The Journey: Dream Big, Use Your Weakness to get Stronger

By SAMANTHA BRAZIE, Special to The Paper

Weak. Aren’t we all in one way or another?

Whether it’s in our wheelhouse to admit it or not, we’re all weak sometimes. Have a hard time passing tests? Procrastinator? Time management problems? Self-discipline issues? There are way too many to mention.

Today, I heard a story I’d heard before – about someone that decided he wanted to race dirt bikes. Well, he raced … and face-planted. Then, he got up and raced again. And again. And again. Until he won state. Eventually he was the best in the country. That’s called failing forward … knowing you can do better. It takes a special kind of person to get back up in front of countless people after you’ve lost and make a conscious decision to keep moving forward.

So, Paper readers … this month what I ask is – how have you used your weakness to make you stronger? This is really important because it speaks to who we are at our core. If you don’t care about speaking to strangers, that’s probably not something you want to focus on. But if you are in a room of people and feel isolated and out of place … that may be an area to intentionally improve.

Intentionality is powerful. Oprah was fired from her first job as an anchor. Steve Jobs was fired from Apple in 1995. Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because the editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Amazon barely survived bankruptcy 2001. AMAZON. If these less-than-perfect leaders weren’t intentional, do you think they ever would have been what they could become?

Behind every company, every person, there was (and is) a vision. Millions of visions fail every single day. And sometimes, they stick. Every person I mentioned above is a legend, but they weren’t when they were born. They were dedicated and (they or someone very close) believed their purpose was going to help the rest of us.

How do we use our weaknesses to make us or others greater? Maybe we just keep going. Maybe we refuse to listen to others’ rationality that tells us we won’t, we can’t. Maybe we believe that we can. That our Journey is a story that should be told.

Paper readers, it’s completely up to you.

“My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.” — Michael Jordan