The mud consumed each man until there was nothing visible but our
heads, the instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men
would quit. Only five minutes, just five men. And we could get out of the
oppressive coal. Looking around the mud flat. It was apparent that some
students were about to div up.
It was still over eight hours till the sun came up. Eight more hours of
bone chilling cold. The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the
trainees were so loud, it was hard to hear anything. And then one voice
began to echo through the night. One voice raised in song. The song was
terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm.
One voice became two and two became three and before long, everyone
in the class was singing. The instructors threatened us with more time in
the mud if we kept up the singing, but the singing persisted and
somehow the mud seemed a little warmer. And the wind a little Tamer
and the Dawn, not so far away.
If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the . Or a
Pope, the power of one person, a Washington, a Lincoln, King, Mandela,
and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala. One person can change the
world by giving people hope. So if you want to change the world, start
each day with a task completed.
Find someone to help you through life. Respect. Everyone. Know the
life is not fair, that you will fail often, but if you take some risks. Step up
when the times are the toughest face down. The bullies lift up the
downtrodden and never ever give up. If you do these things, the next
generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better
than the one we have today.
And what started here will indeed have changed the world for the better.