Julio Iglesias And Finding Greatness Within
It was Emerson who wrote, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” For some that greatness just needs to be awakened.
Julio Iglesias wasn’t always able to sing. Originally the entertainer wanted to be a professional soccer player. His career dreams were sidelined when a car accident left him paralyzed from the waste down and with little chance of ever walking again.
His stay in the hospital lasted several months, and it was during this time that a nurse gave him a guitar to pass the time. Julio spent hours on end listening to the radio and writing lyrics while trying to master the instrument, and by the time he could walk again the course of his existence had been forever changed.
His life is an example of how one moment can change everything, how a new belief is able to shape a destiny.
During the Vietnam War Gerald Coffee was held as a POW for seven long years. Kept in isolation and tortured to his captors’ delight, he made a decision that would forever alter his future. During his time imprisoned in a foreign land he chose to grow from his experience.
He worked on his health by exercising his body. He worked on his mind by finding gratitude moment to moment and mentally reliving the happiest days of his life. He worked on his spirit by regularly communicating with God while trapped in a cell.
Upon his release he said he wouldn’t have changed his experience for anything. In his very core he had discovered the meaning of life and no jailer was able to take it from him. Holding onto his values and character in the most trying circumstance forever emblazoned those traits upon his heart.
For Julio Iglesias and Gerald Coffee, massive obstacles led them to the inner chamber of their souls. When their world was turned upside down their focus turned inward, and in the process they discovered the greatness within.
That same greatness lies within every human heart. It is there waiting to be released. You don’t have to face hardships to find it; you simply have to look deep inside. It might be buried beneath critical spirits and cold-hearted comments. It might be covered by doubts and disappointments, but it is there nonetheless, waiting for you to discover it.
The world needs you to live out your purpose; it is why God has placed you here. Why not take some time and seek what is really at your core, your calling, what Napoleon Hill called your “definiteness of purpose” and Joseph McClendon calls the “true you.” In the process you might be surprised by what you uncover. You might just find yourself fully awake for the very first time.
