There is a story Joyce Meyers tells that I refer to a lot.It is of a man trying to break a large boulder. With his sledge hammer, he puts all his might into the crushing of this massive rock. He positions his stance,grabs the hammer, places it over his head and with all his might slams itabruptly onto the large rock. At first, the impact doesn’t even make an indentation.Repeating this mighty effort over and over he begins to slowly chip away at therock and even crack it in places. Eventually the cracks spread, and the rockseems to be changing form. But the man grows weary and his strength andpersistence are evident in not only his efforts but the results as well. Yet hecontinues, to slam the hammer into the boulder over a hundred times before finallygiving up. “It’s simply too hard. I cannot go on another minute,” hesays to himself. Disgusted, disappointed and dismayed, he drops the hammer bythe boulder, turns his back to the cause and walks away. A few minutes later apasserby sees the weathered rock, obviously looking like it has been through alot. Seeing the hammer on the ground beside the rock the passerby picks up thehammer. He positions his stance, grabs the hammer, places it over his head andwith all his might slams it onto the large rock. The boulder is then split intoseveral pieces. The moral of the story is: You are always ONE BIG EFFORT fromyour success. Don’t give up!!

I shared this with someone on Facebook not too long ago and was reminded of the powerful message this story holds. Since it is the beginning of a new week I felt the need to tell it again as many of us may approach Monday as our boulder. So much to do, a list a mile long, too many obstacles to overcome in too short a timeframe. Girl, its time to focus on the sparkle. Today, exhausted and overwhelmed as you may be, don’t give up. Eat your elephant one bite a time. Even small steps will get you to the goal. Keep pounding away but don’t walk away. You got this.