There Must Be a Pony Somewhere

Lately, I was watching a conference and it ended with a story I would not forget. The story shared two twin brothers who shared everything but one. One boy was an unflagging optimist, the other a stubborn pessimist. On the twins' birthday, their parents decided to throw a party for them.

The pessimistic brother was given a room brimming with brand-new, expensive toys. The optimistic brother, however, was given an enormous pile of horse manure as his "gift."

When his parents checked on the pessimist child, they found him weeping. He explained his fear that if he played with the toys, they would eventually get damaged or break, making the fun not worth the risk.

As for the optimist boy, the parents found him gleefully digging through the mess, shoveling handfuls of dirt and dung into the air. When asked about his strange activity, the bright-eyed boy responded excitedly, "With all this manure, I just know there has to be a pony hiding in here!"

Connecting the story, challenges would be something we face. Our outlook determines our choices and the course of our lives. And the person we become.

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt