Brick Walls: They’re there for a reason!

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.” – Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture.

The mid-90’s contemporary society in Brooklyn had a remarkable way of selling off left-over Christmas trees. On the eve of Christmas, the store-owner would exhibit his unsold lot for a day or so, while the not-so-wealthy relied  on their imagination to satisfy their fancies of homes adorned with the trees they liked the best. Francie, an 11-year old ran home and brought her father to the exhibition. She pointed to the largest tree, begged him to buy it, crying her heart out. Unfortunately, her father did not have the luxury to relent. So she set herself a new goal in life. With an air of ambition she said, “I’m going to work hard, grow rich and have a house with that tree in the hall.” All day, she sat on a desk by the side of the exhibition puzzling the quirky shades of green, admiring the colorful reflections the little bulbs played over the snowballs, drawing the energy and inspiration to sail through life’s hardships.  

After this day of admiration, came the night of revelation, when the owner declared that they would sell the trees for a few cents each, to whosoever competed and won a tournament-of-sorts. The final task for the largest tree would be a show of physical strength so that everyone could enjoy the sport. The atmosphere charged up with excitement as everyone contemplated who would bag the best or the largest ones. Francie’s father encouraged her to compete for the largest tree despite knowing she was the frailest in the crowd. She complied since she did not want to give in without a fight.

The set tasks were long, tedious and pointless to the extent of building frustration amongst the participants. One by one, people retired with whatever little their tasks earned them; not Francie. She stuck to her goal until the final task, when it so happened that she was the only one left competing for the largest tree and it naturally came to her. All happy and content she carried it home with her father.

A distant observer expressed his curiosity over the entire ordeal to the shop-owner. The owner wisely answered, “The process is a filter, so designed to ensure that the one who wants something most badly is the one who gets it. None of them could’ve afforded to pay for any of the trees. The ordeal was a chance for them to prove how desperately they wanted it!”

All of us hate to think of the hard work that goes behind our most treasured successes, the trying period preceding fulfillment of our dreams and passions. Oft times we give up for fear of failure. It is worthwhile to remember that the tough phases are not to keep you from success; they are a filter, they are there to keep the others away!
So the next time you’re cribbing about the trials a girl would put you through before saying that ‘yes’, know that she’s probably not trying to keep you away, she’s evaluating how badly you want her. She’s only trying to keep the others away! ;-)