Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

After J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up debuted at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London in December 1904, English children soon began demonstrating the courage of their convictions. In the story, Peter told the Darling children that if only they believed with enough conviction, they could fly. And like the Darling children in the play, the children in the audience believed. They believed with such conviction parents soon began complaining to Barrie that their little ones were beginning to suffer injuries as they tried to take off but fell back to earth. The playwright resolved the problem by introducing another necessary ingredient to his formula for flying: fairy dust.

Read the rest of this entry »

In May 1995, actor Christopher Reeve was in Virginia, on horseback, approaching the third of 18 jumps in the finals of dressage event. The triple-bar was about 42 inches high, but Reeve’s horse, Eastern Express, couldn’t seem to find the proper footing for the leap. The horse stopped abruptly and Reeve pitched forward over the horse’s neck, landing on his head on the other side of the jump.

The accident left 42-year-old Reeve, best known for his big-screen portrayals of Superman, paralyzed and unable to breathe without the help of a respirator. At a tribute dinner a few months later, he described the moment, five days after the accident, when a supportive friend gave him a spark of hope:

Read the rest of this entry »

Almost a half-century after it was released, Days of Wine and Roses, starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, is still considered one of the film community’s most realistic depictions of addiction. And perhaps the most harrowing moment in this study of a couple’s downward spiral from middle-class success to alcoholic nightmare is what’s known as the greenhouse scene. Lemmon’s character, Joe Clay, has hidden a flask among his father-in-law’s prized plants, and in a desperate frenzy, destroys the greenhouse trying to find it.

Lemmon was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a host of other awards for his riveting portrayal of Clay, especially in the pivotal greenhouse scene. But what most filmgoers didn’t realize was that the famous scene was a retake. In the original, Lemmon gave what he believed was the best performance of his career. But there was a glitch and the footage was lost. He had to find a way to summon that powerful, gut-wrenching emotion a second time.

Read the rest of this entry »

My sister-in-law once told me she likes her anger because it makes her more productive. I knew exactly what she meant. My biggest achievements in life have come after someone told me I’d never make it and I got hoppin’ mad. “Really? Watch me.“

Though my last name is Roberts, I don’t know of any relation to famed horse whisperer Monty Roberts. But when it comes to our reactions to naysayers, his mother and I are kindred spirits. In his autobiography, The Man Who Listens to Horses, Roberts shared the first time he voiced his life dreams.

Read the rest of this entry »

Great news for the millions of people who find it excruciatingly awkward to stand in front of a mirror and say things like:

I’m a wonderful person.

The world loves me.

I deserve good things.

I am lovable.

What’s the good news? You can stop the embarrassing love affair with yourself.

Read the rest of this entry »

And why should I care? you ask.

Read the rest of this entry »

When I was little, kids didn’t get the food choices they get now. Parents and schools spooned it onto the plate and that was it—take it or leave it. For the most part, I took it. But my stomach instinctively rebelled at one staple of the school diet: the unidentifiable meat.

Oh, the lunch ladies could tell me it was beef, chicken, or fish. But if it came in a pressed patty that I couldn’t readily identify as beef, chicken, or fish, forget it. My stomach would not accept it no matter how carefully it was disguised by sauces, gravies, cheese, or buns. So I missed a lot of post-lunch recesses while lunchroom aides forced me to sit glumly at the table and keep poking at the blob with my fork before finally letting me go.

Maybe I should have been schooling them.

Read the rest of this entry »

We do what we have to do to get by.

History is filled with examples of people who unexpectedly triumphed while living that mantra—perhaps none so unlikely as Hessie Donahue.

As a young girl growing up in Worcester, Mass., Hessie loved going to boxing matches with her father. So maybe it was inevitable that when boxing instructor Charles Converse came to town in 1891, the 18-year-old would fall for him. They soon married and Charles opened a local boxing school.

Since she knew the sport well, her husband frequently asked Hessie to check out the boxers’ moves to ensure they weren’t making any mistakes. And sometimes, she’d even don the gloves and spar with Charles. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. At nearly six feet tall and about 160 pounds, Hessie could handle herself.

Read the rest of this entry »

We’re creatures of excess. As soon as we find out something is good for us, we seem to take it to extremes. Several years ago, researchers decided people were eating too much fat. So manufacturers started to produce a lot of fat-free products. But to make up for the missing fat, they added a lot more sugar. And no one seemed to get thinner.

You wouldn’t think you could get too carried away about something as healthy as positive thinking. But some people do. They get so carried away with the importance of positive thinking that they begin to blame themselves and others anytime something bad happens to them. Obviously, if something bad has happened, it’s because someone had a rogue negative thought.

Well … poppycock!

Read the rest of this entry »

“I can’t go any farther,” reporter Hallie Martin tells former rodeo star Sonny Steele in the film The Electric Horseman.

“Oh, sure you can,” Sonny says as the pair trudge through the mountains. “I know people who go through stuff. I knew a guy misjudged a Brahma once, put his rib through his right lung. Guy could hardly breathe—he still got up and rode the rankest mare there.”

“I will never understand,” Hallie gasps, “why you find that kind of behavior admirable.”

“Gets you up the hill,” Sonny says.

Read the rest of this entry »