Page 41 - Hard Goals

32 HARD Goals

had a warmth and charm that belied her underlying “mama
bear” ferocity. Just after she was told she had a few months to
live, her daughter (who was then in her sixties) was also diag-
nosed with cancer, but with a life expectancy closer to a few
years. Of course, you know what I’m going to say next. Aunt

Norma didn’t pass right away; she lived for five more years. Her
doctors were left scratching their heads with a combination of
amazement and incredulity. Norma dealt with constant pain.
But she fought through it every day so that she could care for
her daughter.
We all know an Aunt Norma, someone who loves another
person so much, is so emotionally connected to that person, that
he or she can endure any pain—overcome any challenge—in
order to help that person through a challenge or crisis. After
you get past all the horror stories on your local news, you may
fi nd examples there. Like Nick Harris, the man from Ottawa,
Kansas, who saw his six-year-old neighbor get run over by a
car. 4
The little girl was walking down her street on her way to
school when someone backed out of a driveway and hit her,
pushing her out into the street and rolling the car on top of her.
Nick, who had just dropped his own daughter off at school,
saw the accident and ran over to help. When he got there, this
5-foot-7, 185-pound guy lifted the car (a Mercury sedan) right
off the little girl. And about her injuries? Some scrapes and
bruises and road rash, but otherwise she’s fi ne. Smiling, she told
a local news team, “I didn’t even break a bone.”
There are loads of stories like this about people who have
done something amazing to help another human being. The
power to do so comes from a place of deep personal connec-
tion, because even if it’s for a total stranger, there is still the