One of the essential attributes that we have is the ability to work together in creating an environment that allows us as people. To work and help each other to succeed and to celebrate what we do. We all cross the finishing line together and succeed.
Most of us aspire to this ideal, but in recent times we have as a people. Forsaken what at one stage came naturally to us. We, as individuals, leaders and managers, are realising that working together is far more beneficial than the ‘divide and conquer’ attributes that pertain to most over recent years.
We realise the benefit of having a united team with the motto of “all for one and one for all”. These principles operated equally in the areas of business and family as well. The story of which I’d like to tell you this month is heart rendering. It is the story of eight athletes who were running in the 1968 Seattle Special Olympics.
Eight athletes at the starting line of the 100-meter sprint. In what would be their greatest race. The tension, as you can imagine, is papable as they wait for the start of their race. Every one of them is excited at the challenge of competing for an Olympic medal. They had trained hard for this day, and they were fighting to win gold.
Over 50,000 spectators from around the world came to support them.
Starting line:
All the athletes get down on their knees, preparing for the race to start. On your marks, get set, bang – and they are off!
All the athletes break loose from the starting blocks, but as they do, one of the girls comes off the starting blocks awkwardly, trips over herself and falls to the ground.
The spectators give a massive sigh of total disbelief as the other athletes are now thundering down the track. Something unusual happens next.
The second to last girl see what has just happened. A second sigh goes out from the now amazed spectators.
The girl had turned to walk back to the athlete that is now crying on the ground, Then even something more unusual happens when all of the girls who have realised what has happened, stop and turn and walk back to the girl. The spectators watched as all eight girls linked hands together and proceeded down the track to the finishing line and crossed it together.
All eight athletes received gold for what had been a fantastic show of unity, and by doing so, they all became winners!
Think of what we can take from this lesson of working together. Help each other as these exceptional athletes have done. Come across the winning line together as a team.
