On my way to work one morning, I met Rudy Ruettiger, who is now a motivational speaker. He has grown up in Joliet, listening to stories about Notre Dame and dreaming of one day playing football there. Friends told him he wasn’t a good enough student to be admitted. So he gave up his dream and went to work in a power plant.
Then a friend is killed in an accident at work. Shocked, Rudy suddenly realized that life is too short not to pursue your dreams.
In 1972, at the age of 23, he enrolled at Holy Cross Junior College in South Bend, Ind. He got good enough grades to transfer to Notre Dame, where he finally made the football team as a member of the “scout team”, the players who help the team prepare for games.
Rudy was living his dream, almost. But he wasn’t allowed to suit up for the games themselves. The next year, after Rudy requested it, the coach told Rudy he could put on his uniform for the season’s final game. And there he sat, on the Notre Dame bench during the game. A student started shouting, “ We want Rudy！” soon others joined in. Finally, at the age of 27, with 27 seconds left to play, Rudy Ruettiger was sent onto the field and made the final tackle (拦截). So his team won the game.
When I met Rudy 17 year later, it was in the parking lot outside Notre Dame stadium (体育场)， where a camera crew was filming scenes for Rudy, a motion picture about his life. His story illustrate that there is no limit to where your dreams can take you pursue our vision with stubborn (顽强的) consistency. The biggest difference between people who succeed and those who don’t is not usually talent but persistence.
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