My wife and I were watching a nature show on the discovery channel, (as we often do during the evening after we have retired from our 15 hour work day…I am not kidding) that was featuring a David Attenborough presentation of Penguins. He was of course documenting their survival and lives in one of the harshest environments on the planet. The camera man presented the narrative of how some of the colony had strayed off course and ended up in a ravine as a storm was headed in. It was imperative that they return immediately to the “rookery” to survive the night. However, that meant traversing a steep ravine covered in ice. Some mothers had to abandon the young as they could not make the climb whilst holding their babies. We would watch them climb only to be forced back down with wind, ice and steepness. It was heartbreaking to watch them struggle, but struggle they did, and success and life was given to those that made it up the hill.
Now one particular Penguin did not make it, try as they might. But what struck me, (like a lightning bolt in fact), was that the camera man’s angle showed this particular Penguin to literally and visually be 10 feet from success. All they had to was struggle for 10 more feet and they would have made it to safety and more than that survived and thrived. Unfortunately, this Penguin gave up and did not make it back, (though I’m sure the Camera Man went over and saved it, that is what I imagine anyway!) 10 feet from success. 10 feet made all the difference between life and death. I wonder if that little Penguin could only see what I saw, if they would have given up so easily, or would they have taken it up a notch and
traversed the distance? I will always remember that lesson. We are always 10 feet from success. What will you chose to do?
