The Obstacles In Our Mind
By May Kay Ash
The greatest obstacles that most of us face are in our minds. We sometimes condemn ourselves to failure before we ever start.
I find it fascinating to read the stories, many of them legendary, about the late Houdini. That masterful magician was probably a better locksmith than he was a magician. He had a standing challenge that he could get out of any locked jail in 60 minutes provided they would let him enter in his regular street clothes and not watch him work.
One story that comes to mind is about a little town in the British Isles that decided to challenge and perhaps embarrass the great Houdini.
The town, which had just completed an escape-proof jail, invited the great Houdini to come see if he could break out of the facility.
He accepted the challenge. He was allowed to enter that jail in his street clothes and people said they saw the locksmith turn the lock in some strange way. And then, with the clang of steel everybody turned their backs and left him to work. Houdini had hidden a long flexible steel rod in his belt which he used to try to trip the lock.
He worked for 30 minutes keeping his ear close to the lock. An hour passed and he was perspiring. After two hours, he was absolutely exhausted. He leaned against the door and to his amazement, it fell open!
The door had never been locked! It was the town’s trick on the great escape artist. The door was locked only in Houdini’s mind. Some of us think we can’t climb those mountains with which we are often faced. The only place it’s impossible is in our thinking. Remember, a diamond was once just a hunk of coal that was polished up.