At 6:50 p.m., as evening fell in Mexico City in 1968, John Stephen
Akhwari of Tanzania painfully hobbled into the Olympic stadium - the last man
to finish the punishing marathon race. The victory ceremony for the winning
runner was long over and the stadium was almost empty as Akwari – his leg
bloody and bandaged -- struggled to circle the track to cross the finish line.
Watching from a distance was Bud Greenspan, a documentary filmmaker famous for
his Olympic movies. Intrigued, Greenspan walked over to the exhausted Akwari
and asked why he had continued the grueling run to the finish line.The young
man from Tanzania did not have to search for an answer. He said: "My
country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles
to finish the race." Commit or quit ... it's up to you.
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one’s condition.

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