Diana Nyad is such an inspiration to myself and to so many others. She has just jumped into the Ocean in Cuba to begin her quest to fulfill a 36 year old dream – to swim from Cuba to Florida – approximately 103 miles.  No one has ever done this except a long time ago using a shark cage. Diana is going to do this without a cage. But what’s interesting is that sharks, although still a very present danger, are not her biggest threat at this point – the life threatening Box Jellyfish are. For the past 3 years her attempts have had to be aborted because of these creatures. But she didn’t let the dream die despite these aborted attempts and near death experiences. She persisted and didn’t mope – she allowed herself time to grieve about the events but then got back in the saddle and started planning for the next attempt – but she took what she learned from each event and worked to find a solution. Then she tried again, learned more from the incomplete (not failed by any means – define failure in terms of what Diana has done) attempt and went to work going for another solution. She sought out experts in Box Jellyfish and they’ve come up with another way to protect Diana’s face – last year they created a body suit that protected her body but she was still pummeled by these creatures around her neck and face – painful and life-threatening. Now she has a mask to wear at night which will make swimming so much harder BUT hopefully will keep these little buggers from inflicting their massive stings on her with their venomous poison.

What can we learn from Diana Nyad? So so much…..

1) That you should NEVER give up on a dream no matter how old you are. You really CAN do anything you want.

2) People will stand beside and behind you if you just continue to keep your integrity intact and abide by the rules – whether they be rules of nature or rules of humans. Do NOT step on others to get to your goal.

3) Don’t let “problems” stop you – don’t use them as your excuse – use them as stepping stones to find solutions, knowing that all solutions that are found will benefit humanity (not just you) no matter how small they seem.

4) You will not find a solution if you look at it from the problem mindset. It takes a different mindset to switch to solution mode. Start thinking about what the possibilities are to conquer x, y, z.

5) Never give up but allow yourself time to “get over” and experience any grief you might have about not achieving the goal at that particular time.

6) Talking about what you’re doing and what you want to do will help others even if you don’t know it. There are people out there going through difficult times that may just hear your story and your perseverance at just the right time to help them keep going. You do not have the right to give up on your dream. God (Divine Mind) put this idea and goal into your soul for a reason. It is yours! So take hold of it and achieve it.

7) Much, much more…what have you learned from her or from anyone who has been your inspiration? What keeps you going?

Keep following this amazing woman for the next three days and just know that she WILL walk onto the shores in Florida after over 60 hours of swimming.

Terrie