The Fire Within

Dreams do come true...

Excerpt from Speed of Sound, Sound of Mind, by Roger Cruickshank and Don MacNaughton (Headshrink Publications Ltd, 14 Mar. 2016. All proceeds go to charity):

Your Life - Your Dream, Your Goals

Author Phil Cousineau has written a great deal about the ancient beliefs of the Norse people. One belief is that each person carries a “fire within” and those who continue to carry their fire burning brightly within them through life are those who will travel far - not necessarily in distance, but in achievement. Their fire is their passion... a burning passion. 

Successful people do what they love and love what they do. So what do you love doing; what gets you fired up? When you identify these things, you find the fuel you need to keep that fire of enthusiasm burning brightly within you… and you’ll go far.

The problem many people have is that they’ve forgotten how to dream. You see, children have no problem imagining themselves achieving anything in life - flying to the moon, scoring the winning goal in the World Cup, breaking a world record, or inventing a bike that can be pedalled across water - nothing is impossible! As we become older, realities and practicalities tend to take over our thought processes and instead of seeing infinite possibilities, we see only impossibilities; we see the difficulty and therefore we push the dreams to the side, allowing the fire within to die. 

Many people also get put off by the idea of “goal setting”, but a goal is simply a dream with a deadline. All goals start out as dreams and those who achieve them are those who allow themselves to dream without any restraints. Success comes to those who identify the things in life they feel most passionate about; the things they really want to do. They dream first, and then they take action to make that dream a reality. They keep the fire within burning brightly and they make their dream into a goal.

Don MacNaughton, Chapter 7 (Loc 943)

“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself.” - Jim Rohn

Chapter 8 (Loc 981)

What a week! 

I could go on and on about the impact the inauguration had on me. How I slept soundly for the first time in four years knowing that the president of the United States wasn’t actively seeking ways to make the world worse. But millions of words have been written on that subject already. 

Nor is it necessary for me for me to extol the genius of Amanda Gorman and her extraordinary poem, “The Hill We Climb,” which, for me, was the highlight of a practically flawless event. 

Instead, I’d like to look at another aspect of Wednesday the 20th of January. To me, it was a thought-provoking example of dream fulfilment for those who keep alight the fire within them. 

Of course, there was Kamala Harris, our first woman of Black and South Asian descent to become vice president. Watching her take her oath was empowering and made me hope her moment was the first of many for women and POCs. Hurrah!

Some may have felt it anticlimactic when President Biden (God, I love writing that) was sworn in. But not so for me. 

As I watched him, I thought that man has wanted to be president all his life. The first time he considered running was forty years ago - 1980. For forty years he kept that dream alive, considering a run in ‘84, ‘88, ‘04, ‘08 and ‘16, and officially running in 1988 and 2008. 

Enduring a multitude of public embarrassments and failures, he must have wondered if he should continue to keep the fire burning. Another person might have given up. 

In his masterpiece The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho wrote a line that defines Joe’s journey:

Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.

This year, when many thought him too old to fight for his dream, when they counted him out after the initial contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Joe said no... I’m not giving up yet. 

It took until he was 78 years old for his dream to come true. Now here he is, restoring dignity, respect and authority to the office to which he has always aspired. 

On the other end of the spectrum,  Amanda Gorman. Only twenty-two years old, she wrote and recited a poem that will become part of the literary annals of this nation. It captured the times, the strengths and struggles, the unity and diversity of this land. Like many commentators, my favorite line was “a nation that is not broken, but simply unfinished.” What a way to inspire hope for healing in a divided world. 

A brilliant twenty-two year old woman who dreams herself of becoming president one day shared the stage with some of the world’s most luminous stars and proved she belonged. To young people all over the world, her example must inspire and motivate. 

Anything truly is possible. It is never too early or too late in life to believe in and fulfil one’s dreams.

While few of us may wish to be Joe Biden, taking on the most challenging job in the world at an age when others are pleased to “sit under their own vine and fig tree,” we can still hope that life will always provide surprises and opportunities. There is never an age beyond the possibility that something momentous can happen.

A perfect example is UK national hero Captain Sir Thomas Moore. The most exciting year in the life of Captain Tom, as he is affectionately known, happened when he was 99, in the lead-up to and aftermath of his 100th birthday. 

