Good thoughts on self imposed limitations

[Dandelion Girl]

My sister sent me this and I thought it would be a good thing to share. It came from Alan Cohen's newsletter. His website is http://alancohen.com/index.htm



Is Pennsylvania Open?

The Candid Camera show once played a trick on drivers seeking to enter the state of Delaware. As cars approached the toll booth after driving over a bridge, actors dressed as policemen informed drivers that they would not be able to enter the state today because "Delaware is closed for repairs."
The reactions of the drivers were quite telling. Some just turned around and went back to New Jersey. Others became angry and argued with the fake cops. One woman asked, "Is Pennsylvania open?"
While the gag was quite funny (and you may wonder how anyone could ever fall for such a lame ploy), the drivers' predicament is not very different from the limits you and I may have accepted from other people telling us what we could or could not do. Great teachers have told us that all limits are illusory, and anytime you run into a wall or a closed door, the first place to try to open it is in your own mind.
In the year 1900, for example, the Director of the U.S. Patent Office sent a letter to President William McKinley, recommending that "Since everything that could possibly be invented has already been invented, I propose that the patent office be closed."
Then there was the group of engineers who got together and analyzed the body, weight, and wing structure of the bumble bee, and came to the conclusion that "such a creature could not possibly fly." Thank goodness no one ever told the bumble bee.
Eighteen publishers turned down Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull before Macmillan finally published it and sold seven million copies in the U.S. alone during the next five years. . .Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor for lack of ideas . . . Fred Astaire was rejected at his first movie audition because he was slightly balding, and on and on. . .
Then there was George Danzig, the college student who came in late to a math class and found two math problems on the board. He copied the problems, took them back to his dorm room for homework, solved, and turned in his answers at the next class. The following night his professor pounded on his door and asked George how he had solved the problems. "What's the big deal?" asked Danzig. "They were just homework."
"The big deal is that they were not just homework," the professor explained. "These were classically unsolvable problems, and you have solved them."
And consider the young starry-eyed filmmaker who took a tour of Universal studios, slipped off the tour bus, found an empty office, and put his name on the door. There he got the attention of some Universal editors and showed them his first short-subject film. His name was Steven Spielberg.
So the next time someone tells you that Delaware is closed, or your business scheme is harebrained, or your book is too spiritual, or your screenplay doesn't have enough sex or violence, or you are too old, or. . . or . . . consider that the "limit cops" who stop you have been dressed by Candid Camera, and you don't need to turn back to New Jersey or try Pennsylvania as an alternative. Your first choice may be quite available if you are willing to keep driving.

[earthmama]

Hi thanks for posting this. Great thoughts!!! Now to open some doors.LOL. blessings Earthmama

[Jo-anne]

Thank you Thank you !!!! this is just what I needed to hear.......

[sweetgoddess]

Fabulous article and so very true. Thank you for sharing this with us! :)

Many Blessings~
Carmel

[Revvell]

Excellent read to start my day. Thank you for posting ~

Revvell

[Autumn]

Awesome read. Thanks for sharing (although I'd always choose Pennsylvania ! )