The Sky's the Limit

GO FOR THE GOLD!

“…the Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem with a very great train with camels that bare spices and very much gold, and precious stones, and she was come to Solomon, she communed with him all of what was in her heart.”

I King 10:2 (KJV)

Achievers usually are those persons who early in life set their sight on a particular goal. There goal is real to them. They have a strong desire for achievement and the fruition is never a matter of “if” but when.

A prime example of this is a cousin who resided in California. When she was eight years old I visited her family and she said to me, “Cousin Raymond, I’m going to win gold medals in the Olympics!” I responded with, “If that is your dream hold onto it and you will.” At that time I was honestly thinking, “Fat chance.” Well, that little girl as an adult in Seoul, Korea in 1988 was a winner of three gold relay medals and one silver. Prior to her Olympics fame, she was known as “Dee Dee.” Her actual name was Florence Griffith-Joyner. She proved that her conversation with me was not idle talk or a “pipe” dream. When I learned about her achievements, a very clear picture flashed in my mind of a little girl with very bright smiling eyes telling me about her dream of winning gold medals.

This multitalented gold medal winner came from humble beginnings as she and her family of ten siblings were recipients of social welfare in Watts, a section of Los Angeles, California. In addition to her achievements in the Olympics, she was a graduate of UCLA, a fashion designer, a cosmetologist, a painter, a poetess, an entrepreneur. She was also a writer, and a lecturer and the founder of Flo-Jo International (a youth organization still to this day promoting youth relays, motivation, inspiration and academic excellence to its young participants). There is a strong possibility that I have left out something. The executive director of the organization is her sister, Elizabeth Griffith-Tate (Cissy).

With all of those achievements to her credit, she remained a very humble person who gave credit and ownership to God. This was seen by her falling on her knees at each winning and giving thanks to God which I personally witnessed on television.

Another verbalized declaration of her faith, trust, belief and dependence on God was when she was driving me to the airport. This was on one of my many visits to California for my flight home to New York. I asked her if she was in anyway fearful of being shot as she jogged with President “Bill” Clinton as a co-partner of his Physical Fitness Program. She quickly reminded me that she was not jogging with the President, but walking with God.

One of the many demonstrations of her humility was of her chasing a lady’s hat that the wind had blown off. Florence retrieved it and returned it to the lady with one of her bright, captivating smiles. When the lady learned of Florence’s fame, she was surprised that Florence would come to her aid.

In my eyes, and the eyes of many, Florence, although now residing in Heaven, will always be a role model. How so? She proved that anyone can be an achiever. All one needs is a goal grounded in the belief that, “All things are possible to those who believe.”

She believed that whatever one sets his or her mind to can be realized.

The following is her Dream Statement:  “I dream big, and I dream wide. I dig deep to bring out what’s inside… I give my all, on all my tests to achieve my goal. I do my best…Sometimes I fall short of my dreams, I lose my focus, unfair life seems, but