Believe It

Have confidence that endless possibilities for your life can happen at any moment. For example, I realized this when I won the National Speakers Association (NSA) Council of Peers Award for Excellence in 2000, which put me in the NSA Hall of Fame. I was overwhelmed by emotion when I received this recognition, since being recognized by my peers as one of the top speakers in the country was a great honor . Who would have ever thought that this tall, shy, skinny kid who stuttered for most of his childhood would one day be inducted into the NSA Hall of Fame? God knew that there was a possibility, and He made it happen because through Him, all things are possible.

When Sanford decided to go to veterinary school, he was three years older than most of the other students because hed taken time after receiving his undergraduate degree to work in a lab at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Others who had tried to get into veterinary school told him it was impossible each school only had a few spaces available, and truly determined students would win those spots. Most of those students had dedicated their lives to becoming veterinarians, while Sanford had thought he wanted to go into medical school before he changed his mind.

Sanford refused to listen to the naysayers who told him not to even try, and he applied to the only veterinary school in his area, hoping to win one of the few seats available. As part of the entry, he had to write an essay explaining why he wanted to be a veterinarian. He poignantly described the fact that as an only child, animals were his only siblingsand the essay earned him an alternate spot. Someone must have withdrawn their application, because Sanford soon received notice he could enter veterinary college immediately. Even though other people frowned on the idea of Sanford achieving his dream, he knew he could make it happen.