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Follow Your Dream
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5 k2 G2 r" V, X/ n2 x8 nI have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro.
: d6 z6 m% N3 a0 X/ qHe has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money
6 T$ c- i7 H% g Bfor youth at risk programs. ) S1 z# N! [' ]( f" d6 N3 n8 U
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The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, 'I want to tell you
: x8 a, D" `, S/ C2 z5 P5 zwhy I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young 7 ~" y; o: E1 S
man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable
, u$ H$ P; s4 W- ~% B) ato stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training 2 `$ d% r% x8 y$ G& A
horses. As a result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted.
& E5 D! y, E) J8 |When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted
! w3 y8 K! B# b) [0 G; U7 d8 ^to be and do when he grew up.
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'That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday
+ \5 p7 `5 a. P/ G. ]0 zowning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even
9 ?1 B9 _7 H1 }% T; Ddrew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, ) A' ^/ Y% S3 p7 M
the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot
* g+ Z. `$ }8 d& Xhouse that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
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'He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he 4 A2 h1 F4 n) Q; ?
handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. 8 c+ r$ x5 z- w9 E
On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after & ^0 \3 f* a% _- k: j
class.' 2 K4 j0 N9 Q& t
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'The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked,
5 D% n' r' A5 ~. l/ L`Why did I receive an F?' 1 e# f& a4 y0 B4 y" x( e( x
5 {9 L) J' i. N# l& p Y/ e'The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you.
% n2 R1 y' u- J- zYou have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. / ^% m3 [ B) W' t- l! {
Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. " _4 U* q5 p6 V; h* p* c6 `
You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you'll have to
6 {% J, s! j0 i! Y+ t9 Bpay large stud fees. There's no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher 9 S' H* b: T, Q, F$ X7 P
added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will
1 [4 H: k9 e; Q, P" [reconsider your grade.’ * A; |2 G" [8 f# H* Y: |" b/ c: u
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'The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father
% A: z% y* r4 y& i. k/ M8 Twhat he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your
+ z# q3 E, C- A" z( L) J; z9 down mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for
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- n; `/ d& W) k7 n'Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same , c' a- l l5 q+ M# R: _& w
paper, making no changes at all. He stated, `You can keep the F and I'll 0 I8 h1 b4 t0 O8 {# o* g- H: S' S' X
keep my dream.'' ( r& q" j8 h# m' {7 P
( e! x" e, _/ t' f: b, K. OMonty then turned to the assembled group and said, 'I tell you this story - P# S5 h% J n+ ?. h# G. @
because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of + ^+ O6 V! _! Z' P5 O9 {3 h
my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the U+ v8 J; l7 o+ S& r; R- N
fireplace.' He added, 'The best part of the story is that two summers ago
k! U$ P9 }& a+ c$ Xthat same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.' . O3 ]6 H5 d1 l1 m/ Z9 W9 I
When the teacher was leaving, he said, `Look, Monty, I can tell you this - s2 i u) j# }: z
now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During 1 ^- V7 f; C- D
those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption 8 `8 B/ G I: d2 T3 a
not to give up on yours.’'
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3 t% j! y% j+ {7 A2 A( D! ADon't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what. |
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