Written by Denis Waitley
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 prize 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.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article by Denis Waitley. For those that do not know who Denis is he is one of America's most respected authors, keynote lecturers and productivity consultants on high performance human achievement.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
God Bless You All,
Love Marilyn