INSPIRING THE MIND 1. I have a friend named Monty Roberts
who owns a horse ranch
in San Isidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-
raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want
to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a
story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant
horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to
race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses.
As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually
interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a
paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of
someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in
great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch,
showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the
track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-
foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next
day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received
his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a
note that read, `See me after class.’
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class
and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’
“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young
boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant
family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires
a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for
the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large
stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the
teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more
realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He
asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son,
you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it
is a very important decision for you.’ “Finally, after sitting with
it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no
changes at all.
He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”
Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you
this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot
house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have
that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The
best part of the story is that two summers ago that same
schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a
week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I
can tell you this now. When I was I have a friend named Monty
Roberts who owns a horse ranch
in San Isidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-
raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want
to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a
story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant
horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to
race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses.
As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually
interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a
paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of
someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in
great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch,
showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the
track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-
foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next
day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received
his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a
note that read, `See me after class.’
“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class
and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’
“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young
boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant
family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires
a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for
the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large
stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the
teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more
realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He
asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son,
you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it
is a very important decision for you.’ “Finally, after sitting with
it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no
changes at all.
He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”
Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you
this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot
house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have
that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The
best part of the story is that two summers ago that same
schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a
week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I
can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was
something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot
of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to
give up on yours.” teacher, I was
something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot
of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to
give up on yours.”
Keep the dreams alive: none is to big or too small to be a reality.
GOD am praying for as many as have read this story, that none
of them shall lose sight of the dreams you have given them and it
will not be stolen by the craftiness of satan. In JESUS blessed
name, AMEN