Undaunted Courage

‎"Although my body has been broken,

my spirit never will be.

I am unbreakable!"

- Grant Korgan, South Pole 2012

Courage is what makes someone capable of facing extreme danger and difficulty without retreating.  It implies not only having bravery and a dauntless spirit but the ability to endure in times of adversity.

If you were to ask me to list the people who epitomize courage to me, Oskar Shindler, Paul Rusesabagina, Karen Silkwood, Wesley Autry, Captain Sully, Ann Frank and the 911 First Responders would come immediately to mind. Last week, I added Grant Korgan to the list.

I have the honor of knowing Grant.  He was a bigger-than-life participant at my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding; a member of my daughter-in-law’s extended family.  They attended his wedding that same year in October, 2009  Five months later, on March 5, 2010, Grant was involved in a horrific snowmobile crash, which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

On January 7, 2012, Grant Korgan took the first of 250,000 strokes that would push his “Sit-Ski” across Antarctica to the South Pole. His arrival 10 days later marked the 100 Anniversary of Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition and added his own name to the archives of history as the first adaptive skier to ever accomplish this feat. (It should be noted that Grant didn’t actually “pole” his sit-ski the whole way. In fact, he left the adaptive apparatus to ski the last 100 yards on conventional skis!)

 courtesy of www.southpolepush.com

Those who know Grant well, though awed and ecstatic, are not the least bit surprised by this accomplishment and know that there will be more successes ahead as “Korg” stretches toward his ultimate goal of 120% recovery. There is no doubt he’ll get there. He has the heart, the love and support of family and friends, and the spirit it takes to do great and meaningful things. 

Grant’s story reminds me, as I hope it will you, that pushing through the fears and adversity that fall across our paths is the only way to the new horizons of hope and freedom that await us all.  He has given me a new perspective from which to face the great, and even the small, challenges in my life.  Now, when I struggle with motivation, inspiration, and trying to find a way to muster up the courage to just DO IT, I think of Grant and find myself kicking off the chains of doubt and pushing on!

If you’d like to learn more about Grant’s adventure to the South Pole and the great work being done at High Fives Rehabilitation Center, please go to: www.southpolepush.com and www.highfivesfoundation.org.  A documentary film about the expedition will be released later this year.

If you missed our daily Facebook posts this week, please enjoy them now:

“A man discovers himself when he

measures himself against an obstacle.”

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little

voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.” 

~Mary Anne Radmacher

“True courage is not the brutal force of vulgar heroes,

 but the firm resolve of virtue and reason.” 

~Alfred North Whitehead

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,

it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
~Seneca

“Only those who will risk going too far can

 possibly find out how far one can go. “  
~T. S. Eliot

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all.  Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle.

The world you desired can be won.

It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.”     
~Ayn Rand

”Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe,

and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

~Christopher Robin to Pooh

Tipping Points

Life is always at some turning point; maybe it’s even fair to say that sometimes, it’s at a tipping point.   Those magical, often stressful, times present us with choices.  We can grumble and moan, or empower ourselves to think bigger and embrace the possibilities that moving forward will show us.

Finding some inspirational thought helps me to remember that every challenge brings opportunity.  Here's what gave me inspiration and joy this week:

Follow your bliss and doors will open
 where you didn’t know they were going to be.

-Joseph Campbell

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  
Live the life you’ve imagined.

-Henry David Thoreau

On resilience:  
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, 
but in rising every time we fall.

-Confucius

The greatest danger for most of us is not
 that our aim is too high and we miss it,

but that it is too low and we hit it.

-Michelangelo

You are the embodiment of the information

 you choose to accept and act upon.  To change your circumstances

 you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions.

-Adlin Sinclair

I’m here to live out loud.

-Emile Zola

I am larger, better than I thought, 
I did not know I held so much goodness.

-Walt Whitman

We hope you enjoyed our posts this week and invite you to follow us on our Facebook page, The 51% Project.    We’d love to hear from you!

JUST DO IT!

"If not now, when?"

Rabbi Hillel

If you've been following our daily posts on Facebook this week (if you missed them, they are repeated at the end of today's blog) you've no doubt detected a theme:  Choose Action, begin, the time is now.

So often our hopes and dreams get blocked by our "when," "if," and "can't" thinking. I've known too many people who've put off for tomorrow what they wanted to do today, only to leave this earth - too soon -  and without satisfying their deepest passions.

Time, money and circumstances can only derail our progress if we let them.  The choice is ours. 

There is always SOMETHING we can do to keep our finger in the dream pot until we can hold it surely in our hands. So, if time is the obstacle keeping you from writing that novel, narrow your scope of possibilities. This may not be the year you can focus months of your life entirely on your writing, but you could join a writing group, or spend a few hours a week researching the themes of the story you WILL write.  If money is keeping you from living in France at this time; while stowing away those pennies, rent every French language film you can find, read every book printed on the region you WILL be living in, you'll be so much more prepared WHEN you get there! If circumstances don't allow for you to leave your current job to attend Nursing School full-time; explore some online courses, volunteer at a hospital or care center, put yourself in the environment you wish to be part of until circumstances allow you to dive fully in!

Nourishing your dreams, your heart's desires in someway, everyday, will bring you closer to your "I did it" moment.  You just have to begin, take that first step..........

JUST DO IT!!!

This weeks quotes:

“There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.”

~ Bern Williams

"Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. 

Beginning makes the conditions perfect." 

~ Alan Cohen

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, 

but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

~Maria Robinson

“All serious daring starts from within.” ~ Joan Baez

“Making a living is not the same as making a life. 

Find what makes your heart sing 

and create your own music.” 

~ Mac Anderson

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by 

the things that you didn't do than by the ones 

you did do. So throw off the bowlines. 

Sail away from the safe harbor. 

Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. Dream. Discover." 

~ Mark Twain 

(If you would like to see our daily Facebook posts - search for The 51% Project and like our page.  Please share your thoughts, suggestions, stories with us at dorothy or susan @the 51percentproject.com or our blog site www.the51percentproject.com )

Turning Points

Life is always at some turning point. - Irwin Edman

I’m surprised to say this, but I can’t believe it’s only the first weekend of 2012.  I feel like I’m fully integrated into this new year, having taken no pause for reflection, nor for gingerly sticking my toe in to test the waters.  Boom!  I’m living fully in 2012.  

This week we began reaching out to you in a new way.   We’re sharing what has peaked our interest in daily comments on our Facebook page, The 51% Project.  We hope you’ve found us there and that you’re enjoying the more concise posts.

As promised, if you’re not a Facebook fan, we’re going to include all of those posts in our weekly wrap-up as our blog on Saturdays.  Here is what we were inspired by this week:

New Year’s day is everyone’s birthday! Let’s celebrate!

Your spark can become a flame and change everything. -E.D. Nixon

I’ve learned that you’ll never be disappointed if you always keep an eye on uncharted territory, where you’ll be challenged and growing and having fun.  -Kristie Alley

The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mood of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form ... happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up.- Charles L. Morgan

When you come right down to it,

the secret of having it all is loving it all.  -Dr. Joyce  Brothers

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own.  No apologies or excuses.  No one to lean on, rely on or blame.  The gift of life is yours; it is an amazing journey; and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. - Dan Zadra

We hope you find inspiration in at least one of these quotes, and that the inspiration helps you take one more step in creating the joy filled life you desire.

Have a wonderful week!