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The Power of
Purpose
Copyright © All rights reserved
By Ken Chapman, Ph.D.
Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.
Terry Fox was an amazing young Canadian who understood the power of purpose
and what happens when you get knocked off course. While in high school, Terry
was named “Athlete of the Year.” Shortly after graduation, he discovered he
had a malignant tumor. His leg was amputated four days later.
The night before his operation, Terry read a magazine
article about an amputee who ran in the New York Marathon. That night, Terry
dreamed about running across Canada. During his follow-up treatment, Terry
saw suffering as he had never seen before. He later wrote these words in a
letter to the Canadian Cancer Society requesting their support. “As I went
through the sixteen months of a physically and emotionally draining ordeal of
chemotherapy, I was rudely awakened by the feelings that surrounded and
coursed through the cancer clinic. There were faces with the brave smiles and
the ones who had given up smiling. There were the feelings of hopeful denial
and the feelings of despair. Somewhere the hurting must stop and I am
determined to take myself to the limit for this cause.”
Terry Fox left the cancer clinic with a vision to run
across Canada to raise one million dollars to fight cancer. There was a
second purpose in his marathon as well — to demonstrate that there are no
limits to what an amputee can do, and to change people’s attitude toward
people with disabilities.
At first, Terry kept his vision a secret. He ran in
the dark so no one could see him. Later, when he felt confident that he could
gain their support, he shared his vision with his family and close friends.
Terry trained for fifteen grueling months until he could run twenty-three
miles a day. He took just one day off at Christmas, and only then at his
mother’s request.
On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox dipped his artificial leg
in the Atlantic Ocean at St. John’s, Newfoundland, to begin his run. Terry
became a national hero. He was greeted with cheers as he entered each town.
People wept as he ran by — fists clinched, eyes focused on the road ahead, his
awkward double step and hop sounding down the highway.
He would start before dawn every day, running in shorts
and a tee shirt printed with a map of Canada. He did not hide his disability;
his artificial leg was fully visible. Children were curious about his
artificial leg — how did it work, what happens when it breaks. He encouraged
them to ask questions and always stopped to answer them.
The donations poured in. Terry ran 3,339 miles from
Newfoundland through six provinces and which was now two-thirds of the
distance across Canada. During this time, he had run close to a marathon a
day for 144 straight days.
But on September 1, 1980, Terry had to stop. He was
sick. His cancer had recurred and had spread to his lungs. He flew home for
treatment and with his family beside him, Terry Fox died on June 28, 1981, one
month short of his twenty-third birthday.
Did Terry Fox achieve his vision? Did he realize his
purpose? After all, he did not complete his run. That was his goal, wasn’t
it? But then when you think about it, his purpose was not to run across
Canada — that was his plan to achieve his goal. His purpose was to raise a
million dollars for cancer research and to increase awareness about
disabilities. The fact is that on the day that Terry Fox died, the Canadian
Cancer Society announced that they had received 23.4 million dollars in
contributions to the Terry Fox Foundation.
Yes, Terry Fox realized his vision because he had a
clear purpose. He wanted to raise a million dollars for cancer research and
raise awareness for amputees. His vision of raising a million dollars was
realized “23” fold. And, no one will ever forget the “amputee” who ran the
equivalent of a marathon every day for 144 days.
That is the power of purpose!
For more information about Ken
Chapman and Associates’ Leadership Development Programs, contact Ken Chapman
at 205.366.0265 or email Ken at
kchapman@leaderscode.com.
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