“The doctors told me I would never walk again told me I would, so I believed my mother.” Wilma Rudolph
“Who are you going to believe? The people who believe in you or the critics? Don’t believe the critics — they have no idea of what you can do. How do I know? Because they spend their time criticizing.” Dr. Rob Gilbert
When I heard this quote from Wilma Rudolph, I loved it! And when I heard my fabulous friend and mentor Dr. Rob Gilbert’s comment on critics, I knew I had to share it!
Consider the “facts” of Wilma Rudolph’s life the doctors/critics might have at hand:
She was born prematurely and weighed under four pounds.
She was the20th of 22 children born to a railway porter and a maid.
She was weak and frail as a child, contracting scarlet fever and other diseases.
She suffered from polio, which weakened her left leg and made it hard for her to walk.
And yet. And yet. Where’s the heart among all these facts? Where’s the courage?
Wilma’s mother took a bus trip with her weekly for two years to a medical center for treatments.
Her family massaged her leg daily day in and day out to restore its muscle and strength.
She went on to play basketball in high school and became a star athlete.
She was accepted to the 1956 Olympics, won a bronze medal, and decided to go for gold.
She won 3 gold medals in the 1960 Olympics, becoming “The fastest woman in the world.”
Our takeaway here? Forget the critics! What they don’t know could fill the history books! Let’s take heart and courage from Wilma, “The Tornado”, and run our own race. Write on!