Before then, his life had been much like many others. He fought in WWII. He married, divorced, remarried. Had two children. Lost his wife. In 2018, he fell, broke his hip and then suffered skin cancer, but received excellent treatment from the NHS, for which he was grateful. 

When Covid broke out and we were all doing our Thursday clap to say thank you to frontline workers, Captain Tom started a JustGiving fundraiser, hoping to raise £1000 for NHS staff. His plan was to walk a hundred lengths of his garden before his hundredth birthday. 

Something about this simple act of generosity and tenacity inspired the nation in a difficult time. By his birthday, Captain Tom had raised not £1000, but £33 million, a Guinness World Record for the most ever raised for an individual charity walk. 

The nation took Captain Tom to its heart. He was given an honorary promotion to Colonel. An honorary doctorate from Cranfield University. To celebrate his 100th lap, he sang “You’ll never walk alone” with Michael Ball and it became a number-one hit single, earning him another Guinness World Record for oldest person to have a number-one single in the charts. 

He was named a “Point of Light” by the prime minister and given a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth.

150,000 people sent him birthday cards, requiring a dedicated sorting facility and 20 volunteers to open them all. Between the 26th of April and 1st of May, the postal service stamped letters "Happy 100th Birthday Captain Thomas Moore NHS fundraising hero 30th April 2020."  

These are just the highlights. I don’t know if Captain Tom feels this way (his marriage or his children’s birth may have been more important to him), but from a certain perspective one could say the most noteworthy time of this man’s life happened in his 100th year! And all it took was a decision to challenge himself in the service of others. 

It is never too late. 

This is a mantra I repeat frequently as I learn the new skill of screenwriting, a notoriously difficult field in which to succeed and one in which the gatekeepers tend to be half my age. 

I’m fortunate though that my current project inspires me so much that I wouldn’t ever give up on it. It’s a biopic I’ve entitled Mettle about one of the most phenomenal people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet and call my friend.

Fighting back from life-changing injuries, real superhero Roger Cruickshank used extraordinary mental strength and persistence to become an Olympic skier and RAF fast jet pilot, but when his mother took her own life, he discovered the true meaning of fortitude. 

Part Rudy, part Seabiscuit, part Top Gun, Mettle has a “never give up” message and a mission to destigmatize mental health, because even heroes need help sometimes.

Roger didn’t give up when he shattered his leg and was cut from the Olympic ski team ten months before Turin in 2006. Maybe he was inspired by his paraplegic uncle, a former Red Devil… or his father’s absolute belief in him. Perhaps it was the commitment to purpose he learned from his beloved mother, an NHS nurse. With help from his physio, his psychologist and a lot of metal in his leg, he relearned to walk… to ski… to race and in the last possible competition, he regained his spot on the Olympic team by 0.04 of a second. 

That in itself would be enough for a movie… but then, months later while on vacation, Roger was hurled from a poorly maintained rental bike headfirst into the ground. His face broke in half, costing him his RAF medical clearance - again. His jaw wired shut, Roger didn’t give up. He requalified and graduated top of his class - like Tom Cruise in Top Gun.

Roger thought at that point, his life was set… how little he knew what was in store.

Just a few years later, he was wounded in a way no surgeon could fix when his mother took her own life. 

Devastated though he was, Roger still wouldn’t give up. He arranged the funeral. Married his girlfriend. Broke the speed of sound in a Eurofighter Typhoon. Co-wrote the book I quoted at the start of this post. And became an advocate for mental health. 

He flew in Operation Shader. Soldiers were pinned down in Iraq. On a rescue mission, Roger was out of fuel and his plane suffered a systems failure. He had seconds to solve the problems. He did not give up. He saved the lives of his countrymen and their allies. 

But he had also buried his pain. It hadn’t healed.

A year later, Prince William awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross. Three weeks after the ceremony, under the strain of parenthood, work and advocacy, Roger broke down at last. Still, he didn’t give up on life. He realized the message he’d been advocating applied to him, too. This hero finally sought the help he needed. Counselling brought him peace and the ability to push himself without the need to prove himself.

Roger’s example - and the book he wrote Speed of Sound, Sound of Mind - have helped motivate me to turn my dreams to goals and my goals to reality. 

As Bill Phillips said, “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.” 

Between the examples of Captain Tom, President Biden and Roger Cruickshank, I know that it is never too late or too difficult to achieve any goal I set.  

Fanning the flame of the fire within me, I allow myself to dream.