I received a call on Friday about an opportunity to go to Cancun, Mexico for a few days. Of course I said, “yes I’ll go”. I just need to ask my boss for permission. After talking with my boss, I got permission and now I just needed to buy the airline tickets.
Bought the tickets Friday night leaving DFW airport the following day. I was excited about the trip since it was my first time visiting beautiful Cancun. My son, Samuel, came with me to visit my wife’s family there.
We visited Isla Mujeres, Isla Blanca, Playa del Carmen, and el Cenote Azul. At the Cenote Azul, we had a great time relaxing, eating, and drinking at the river. We were surrounded by different kind of fish.
My son wanted to catch a fish so bad that his persistence taught me something new.
At the beginning Samuel wanted to grab the fish by using his bare hands. No tools just his hands. I helped him but the fish were too quick for our movements. We tried to catch something for an hour with no luck.
After the first hour, I was tired and ready to give up. Not mine son. Samuel was determined to caught some fish.
He said, “dad we need to trap the fish. You go that way and I’ll go the opposite way and then we will get them.”
We tried this new technique but the fish swan so fast that we never came close.
After many failed tries, my son had a different idea. He just needed a net and for sure he will grab some fish. But there was no net in sight so he asked for a t-shirt. We grabbed a t-shirt and started using it as a net and we came close to catching them. My son was determined and he felt that he was getting closer and closer to them.
I was motivated to see him that persistent. He was determined. He had a clear goal in mind. He had a mission. And he was not going to give up that easily.
Using the t-shirt as a net did not work, but he came up with a different idea. We were eating chips and my uncle Jose started feeding the fish and they were eating in a concentrated area next to small rocks. My son used a small foam cup and tried to grab a fish while the fish were eating chips. At the beginning, he was afraid of the fish because they were eating fiercely and the movement scared him. He continued to use the small cup and finally caught something. He was so happy that he got a fish. All that hard work finally paid dividends.
I was happy for him because he was persistent and did not gave up after many failed attempts.
This experience taught me so many things about life. Many times we give up on our dreams because we tried to accomplished our goals but we have failed. We have used different techniques but they haven’t worked. We failed and the act of failing brings discouragement. Life is a constant battle. Don’t give up that easily. Learn from this story and be persistent until you catch your first.