"Take your first step in faith, you don't need to see the entire ladder, just take your first step in faith" Martin Luther King.
Once upon a time there was a seven-year-old boy named Archimedes, who lived in a small and forgotten mountain kingdom located between old Europe and the Middle East called Anguristan. It was a place that due to its remoteness from the conquering towns, could be kept as a peaceful place, far from the shocks of the invasions to which most of the towns were exposed.
Archimedes was the son of Arcadius, who was the only maker of bows and arrows in the kingdom. Arcadio was well liked by his neighbors for his gift of people, his loyalty and for his absolute honesty and responsibility. Arcadio had all the elements required to create an excellent business of manufacturing and selling bows and arrows, but he needed more competitive stimulus and his market was small, since only some of those who were frequently engaged in hunting required their products, since the kingdom of Anguristan did not have an army. The sale of arms hardly provided Arcadio with resources to subsist decently; Not having an army in the Kingdom was an aspect that diminished the market of bows and arrows, since it had never been necessary to have an army to defend the population.
Archimedes was a curious young man who was insatiable and questionable, capable of driving anyone in front of him mad; However, his father valued that restlessness and curiosity of Archimedes and encouraged him to continue doing so. Since he was little he always respected the individuality and talent of his son and invited him to dream of the greatest and infinite things; He stimulated with great love and passion the values and dream capacity of his son, because he did not want him to remain stagnant as it happened to him. Archimedes was an excellent son, since Arcadio always encouraged him to achieve great things in life. Arcadio was sure that his son was called to have a relevant role in the Kingdom, and that sooner rather than later his name would be linked to the great decisions and moments of the region where they lived.
Anguristan was a beautiful valley, surrounded by steep mountains, part of a large mountain system in the region, through which beautiful and noisy streams crossed with numerous waterfalls and waterfalls that made the site a true dream place; However, these mountains, in turn, became guardians of the valley, since access to it was extremely sullen and difficult given the forested and steep character of the place. The people of Anguristan were noble, honest and loyal people and they loved their King Angus III, who lost at a very young age, his wife Amanda, who had a daughter, Almadiana, who at that moment in history was around 7 years old.. Angus III became ill shortly after his wife's death and despite trying to stand firm,his illness showed signs of being irreversible and would sooner or later destroy the life of the King of our history.
Far away from Anguristan there were barbarian peoples, of colonizing stock, who lived their lives submitting to other peoples on the basis of looting, looting and piracy; These conquerors did not give rest to their hegemonic claims and were only out of reach for very distant peoples, whose geography, riddled with forests and mountains made access to them difficult. As long as there were more accessible towns with desirable riches, there was no point in going to those remote places where it was not known what could be achieved.
Archimedes spent a lot of time dreaming. One night when there was a beautiful full moon, when he was just 7 years old, he began to wonder what the moon would be like inside, what would it be like? What would its surface be like? How long would it take to reach it? Who would live there? Archimedes was deep in thought, when suddenly an idea came to mind, what if he could send an arrow from the earth to the moon and tie it with a rope so that this rope would serve to reach it ?. That way you could satiate your curiosity.
He was already walking and walking on the moon, enjoying the beautiful view of the earth; However, reality stood between him and his crazy dream. I will have to learn to handle the bow and arrows, I will have to develop great muscles, which will allow me to have enough strength to send the arrow there, I will have to spend a lot of time practicing with my arrows, in order to get to the moment of sending a arrow that crosses the sky and fits into the moon, Archimedes thought.
Soon Archimedes was invaded by a host of tasks that were necessary to fulfill his dream, however, at no time did he see them as an insurmountable difficulty, but as logical stages that would take him on the path of achieving his goal, total I was young enough for it. Such was his determination that he began to develop a careful mental plan that would allow him to gradually cover each stage of his crazy project.
He already saw himself returning victorious from the moon and being awaited by a crowd that cheered him for the achievement of that wonderful feat. Archimedes was a long way from thinking about the difficulties as an obstacle and from feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the challenge. His determination would allow him to overcome any obstacle and that was what mattered most to him.
When Archimedes asked Arcadio what he intended, he burst out laughing, however, when his son asked him why he was laughing, he said very seriously that he was laughing at himself, because he never had the courage to dream that way, just 7 years old. I almost screwed up, he thought, but thank God his answer did not constitute an obstacle of impossibility for Archimedes, who disenchanted him with his objective.
