…In February 2013 the 55-year-old Billy Ray Harris was a homeless man living on a street corner in Kansas City, holding out a cup and asking passers-by for spare change…One day, a woman named Sarah Darling passed Harris and dropped some change into his cup. But, unbeknown to her, she also accidentally dropped in her engagement ring of $4000…
Billy Ray was faced with a tough decision when he discovered the ring:
- Give into the temptation to keep it and sell it, or
- Try and return the ring to Sarah.
Four thousand dollars on the one hand and a clear conscious on the other. In the end Billy Ray chose to do the right thing, found Sarah and returned the ring. But now comes the most interesting part of this story: Expecting nothing in return Billy Ray returned the ring. Sarah and her husband Bill Krejci decided to set up a fund to help Billy Ray, but no one expected the fund to grow to over $190 000 000 in just three months!
Today Billy Ray owns his own home and a new car, but he has also been reunited with his family that he had not seen in years. One simple decision to do the right thing put into motion events that not only improved one man`s life but also touched countless others with an inspirational story…
Last week, 19 hours after Amy’Leigh de Jager was snatched from her mother`s arms and abducted, she was found by a man and woman who were walking home from a pub. Times Live reported: “When she arrived at the police station, she was very peaceful.”
“I held her in my arms. She didn’t cry or anything, but she was very tired,” the father of two said. We don’t even know the man’s name – but his kind, good deed will be remembered…
Friday, only days after Chester Williams had launched his own brand of beer in Stellenbosch, the 49-year-old rugby legend died of a heart-attack. In his short life he was a national role model whose illustrious career was marked by humility. We salute him for his extraordinary achievements he recorded in a life that has sadly ended prematurely…
Above are simple examples of one important thing – the power of one…
One good choice.
One good deed.
One good life.
Have you ever experienced times thinking that the world is so large and complex that it seems impossible to make a difference? But what if we just tried? Steve Jobs did. With this motto: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do…”
Steve Maraboli, life-changing speaker and best-selling author also did, and HE said: “Never underestimate the power of one! Throughout history it has been the actions of only one person who has inspired change…”
We all recently saw how Klara Viljee moved a sand dune in the classic Afrikaans movie “Die storie van Klara Viljee”, but there is prove in real life too of people who inspired change…Forty years ago, a teenager named Jadav “Molai” Payeng began burying seeds along a barren sandbar in India’s Assam region to grow a refuge for wildlife. Today the spot incredibly hosts a sprawling 1 360 acres of jungle that Payeng planted – single-handedly.
The name Dashrath Manjhi may not be familiar to you, but in 1960, after his wife had died after an accident due to not receiving medical attention, he carved a path through a mountain single-handed for 22 long years – day and night, reducing the distance from 70km to just 1km from his village to hospital. How did he accomplish this task? With only a hammer and a chisel!
In the book “The Power of One: How One Person Can Make A Difference”, Polish-born writer Leo Rosten says: “The purpose of life is not to be happy – but to matter, to be productive, to have it make some difference that you lived at all…”
I think Rosten was referring to what’s inside YOU. Are you doing things in your world that matters to others? Are you helping others, to borrow from the late Zig Zagler, get what they want, thereby getting what you want?
Each of us has the power to make a difference. Whether you are a burger-flipper, a receptionist, a fitness instructor, a lawyer, a teacher, a housewife or a cashier – you have it in you to stand out from the rest. But first you should learn never to underestimate the power of one…
One good conversation can blow a customer’s mind. One kind, simple salutation like “Good morning” can change someone’s day. One hug can be the difference between holding on and giving up. One compliment can be ointment to a broken spirit. And, of course, I believe one positive Blog can encourage a friend or a stranger…☺☺☺
Have you ever thought about the power of one in your own life? …With one focused hour a day you can find Peace. One minute of clearly focusing on a dream or goal can overcome months, even years, of misguided thinking. One workout, yes one, can clear your mind, get you back on track and keep your dream alive.
In his book “the Energy Bus” Jon Gordon explains how one good golf shot makes people want to play again and again. He then contrasts this with life and how people often go to bed thinking about all the things that went wrong when instead they should apply “the one great golf shot theory”.
He explains it like this: “If golf players hit an average of 70 to 100 shots and only remember that one great shot, why can’t we do the same with the events that happen to us every day? There’s power in one great golf shot, but in the same breath…
“…One song can spark a moment
One smile can begin a friendship
One sentence can lift a soul
One laugh can conquer gloom
One step can start a journey
One touch can show you care
One heart can show you`re true
One life can make a difference
You see, it`s up to YOU…”
…What if you just try? Just try to take that ONE trip to the gym, do ONE push-up, walk ONE block, the first ONE is always the hardest ONE, but it is for sure a step in the right direction…
As Bryce Courtenay states in his novel The Power of One: “First with the head, then with the heart, you’ll be ahead from the start.”
Yours in fitness
Mirna
PS: Our Summer Challenge starts in one week, remember!