Lesson in self-confidence

When Henry Ward Beecher was a young boy in school, he
learned a lesson in self-confidence, which he never forgot. He was
called upon to recite in front of the class. He had hardly begun when
the teacher interrupted with an emphatic, “No!” He started over and
again the teacher thundered, “No!” Humiliated, Henry sat down.

The next boy rose to recite and had just begun when the
teacher shouted, “No!” This student, however, kept on with the
recitation until he completed it. As he sat down, the teacher
responded, “Very good!”

Henry was irritated. “I recited just as he did,” he
complained to the teacher.

But the instructor replied, “It is not enough to know your
lesson, you must be sure. When you allowed me to stop you, it meant
that you were uncertain. If all the world says, `No!’ it is your
business to say, `Yes!’ and prove it.”

The world says, “No!” in a thousand ways:

“No! You can’t do that.”

“No! You are wrong.”

“No! You are too old.”

“No! You are too young.”

“No! You are too weak.”

“No! It will never work.”

“No! You don’t have the education.”

“No! You don’t have the background.”

“No! You don’t have the money.”

“No! It can’t be done.”

And each “No!” you hear has the potential to erode your
confidence bit by bit until you quit altogether. Though the world
says, “No!” to you today, will you determine to say, “Yes!” and prove
it?

Author unknown
Shared by Priya Deelchand