Here I Stand

We're all capable of achieving great things; we only require the courage to proceed. Fear of failure is our greatest deterrent.

Here I stand,

On the precipice of greatness,

Where riches and fame and notoriety await.

All it takes is a step.

But here I stand,

Entrenched.

Entrenched in a life of need and fear.

Entrenched in beliefs and values not my own.

Where hope of escape, escapes me,

Where hope of change is a long, lost dream,

Of sugar plums and gifts long replaced

By the needs of every day living.

Where making money is a judgment

Of success.

Where philanthropy is a sign of compassion 

And spirituality.

Yes, here I stand filled with emotions

Urging me forward to an unknown place,

Not one established by a society blinded

By eons of messages of worthlessness and subservience.

 

Yet, here I stand,

On the precipice of greatness.

Do I dare to follow my heart

In directions unknown,

Through hills and valleys filled with burdens

Where greatness is measured by strength of heart?

Do I have the resolve necessary 

To become the next Lincoln or Gandhi or Buddha,

When my little sister says I stink?

Is it a self imposed doubt and fear of failure

That saps my courage and sense of adventure?

 

I close my eyes to dream the impossible dream.

And I hear Dr. Martin Luther King proclaim,

“I have a dream!”

It all begins with a vision,

An idea so easily dismissed.

But it lingers.

It stays within you night and day.

It says, “Yes! You can do it as have many before you.”

It says, “Yes!  You are just as good as any of them.

The only difference is they took that step.”

 

So take that step!

Take that step so that you may live and bask in the experience.

Take that step to erase all those doubts and fears 

That have resided in the catacombs of your mind

For far too long.

That next step you take

Will change your life!

You only need to decide whether it be forward or backward.

One step from the precipice of greatness.

Yes, here I stand!