Beating Fear, Confusion, and Feeling Paralyzed by Circumstances.

Bills. Work issues. Clients. Personal conflicts.

Problems come at you so fast some times that you can feel completely paralyzed.

Your brain is literally overloaded.  

It’s overheated.

Emotions are flying.  Your fears are hiding behind every corner.  You’re confused.

You’re just not sure what to do.

And the reality is quite simple.

You’re not alone.

In the late 1960′s, a young Kate Tweedy watched her mother struggle to manage a Virginia horse farm that had been in her family for generations.

It started a dzoen states away with her and her mom living in Colorado.

Her grandpa had made a series of horrible business decisions leaving the family stables financially crippled.  The family attorney called Kate’s mom, Penny, pleading with her to get involved before they had to file bankruptcy.

And so thirteen months later, Penny Tweedy took over the Virginia farm and hundreds of thousands of red ink.  If the debt wasn’t bad enough, the fact that all the best horses had been sold, made the business of birthing champion racehorses almost impossible.

Despite dozens of creditors asking for past payment and shareholders trying to force her to sell her farm, Penny hung on.  It was crazy.  Out of 800 racehorse owners around the world, she was one of the only women.  Despite the odds, the lack of horse talent, and her experience ever having done this before, she working tirelessly.

In 1970, a horse was born in her stables she named Deo Volente (or “God Willing”).  But the Jockey Club, to which all thoroughbred names must be submitted for approval, didn’t like it. They said “NO”… They also disallowed the names: Scepter, Royal Line, Something Special, and Games of Chance.  They rejected them all.

And like of things over the last few years, Penny just kept trying.

And so did that horse.

Three years later, that horse without a name, born on a farm without any talent, to an owner without an money, put on a five week performance that the world will never forget.

That horse, we now know as Secretariat, destroyed all challengers, winning the Triple Crown of horse racing with staggering ease.  And he just never stopped.  When he died at 19 years old, he had won all but 1 race in his entire lifetime.

And his secret become clear years later.

When doctors examined the horse after his death, they uncovered a shocking secret.

Secretariat’s heart was twice as big as any heart they had ever seen before.

What made the difference?

One simple thing: HEART…

It was Penny’s heart. And Secretariat.

Besides all of Penny’s personal issues with obsessed family members and impatient creditors, the world was itself teetering on the edge of insanity.  There was still a war in Vietnam.  Nixon and the ensuing Watergate Scandal were about to splash onto the front page of newspapers.  The American oil crisis was looming.  The Olympics were destroyed by the assassination of Israeli athletes.

Times were crazy.

And yet, in spite of the drama and fear, the confusion and uncontrollable circumstance, what changed the world wasn’t:

• brains or
• experience or
• logic or
• a better plan or
• education or
• money…

It was determination and will and spirit and courage.

It was quite simply the one thing that you can never buy.

HEART.

How that helps you.

You’re not a horse and not a horse owner.

Frankly, that doesn’t matter.  You’re writing your own story.

But the same lessons apply.

And so:

• Remember that money (even if you did have it) won’t solve your problems
• Remember that time is about the lessons you learn along the way
• Remember that looking back while running forward will only lead to accidents
• Remember that validation from your peers doesn’t really mean that much
• Remember that getting back up is a decision, not just something strong people do
• Remember that the odds stacked up against you make the victory even sweeter
• Remember that the world is waiting to cheer you on

Remember that “you need heart” to make it past the rough stuff in life.

Because fear and confusion and feeling paralyzed are pretty much impossible to deal with outside of that.

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