Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Dreams

One of my favorite things to do when we go camping and travel to small towns, where most campgrounds are located, is to buy one of their local newspapers.  Not only does it bring back memories of when I was an editor for our own hometown newspaper, but it makes me smile to read stories about the locals.  I find a lot of inspiration for my books and characters this way as well. This past camping trip was no different.   I came across this story in the Loudenville Times, by “Tessie’s Tidbits” and as usual, it made me smile and I couldn’t help but think that it would be inspiring to some of my readers.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. #dontletanyonestealyourdreams

Hi folks! Sometimes I stumble across an article that really makes me think and wonder what I would do if I were faced with the following scenario. We sometimes look toward sure-fire answers to problems and never have the drive to have dreams. The following story is just that way. I don’t know who wrote it but it sure can teach each of us a powerful lesson!

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at-risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying:

“I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm, to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail. And he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.”

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later, he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’”

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’”

“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You must buy the land. You must pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you must make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.

He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’”

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.”

He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week. When the teacher was leaving, the teacher said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately, you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.’”

“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, not matter what.”

Sherry’s note:  Since reading this story in Tessie’s Tibbits, I have since found that the story she refers to originated from the book, From Chicken Soup for the Soul  by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Titled “Follow Your Dream” by Jack Canfield

2018 Copyright Sherry Carnahan