He decided to go along with it and let fate run its course, not even knowing which strange paths his son would find success and prosperity through. This father's strategy paid off. Knowing that he was supported by him, Archimedes gained the necessary security to carry out the difficult tasks and to stoically endure the ridicule of his companions, who laughed out loud when Archimedes told them that he intended to reach the moon riding a rope tied to an arrow.
For Archimedes it was not easy to bear the ridicule of his companions, who did not waste any opportunity to make fun of his claims. Sometimes they chased him and harassed him with jokes. They cut out cardboard moons and filled them with toy arrows, made fun of songs and shouted things that made him feel like a fool. However, the more they teased him, the more his determination to achieve his goal grew. Although this situation was extremely difficult for any child of his time to bear and bear, it must be recognized that Archimedes was not just any child.
His will and determination made him almost immune to the jokes and jokes of his schoolmates, but he also had the ability to make those who made fun of him end up admiring him, as he became increasingly demanding and meticulous in the tasks he performed for to be able to achieve that vision so distant and apparently unattainable. Many of them began to doubt the impossibility of reaching the moon, product of the conviction that Archimedes showed. Those who listened to him talking about his idea, ended up supporting him and becoming participants in his project. In this way, those who used to make fun of him began to admire and follow him.
Archimedes over time developed a series of strengths and abilities that he never imagined he would possess. With the passage of time, he became increasingly emotionally stronger, as well as a better person, a better leader and a great athlete. Archimedes, became an extraordinary man, physically, mentally and emotionally, capable of acting without caring about the ridicule and criticism of others and with an absolute conviction of what he wanted to achieve. As Archimedes grew and developed, people were absolutely amazed by him; Very soon he became famous as the best mentally and physically gifted young man he had, not only the Kingdom of Anguristan, but the entire region where he was.
When Archimedes began his journey with the support of his father, the first thing he did was ask him to give him a bow and arrows and to teach him how to handle them with skill. Following his wishes, his father dedicated himself to teaching his son, at that young age, the secrets of handling the bow and arrows. Very excited about this, Archimedes spent his free hours during the day, practicing target shooting and at night he pointed his arrows at the moon and tried to get further and further with them.
As he progressed and learned the most advanced techniques exactly, he began to notice some small defects in the bows and arrows he used, so he asked his father to give him the best bow he could build; He knew that practicing with better weapons could go much further and develop better and better skills, getting closer and closer to his vision as an archer.
Night after night Archimedes made the most of the bows he received from his father, and very soon began to detail arrow problems and string defects, unwanted vibrations, etc. As Archimedes grew and practiced, he developed a great muscular strength, as well as a great sensitivity and a great demand in the handling of the weapon.
Each time he asked his father to correct new problems, to improve the wood of his bows, the quality of the strings, the shape of the weapon, or to refine the technique in making arrows, and so on; This made his father more and more committed to the quality of the manufacture, the quality of the material, the quality of the design, etc. Thus began a race between father and son that made the final product significantly improve every day.
By the time he was fourteen, his father had already achieved the reputation of being the best manufacturer of bows and arrows in the entire region and its surroundings; Very soon clients began to arrive from different places, attracted by the quality of the arches of Arcadio, a quality that was fundamentally due to the level of demand of Archimedes and the dedication that as a father he had had to help his son achieve his vision.
At the age of fifteen, Archimedes already had an entire army of young admirers who, following in his footsteps, decided to begin to share his vision of sending an arrow to the moon and accompanying him on his walk through it. He was no longer just a crazy dreamer, but little by little he became a great leader capable of making others share his vision with him, without feeling ridiculous for doing so. It was incredible the number of young people who followed him and the admiration they felt for Archimedes. Soon the entire generation of Archimedes in the Kingdom of Anguristan was under his powerful influence and aligned with his mad vision of reaching the moon.
Archimedes paid much attention to the ideas and suggestions made by his adventure companions. Every key aspect that was pointed out by them was immediately incorporated into the needs of the group. Archimedes learned to listen because he was sure that it was impossible for him to complete the difficult task alone. By the time Archimedes was sixteen, Arcadio had already become the richest man in the region and the most famous and sought-after bowmaker for more than a hundred kilometers.
