Jumping Steps

Not too long ago, I was playing with two of my children. They were standing at the top of the steps leading into the house; I was standing at the bottom landing. I said, "I'm going to jump from here to the fourth step. Do you think I can make it?" Looking down from the top it didn't seem difficult at all, so they both said "Sure you can." Then I told them to come down to the bottom and look up. It looked much steeper from that angle. So I asked again, "Do you still think I can make it?" This time they both said, "No."

So then I said, "Now look up at the fifth step. Do you think I can make that one?" They both said, "No way!" So I leapt with all my might—and landed on the fourth step.

I asked my kids, "What's the lesson here?" They said, "You didn't make it." I said, "That's true, but what did I learn? The lesson is that when you shoot for something, aim even higher than you think you can go. What's the worst that can happen? You miss by one step and you land where you wanted to go in the first place! Don't be afraid to set your sights a little higher each time you set a goal."

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

—John Wooden,
basketball coach