The Thread of a Dream: An Article by Denis Waitley
By drandrewcolyer | March 20, 2008
When I was researching the history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge as a major illustration for the ideas of success and motivation, I became engrossed with the story of how the first bridge was built over Niagara Falls. You see, to build a bridge over a giant gorge, first you have to get a line over the canyon, from one side to the other. Easier said than done at Niagara Falls.
The engineers couldn’t cross the falls in a boat to take the line from one side to the other because the boat would go over the falls. And the airplane hadn’t been invented yet. The distance was also way beyond the bow-and-arrow range, which had been a common method at the time of getting the first line across to build a bridge.
The designing engineer, Charles Ellet, pondered the question until he came up with a revolutionary idea. He decided that, while solving the problem, he would also have some fun and generate some publicity for the project. Ellet sponsored a kite flying contest and offered five dollars to the first person who could fly a kite across the gorge and let it go low enough to the ground for someone to be able to grab the string. In 1849, five dollars was a prize similar to a small lottery today. The boy who won the price relished his accomplishment until his death, nearly 80 years later.
It all began with an idea and one thin kite string. The kite string was used to pull a cord across, then a line, then a rope. Next came an iron-wire cable and then steel cables, until a structure strong enough to build a suspension bridge was in place.
I’m struck by how that string is like a single thought. The more vivid and clear the thought, and the more you come back to it, the stronger it becomes — like the string to the rope to a cable. Each time you rethink it, dwell on it, or layer it with other thoughts, you are strengthening the structure on which to build your idea, like building a bridge over Niagara Falls.
But unlike a kite, there is no string attached to how high and how far your goals may take you. They are limited only by the power of your imagination and the strength of your desire.
About the Author:
Denis Waitley is more than a poet, lyricist, best-selling author, and speaker . . . Denis Waitley has studied and counseled leaders in every field — from Apollo astronauts to Fortune 500 top executives — and now comes to our living rooms. Denis Waitley has painted word pictures of optimism, core values, motivation, and resiliency that have become indelible and legendary in their positive impact on society. Denis has been described by his peers as “the poet laureate” of modern-day philosophers. To learn more, visit www.deniswaitley.com.
Reproduced with permission from Denis Waitley’s Weekly Ezine. To subscribe to Denis Waitley’s Weekly Ezine, go to www.deniswaitley.com or send an email with Join in the subject to subscribe@deniswaitley.com
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Denis Waitley, Motivation, Success, Self Help, Self Growth, Human Potential, Dr. Andrew Colyer, DrAndrewColyer.com
Topics: Success, Motivation, & Manifestation |
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