Are you facing what appears to be an insurmountable obstacle? Going through a tough time during this pandemic? Have you started believing it was too late to achieve the goals of your youth? Well, it is not too late.
Meet Diana Nyad. A woman who regularly did battle against one of earth’s most dangerous primal forces. The Sea.
She is the first and only person to swim the entire distance from Florida to Cuba. That is over 100 miles of shark and jellyfish infested waters; 110 to be exact. She did this when she was 64 years of age and without a shark cage. It took approximately 53 hours.
Attempt 1 – 8/28/1978 – Yellow
This attempt occurred in 1978 . Diana was 28 years old and still in her prime. On the first attempt Diana swam inside a 20 by 40 foot shark cage.
Strong west winds and swells pushed her off course towards Texas.
Despite falling short of her goal she still managed to cover 76 miles.
Attempt 2 – 8/7/2011 – Blue
33 years later Diana decided to try again . This time without the shark cage that held her back the first time. She opted to use electronic shark shields.
Strong currents, wind, a hurt shoulder and an asthma flare up stopped her this time.
Attempt 3 – 9/23/2011 – Black
Diana was stung multiple times by box jellyfish (some of the deadliest) and Portuguese man of war while the currents steered her off course yet again.
The swim had to be called off due to respiratory distress from the stings.
Attempt 4 – 8/18/2012 – Green
Two storms along with 9 jellyfish set her back and ended this attempt.
Attempt 5 – 8/31/2013 – Orange
This time Diana wore special protection equipment: a special suit, gloves, booties and a special mask to protect her from jellyfish stings. She also had a 35 member support team to accompany her on the journey as well.
This time the journey was a success! On 9/2/2013 she became the first and only individual to complete the swim from Cuba to Florida.
There are four major takeaways from Diana’s lifelong journey to achieve a goal that most believed was impossible.
- Don’t ever give up
- You are never too “old”
- Learn from your life experiences.
- Get all the help you can
I challenge you to pursue your life’s passion regardless of your age and don’t ever give up regardless of the obstacles you will face. Needs additional inspiration? You can listen to Diana’s TED Talk “Never, ever give up” for inspiration here: Diana Nyad: Never, ever give up
