What is it like to have everyone tell you you're not good enough?

 

I went to see the movie Maiden with my twins. The young women who every day have mail that cheers them on.

 

"You are smart! We want you! Come to our college!"

 

Tracy Edwards was a woman who longed to participate in the world's longest yacht race, the Whitbread. Yet the dismissive attitudes of everyone around her made the process of finding a boat, and gathering a team incredibly hard. Money was abundant for male crews, but after years of asking, Tracy was still without funding. Finally the King of Jordan, whom she had once had a chance encounter with, agreed to support the venture. He believed in an all female crew. 

 

These twelve women spent thousands of hours refurbishing a yacht, and researching plans. Virtually everyone still mocked them, and refused to take them seriously. But the Maiden, as their boat was christened, was ready with the others when the starting gun exploded. 

 

The Whitbread happens in segments, and between each one there is time to rest, and regroup. Each leg offers a chance to place, and to celebrate. The Maiden did not win the first leg, but she did finish which was more than most of her critics predicted. The second stretch took them across the South Pole, which is a perilous stretch of water. Tracy chose to go almost directly across the pole which magnified the danger, lowered the temperatures, multiplied the ice, and lessened the distance. Astonishingly, the Maiden came in ahead of the others. This sent shock waves through the sailing world, and boosted the spirits of the crew. The next segment was shorter, but technically more difficult. Again the Maiden came in first. 

 

It surprised me that the final leg brought them to a point of near depression. Having accomplished what no one believed was feasible, they were not going to be first. They seemed to hold winning as the only thing that mattered. As they neared land, one by one small boats came along side them, which seemed odd. Then more boats, and more. Tracy did not understand. Gradually they noticed that their families were on board, and everyone was cheering wildly. The skipper of the boat that actually did win spoke afterwards. 

 

"We saw thousands of people lining the docks as we arrived. But they were not there to see us."

 

It would be presumptuous of me to draw conclusions about the events leading up to the Maiden's accomplishments. And yet I'm curious. Is it possible that the gargantuan effort required to even enter the Whitbread had something to do with their dogged stamina along the way? Looking back, would Tracy have wished that sponsors had appeared more easily? Did she want to erase the demeaning predictions of the pundits? Or did that negativity actually sweeten the prize? 

 

I don't know. But it does make me wonder if there are things more precious that winning. Is it possible that crossing the finish line first could have been a smoke screen for victories more enduring than a trophy?