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In 1980, Canada discovered their hero. A young man by the man of Terry Fox decided to walk across Canada in hopes of raising cancer awareness. Not only was this a courageous goal, what made it even more remarkable was that Terry’s leg was amputated several inches above his knee.

In April 1980, Terry started out on the east coast. With little support and trudging through harsh weather conditions – rain, sleet, wind and snow – Terry averaged 26 miles a day. It wasn’t long before Canadians recognized that Terry modeled what it took to meet a huge goal – perseverance.

His fanfare increased and he soon gained support across the nation. Then, nearly 3,000 miles later the country was shocked to hear that Terry was forced to quit his run. Cancer had settled in his lungs and he couldn’t go on. Although Terry’s life ended a year later, his dream lives on.

Nearly twenty-five years later, I heard a speaker at a national conference share how Terry had impacted his life. In fact, he decided to make a film to promote Terry’s courageous dream.

He got all his facts and figures together and met with the board in Toronto to present his project. The response he got was, “You will never get his parents’ support. This takes a lot of money and we don’t have it to support you. You would need the community’s support and that won’t happen.” One by one each board member discounted what he wanted to do. Jack left that meeting very discouraged facing the death of his dream.

As he boarded the plane from Toronto to Minneapolis the flight attendant told him that since there were only three passengers on the flight Jack could sit wherever he wanted. Where would you choose? If it were me, I would head for first class. Jack didn’t. He walked all the way down the long aisle and sat in the very last seat, wanting to be alone.

A young girl then boarded the plane and she walked all the way down the aisle and sat right next to him. Jack took the magazine from the seat pocket and raised it over his face giving her a clear message he wasn’t open for conversation. The girl sat patiently.

A short time later, the magazine started coming down. When Jack lowered it to a reasonable height the girl asked, “May I speak to you a few minutes?” Somewhat irritated, Jack said, “I guess so.” She said, “I’ve been watching you. I know what you’re doing?” With that she bent forward and pulled up her pant leg and showed Jack her wooden leg.

She said, “I had cancer and it is because of you I am alive today. Don’t EVER let go of your dream.” To see Jack persevere with his dream had given her hope to keep living.

Needless to say, Jack didn’t sleep that night. The next morning he got up and knew he had to fulfill his dream. His ‘why’ had just gotten bigger.

It’s because of courageous men like Terry Fox and Jack that many lives have been spared with millions of dollars raised through cancer research. Terry’s dream continues through the annual Terry Fox cancer run. If a young man like Terry – who isn’t even alive anymore — can continue to impact thousands of lives, how much more can you do by fulfilling your dream? How big is your WHY?

About the Author:
Linda Olson’s latest book is “Exceeding Your Expectations: Learning the Ten Leadership Principles that Guarantee Results.” For 35 years she’s been empowering people to take action and make lasting change through her speaking, writing and coaching. For more info go to http://www.madeforsomethingmore.com

Keyword tags: Linda Olson, self help, leadership principles, exceed your expectations, how to fulfill your dreams