of economic opportunities, physical abilities, racial backgrounds or gender inequities.
I thought about success and overcoming adversity and the name Wilma Rudolph began to blink in bright colors in front of my eyes. She is not on the present world stage and yet she is such a perfect example of beating the odds and claiming the title of amazing success.
Rudolph is what I would call a “GUTSY GAL”. She was born prematurely way back in 1940 when there were fewer life-saving medical methods for preemies. She weighed 4.5 pounds.
As an infant she contracted polio, a disease that ran rampant in the decade of the 1940’s and was told she would never walk again.
Here is where the power of relationships comes in. Her mother told her little girl (mind you Wilma was the 20th of 22 children) she would and could walk again.
At age 20, Wilma Rudolph competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. She won three gold medals – including the 100 meter dash.
So, what is success? Overcoming obstacles and believing in a dream. Anyone, anywhere can take the Wilma Rudolph story, take the power of the mind and the heart to believe, and success….keep believing!!
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