I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch. He has let me usehis house to put on fund-raising events. The last time I was there heintroduced me by saying: “I want to tell you a story. It all goes back to astory about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who wouldgo from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch toranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career wascontinually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paperabout what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
“That night hewrote 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 a200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and thetrack. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house thatwould sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
“He put a greatdeal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to histeacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was alarge red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’
“The boy with thedream 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. Youhave 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. Youhave to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay largestud fees . There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘Ifyou will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider yourgrade.’
“The boy went homeand thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. Hisfather said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, Ithink it is a very important decision for you.’ Finally, after a week, the boyturned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keepthe F and I’ll keep my dream.’ ”
Monty then turnedto the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sittingin my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I stillhave that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part ofthe story is that two years ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to campout 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 adream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunatelyyou had enough gumption not to give up on yours.’ ”
“Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart,no matter what,” Monty at last concluded.