"One of my favorite stories, one that I repeated to myself almost daily was a story about two frogs. Two very thirsty frogs. They were out for a walk along a dusty country road and happened upon an open bottle of milk. Nearly dying of thirst, they jumped in feet first and immediately went under.
When they surfaced, gasping for air, the first frog cried: "We're going to drown. We're going to drown."
"No," said the second frog, keeping his calm. "If we paddle our feet, we'll stay afloat. We won't drown."
"But I can't paddle," whined the first frog, making a half-hearted attempt before giving up. "I'm too scared. I'm too tired."
"Just keep paddling," the wise second frog repeated, his little green feet moving like mad.
"No, it's too hard. I'm afraid. I'm too tired," cried the weaker one.
I guess I don't have to tell you what happened to this little frog. It was much easier for him to cry and complain, to give up; thus, what he feared most happened because he refused to even try. When the going got tough, he just gave up.
The second frog, although saddened by his friend's death, became even more determined to stay alive and soon, a funny thing happened.
As always happens with milk, the cream rises to the top. The little frog had paddled so hard and for so long, when the rich, thick cream rose to the top of the milk bottle, it carried him with it, higher and higher until he was able to jump out of the bottle and save himself.
So if the going ever gets rough, really rough, and you?re tempted to whine or just give up, think about the little frog who refused to give up.
And keep paddling like hell, because with desire, discipline and determination, eventually you will reach your goal. Remember, cream always rises to the top!
Sharon De Vita, an Adjunct Professor of Literature and Communication, is an award-winning author with over a million copies of her Silhouette novels in print.'
Words to live by, eh?
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