The business had grown in a brutal way, promoted by the requirement of the archer who wanted to shoot the moon. Archimedes himself must then have learned even more about his father's trade and contributed directly to the development of the family business. Behind him came a whole host of young supporters who wanted to learn from the direct experience of handling and manufacturing the weapons.
Archimedes, on the other hand, had developed an enormous force and was a legendary archer at such a young age. His fame ran through the villages and everyone talked about him. It could be said that everyone hoped that the time would soon come to send an arrow to the moon. His companions also developed exemplary musculature and enormous strength to carry arrows as far as possible.
By the time Archimedes was eighteen, the old King Angus III was already very ill and the rumors of possible attacks by the barbarian peoples were growing stronger, this news generated great anguish and much turbulence in the Kingdom. The concern of the population of Anguristan and of all the neighboring kingdoms was growing more and more, which began to produce some chaos in the daily life of the population.
If the barbarians attacked, they would find themselves with a defenseless population that seemed unable to react to their attacks; but King Angus the Third forged an idea in his mind and was not going to make it so easy for the barbarians to take control of their people. That is why one day Archimedes received a message from the King, he wanted to meet him as soon as possible. Without thinking twice, Archimedes went to visit him and found him prostrate in his sickbed.
The King asked him how his plans were regarding his trip to the moon and almost immediately he was asking him what would happen if the barbarian invaders came to take the peaceful towns of the region. Archimedes was concerned about such a prospect and asked his King how he might help. After all, the fate of his people was at the same time his own fate.
Very calmly, sitting up a little in bed, King Angus III called his daughter Almadiana. When Archimedes saw her enter he was immediately captivated by her. She was the most beautiful young man he had ever met. He had seen her briefly on several occasions and had found her extremely beautiful, but now that he had her in front of him, he was materially speechless.
The King, seeing the bewilderment of Archimedes, asked him what he thought of his daughter, to which he sincerely expressed his admiration for the young woman. She repaid Archimedes' comment by saying that she also admired him very much for having become what he was and for the great effort he had made throughout his life to do so. At that time, the King told Archimedes, that since the only army that existed in the region was the one that made up his followers, to take over the Kingdom's army.
Archimedes agreed, but he took the opportunity to ask the King if he agreed that he could visit Almadiana, with a view to marrying if they were compatible. Almadiana excitedly looked at her father and he with a nod, gave him the guideline to accept Archimedes' proposal.
In this situation, the King asked Archimedes that in case he married his daughter, then he should also take over the state and prepare to succeed him on the throne, (since the King had no male children or brothers) and of that way would defend the Kingdom from the invasions that were seen to come on the horizon, by the barbarians.
Of course, Archimedes was speechless at such a proposal, but seeing Almadiana's beautiful accomplice smile, he immediately accepted and, very soon he was already marrying her and directing the destinies of his nation, being the protagonist of the most spectacular success story ever told in the region.
It is worth saying that, thanks to Archimedes' dream, his father became the richest and most prosperous man in the region, he became the most skillful and strong man in his region and a great leader who later became King, he married the most beautiful young woman and also became the great General of his own army.
Perhaps Archimedes did not shoot the moon and did not reach it, but his vision was the great engine that propelled his life along the path through which he achieved his success and by which he literally dragged his own (his father, his followers and later his kingdom). We do not believe that the fact of not reaching with your arrow to the moon, has bothered or frustrated our hero in any way.
If Archimedes had seen his vision as a simple goal, he would have felt that everything would have been a thunderous failure, but seen as the inspirational beacon of his life, this vision allowed him to enjoy wonderful results.
To close this story, we can say that when the barbarians found out that they would have to face the best-prepared army in the region and that they also used the best bows ever made, they gave up on the idea of invading them for the time being and Anguristan was able to continue living in peace for a few more years. However, Archimedes still continues to shoot arrows at the moon and his followers continue to accompany him in this endless task.
We invite you now to read the second part of this book and to learn about the fourteen morals or deep learning that comes from this magnificent story, which can help you, your associates and your organization, to achieve the desired success at all levels, starting of his deepest desires, which are born from those wonderful dreams that seek to project us into the future, understanding that without dreams there is no vision, without vision there are no objectives and without objectives there will never be success.
"The good Archer has a point of resemblance to the Sage: when his arrow does not reach the middle of the target, he looks for the cause in himself, without accusing anyone…" Confucius.
