Talk About a Badass!!! Columbus

On this day in 1492, by mention in his own log, a man named Christopher Columbus discovered what would become the Americas. A place which had indeed already received European visitors from the likes of the Nordic tribes and ultimately, the original descendants of this hemisphere, the natives whose ancestors walked across the then land-bridge between Siberia and what we call Alaska today to populate every area from Alaska down to the southern tip of Chile.
We all heard the story in 4th grade so I'm not going to get specific about the trip. What I want to focus on is the kind of courage it took a relatively regular guy, to make arguably the most important land discovery the world had ever known.
It sounds so stupid today but let's face it, in Columbus' day, practically every human being on earth thought the world was flat. A large percentage of people believed the seas literally fell off a cliff in the horizons and went straight to hell. If this is all you know, if this is all everyone believes, the idea that you are going to go west to reach India because you think the world is round sounded completely preposterous. Suicidal even. So much so that the Kings of Portugal, Italy, and England turned him away. I probably would have too had I been around at that time. I'd be like "who is this whacko? get him out of my sight."
Yet the King and Queen of Spain believed in this whacko. It sure wasn't out of a desire to make the world better. It was of course about greed and expanding what was one of the world's most important monarchies. Yet, regardless of the reason, they agreed and funded his voyage.
I can just imagine that first night on that flotilla, on any of the three boats. Had I been a crew member, I would have been scared out of my mind thinking "Jose what the hell did you get into? You do know you're not returning right? You do know you're about to die?" That is me cause I'm quite the chicken.
Yet, this guy Columbus, somehow he believed what seemed unbelievable. And while it didn't work out the way he planned as he never intended to discover a new world, but simply arrive to India, it became the spark which changed every single person's life who is reading this. Not a single one of us would be here. Not a single one. Had he not believed in the unbelievable.
Some of you have great ideas, some of you have dreams, and some of you are afraid to follow them because they seem so stupid or so far-fetched. I submit that whether your dream is to become a millionaire, or lose 100 pounds, chances are, your dream isn't as crazy as his was. Yet he succeeded. He changed the world. You can too. If you just act on your crazy dreams and goals.
Columbus had audiences with the most senior members of what was then known as the "civilized" world. After every single embarrassing rejection he soooo could have packed it up, gone home, and given up. But he didn't. You don't have to either.
Whether you've tried to quit smoking 100 times and failed, whether you've tried multiple times to leave your job to follow your passion, whether you have failed over and over at achieving your dreams or worse, given up completely, I challenge you to give it one more try. And if it doesn't work, give it one more try. As long as you are breathing, keep trying. All the greats who have ever lived did just that.
And in my opinion, you are one of those "greats" in your own way. I believe in you, you just have to believe in yourself. Happy Columbus Day.