People want to kill your dreams
Published: Fri, 12/16/16
And Tom had a new 6th grade teacher named Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith said, “Your assignment for tomorrow is this. I want you to write what’s called an autobiography for tomorrow. I’d like you to write your hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future.”
So Tom went home and he worked on his assignment all night.
When he was done, he read it to his mom and dad.
His mom and dad were so proud of him.
They said, “That’s the best thing you’ve ever written!”
He proudly turned in his work the next day.
When his paper came back, he got a “F” with a red circle around it.
It said, “See me after class.”
With fear, Tom went to see his teacher.
The teacher said, “Oh, you’re Tom.”
“Yeah.” Tom said.
“Well, you wrote that you wanted to be the quarterback of the New England Patriots, you wanted to marry a supermodel, and you wanted to become a multi-millionaire business man.”
Tom said, “Yes, that’s right. Those are my hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future."
The teacher said, “Well, you know, that was a really good autobiography you wrote.”
Tom said, “Well, why did you give me an ‘F’?”
He said, “Well, it has to do with the writing. I think it’s my responsibility. Go home tonight and look in the mirror. You don’t have the body to be an NFL quarterback. You’re not handsome enough to attract a supermodel. And you’re not smart enough to become a multi-millionaire businessman, but you write pretty well.
“If you lower your hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future, I’ll give you a higher grade.”
So he gave Tom the paper back, and Tom went home and sat in front of a computer.
And Tom decided that he was not going to change a word.
The next day in class he turned in the same paper.
The teacher said, “Tom, you didn’t understand. You were supposed to lower your hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the future.”
And Tom said, “Oh, no, no. I understood perfectly, but here’s what I decided. You can keep your ‘F’, because I want to keep my dreams.”
Bill
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PS - Obviously, that's a made up story. I don't know if Tom Brady ever had a sixth grade teacher named Mr. Smith, or whether he ever wrote a paper like that.
PPS - A couple days ago, I mentioned one of my early mentors, Jay. He gave me this book. I cherish it to this day. I have two copies on my bookshelf. It's called, "The Magic of Thinking Big."
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