In a previous article It is not all about jiu-jitsu (https://bjjengineer.com?p=333) I talked a little bit about the importance of not giving up. There is a book out there that I really recommend everyone to read it. It is a masterpiece. Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Reach” teaches you what is necessary to become a successful person in any area you desire. It is directed more towards a business oriented crowd, but it is mentioned in the beginning of the book that many people have had success by following it in many different areas of their lives.
Today I want to share one of the stories form this great book: 3 Feet From Gold. It is a true story so read carefully:
“During the Gold Rush Days a man was caught by Gold Fever and he west of Colorado to dig and grow rich. He had never heard that more man has been mined from the thoughts of man that has ever been taking from the earth. He stayed to claim and went to work with pick and shovel. After weeks of labor he was rewarder by the discovery of the shining ore. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly he covered up the mine and return to his home in Williamsburg, Maryland. He told and a few neigbohrs about his discovery. They got together the money for the machinery and got it shipped. They first piece of ore was mined ans shipped to a smelter, the returns proved they had one of the richest mine in Colorado. A few more pieces of that ore will clear their debts, then will come the big killings in profit. Down when the drills, up when the hopes of the man…then something happened…the vein of gold ore dissaperead. They had come to the end of the rainbow and the pot of gold was no longer there. They drilled on desperately trying to pick up the vein again, all to no avail. Finally they decided to quit. They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars and took the train back home. The junkman called in a mining engineer, to look at the mind and do a little calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed because the main was not familiar with fault lines. His calculations showed that the vein would be found just 3 feet from where the man had stopped drilling. And that is exactly where it was found. The junkman took millions of dollars of ore from the mine just because he new to seek expert council before giving up”
The story goes on to explain that the man had a nephew that was helping him with the drilling. He goes on to become extremely successful as he discovered that desire and ideas can be turned into gold as long as he never quits. Never stop 3 feet away from striking gold!
I thought this was a great story that all athletes can learn from. In our BJJ ( Brazilian Jiu-jitsu), and/or MMA ( Mixed Martial Arts
Roberto Torralbas
The BJJEngineer
