The original version of this article was erased by a technical glitch. My apologizes for the comments that were deleted and the few differences that may exist between the 2 versions.
If you follow me on Twitter, you were probably wondering what was happening to me on monday a couple of weeks ago.
I normally tweet inspirational quotes, manifesting tips and ideas.
But there I was tweeting obsessively about an athlete’s performance.
The thing is I don’t even watch sports normally.
But on that day, I spent over an hour scouting the internet to find a live feed of the event!
So what was so special this sports event that I had to watch it live?
It was the historical swim of Diana Nyad from Cuba to Florida.
I discovered Diana Nyad last year through her amazingly inspiring and entertaining TEDx Berlin talk.
This woman is a powerhouse.
Her talk was beautiful: very moving and extremely funny.
And I loved gaining insight into the mind of a top-performing professional athlete.
Her story was amazing.
She’s not just any athlete.
She’s a long distance, open-sea swimmer.
She was attempting to cross the 100+ miles distance that separates Cuba from Florida by swimming. Non-stop.
A 60+ hours swim.
No sleep.
In one of the most dangerous body of water of the planet amongst sharks and deadly jellyfish.
Oh, and did I mention she’s 64 years old?
I was hooked.
So, on that day 2 weeks ago, I was completely rooting for her.
For me there’s nothing more beautiful than seeing someone achieve a dream that they have been working towards for years.
In her case, it was a 35 years old dream!
The first time she attempted this swim she was in her late twenties.
In the meantime she had retired from competitive swimming. She then had a successful career as a journalist until time caught up with her through the passing of her mother.
That’s when she realized that she still had dreams that she hadn’t achieved.
And she set out to achieve them.
In her sixties!
And she did!!
On Sep. 2, she completed the 111 miles swim in 53 hours.
A feat no one had ever accomplished.
The only swimmer who came close was 22 yrs old Susie Maroney who completed the swim with the help of a shark cage which makes things much safer and easier.
Some people commented that this a useless accomplishment. That she wasn’t making a difference like a scientist or a doctor for example.
And I can only disagree.
Pablo Picasso once said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
And there’s so much truth to this.
I believe we’re all different so we can complete, help and inspire each other.
A bit like the pieces of a puzzle.
Everyone has a special purpose and when we follow our dreams we follow that purpose.
And synchronistically, through our vibrations we connect at the right time with people who need our gift.
Therefore, no dream is more important than another.
Today you may need a pair of shoes, tomorrow a plane ticket, the next day a delicious meal.
All these were once a dream in someone’s imagination.
Now, they are fulfilling a need you have.
Sometimes, I am bit shocked by how difficult dreaming has become for some people.
When they don’t see a way to make their dreams happen, they stop dreaming altogether.
But the catch is if you don’t dream it, the universe can’t deliver it to you!
It’s a universal law.
This is why dreamers are so important. They give us the strength to keep dreaming.
And now more than ever our world needs people who push the boundaries of what we believe is possible to achieve.
We are facing very intense challenges: we have live-threatening energy and environmental crises and threats of global wars.
We need people who show us no matter what we undertake there’s a way through.
So what gift did she have for us?
When she exited the water, in spite of the exhaustion her first words where to share 3 powerful messages:
– ‘Never, ever give up’
– ‘You’re never too old to cherish your dreams’
– ‘It’s looks like a solitary sport but it’s team one’ . There she was referring to the fact that she swam alone but had a team of 35 people surrounding her.
So do you have a burning desire to share? And what are you doing today to make it happen? The world is waiting for your gift.
Don’t be shy! Leave a comment below to tell us about your dreams.
