Climbing Out Onto A Limb by Ace Collins

Branch Rickey was a man who, in the face of failure, continued to take chances time and time again. He was in his eighties still looking toward the future, when he took the stage in Columbia, Missouri and gave his final speech. That night he told the audience that the only people who impacted the world were those who constantly climbed out onto limbs.

Rickey felt his calling was the game of baseball; yet he failed miserably as a player and manager. For three decades he hung on by sheer will, guts and faith. In the 1930s, he finally found success as a general manager with the St. Louis Cardinals, but it did not satisfy him. His driving motivation was to open major league baseball’s door to African-Americans. He waited impatiently to make that move and, when he did, he was not viewed as a hero, but became one of the most reviled men in the country. So why, as a senior citizen, did he do what others would not? It all goes back to climbing out on that limb.

As a kid I loved to climb trees. Maybe you did too. But most adults not only quit climbing trees; they quit venturing out onto limbs. Many, if not most, see taking any kind of chance as being just a continuation of the immature nature of youth. I wonder if this kind of thinking also causes them to quit dreaming. Because making dreams into a reality involves more than just planning and hard work, it also takes climbing out onto a limb that might just break and toss you out onto the hard ground.

I will likely never impact the world like Branch Rickey did. But much like the man who shattered baseball’s color line, I believe the best is yet to come and I have a part in somehow making it happen. I don’t see age, past failures, an evolving world or a file drawer filled with rejections as a reason not to keep climbing out onto limbs. Even as I hit my sixtieth birthday, I am excited about all that life has to offer to me if I am willing to keep climbing my life’s trees and falling out of a few too.

Branch Rickey fully understood that failure is a momentary thing, but giving up dreaming is like giving up on life. So today might just be the day you need to quit settling and start dreaming again. Embrace once more the need to make something happen, to find a calling and to maybe even suffer a failure or two. It will all be worth it if this move allows you to once more discover a child’s curiosity and optimism, two things Branch Rickey held onto until the day he died.

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The only people who impacted the world were those who constantly climbed out onto limbs. Click to Tweet
Making dreams into a reality involves climbing out onto a limb that might just break. Click to Tweet

Failure is a momentary thing, but giving up dreaming is like giving up on life. Click to Tweet

Citing his Arkansas heritage, Ace Collins defines himself as a storyteller. In that capacity, Ace Collins has authored more than sixty books for 25 different publishers that have sold more than 2.5 million copies. His catalog includes novels, biographies, as well as books on history, culture and faith. His first devotional book, Music For Your Heart,was just released and has earned numerous five star reviews and his new novel, The Cutting Edge, blends suspense, romance and intrigue in a tale of survival and victory. This summer Ace’s novel from Abingdon, Darkness Before Dawn, made the most inspiring book list on iTunes in July and Hope For Women’s “Top Five Summer Reads.”
The Cutting Edge
A value oriented novel of survival, discovery and romance with a large dose Hitchcock style suspense tossed in.

Leslie Rhoads may have grown up in a small town, but is on the verge of becoming a supermodel in the Big Apple, when the 24-year-old is chosen to grace the cover of Style magazine and star in the controversial Passion Nights’ perfume ads. But before she can step into the spotlight, Leslie is assaulted by a drug gang and disfigured with a broken scotch bottle. Without her perfect face, she is lost and no amount of surgery can ever make her what she once was. Now trying to hide her face from the world, Leslie encounters more trouble as she seeks to rebuild her life: unrequited love, thoughts of suicide, and her assailant out to finish the job. Little does she know that a young girl named Angel will turn it all around, showing Leslie the joy and potential in life and the fact that love truly is blind.

Music For Your Heart
Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for days? Something about its tune or lyrics impacts us and holds our attention. Why? How did the song come to be? Why was it written? And what does the song really mean? In Music for Your Heart, best-selling and award-winning author Ace Collins takes you behind the scenes of your favorite songs to show how the lyrics and music began. Through insider stories, artist bios, and inspiration from Scripture, Collins weaves stirring reflections on our adored and popular classics. Whether the featured song is a holiday carol, children’s worship tune, or love song, each short chapter will inspire curious music enthusiasts as well as those seeking a book for a devotional meditation. Digging deep into the words and history of the music, these uplifting and informative reflections will warm the heart—like the songs themselves.

Lessons Taught by Sammy by Ace Collins

The Bible says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV). As writers, we never know how we'll be inspired. We could even been inspired by a blind collie! The following is the inspiring story of award-winning author, Ace Collins, and the lessons he learned from his dog, Sammy. ~ Angie

Ten months into our adopting a collie that was born blind, I am amazed at my growth as a person. Note I didn’t say Sammy’s growth, I wrote MY growth. Sammy is happy, laid back and completely adjusted. In fact, that process took just a few weeks. Yet, as I look back on the time he has been in our home, I am most amazed at how I have changed. As I admitted in an earlier essay, going into this I was scared. I didn’t know if I could really handle the challenges of having a blind dog in our two-story house. In the weeks leading up to adopting him, I very much doubted my abilities to give Sammy what he needed. Now I wonder why I was ever nervous. Sammy has been as easy to deal with as any pet we have ever owned. I often go days without even consciously considering his blindness. But learning to accept Sammy as just another dog is not the very important lesson this remarkable collie has taught me. I would have never predicted this, but Sammy’s greatest lesson has come in changing my view of people!

Because of Sammy, I treat people with handicaps much differently that I once did. As I have learned to not put limits on Sammy, I have come to realize I should never limit the potential of people either. Thanks to Sammy, I fully recognize that people who are blind, deaf, in a wheelchair or supposedly limited in a myriad of other ways have the potential to enjoy life just as deeply and with just as much passion as I do. They don’t want or need me to feel sorry for them; they want me to accept them. In fact, most wish to be given the independence to reach beyond what others see as their potential.

Sammy has taught me not to limit others. He has taught me to accept those who are different. He has caused me to find wisdom, hope and promise when in the past I would have felt only compassion. Thanks to this amazing dog, I now seek out those who are different and learn great lessons in coping from them.

If you don’t want to see the potential of a special needs human then never adopt a special needs pet. Once that dog or cat shows you their potential, you will find your heart opening to accept and love people you might have avoided in the past. And once you get to know these people, you will come to realize that by changing your view of them they have also changed your view of the world. I think I knew this wonderful truth before we adopted Sammy, but having him in our home reminds me of that wonderful and hopeful message every day of my life. Yep, I really owe this dog, he is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had!

Ace Collins lives to write! This is proven by the more than sixty titles he has created in the past two and half decades. Ace’s latest, Reich of Passage, from Bay Forest hit selves in April, has garnered incredible reviews and is already being considered for the big screen. His current novel from Zondervan, Jefferson Burke and the Secret of the Scroll, went into its second printing five days after release and is optioned for film. Ace has four more novels scheduled for release in 2011 and 2012. Three of those are with Abingdon Press and another is for Barbour. Both The Christmas Star and The Yellow Packard were released this month.

About The Yellow Packard
Buckle up for intrigue and adventure in scenic Depression-era America. George Hall, a draftsman, buys a 1936 Packard sedan from the estate of spinster Abigale Watling in Oakwood, Illinois. At first, the car brings George, his wife Jean, and their daughter Rose an unexpected boon. But tragedy follows when Rose is kidnapped. The auto then comes into the possession of salesman William Landers, FBI agent Helen Meeker, and serviceman James Coffman's family. As clues to the kidnapping caper come to light, more than one life is in jeopardy. Will Agent Meeker catch the culprit before it's too late? View The Yellow Packard trailer here.

Connect with Ace on his website or Facebook.