My mother introduced me to books at a very young age. She created a mini library in my room and filled it with random books. I don’t know where she got most of them, but it was a life-changing experience for me.
At first, it was tough to accept reading the books. She made me read when all I wanted was to play football. It was not that exciting for me. She made a deal with me. If I spent thirty minutes after school reading any book, she would let me go and play football until late at night. We immediately had a deal.
The first book I read from the mini library was a collection of short stories about frogs. And the first story happened to be the most profound one. The author titled the story “The Deaf Frog on Top of a Big Tree.”
Let me share that story. We can all head to my mini library. There are candles lighting two corners, no table, and an old couch by the bed.
Once there lived a frog in a community that had no trees. This frog loved climbing trees, but frogs in their community did not. In the beginning, he was afraid of what other frogs would say about his dreams, so he talked himself out of trying.
The dream never faded. After years of hiding it, his excitement took over. So, he decided to climb a tree anyway. Thus, he went to the jungle to make his dream come true.
But when the other frogs saw him going to the jungle, they followed him too. They were worried because the jungle was dangerous. Frogs were not allowed to go there alone. He was so excited to follow his dreams that the other frogs couldn’t match his speed; he left them far behind.
Once he got to the jungle, he jumped into the branches of the biggest tree he saw. He fell down many times. He got injured, but he persisted. After a few hours, he managed to reach the first branch of the biggest tree.
Excited and celebrating, he saw the other frogs coming from afar. He rested on that branch and waited for them, hoping that they would come along to follow the dream. Once the other frogs came down the big tree and saw him up, they felt traumatized .
Many frogs have never dreamt of that. Few who have dreamt and tried of that failed miserably. Some of them got injured, others died from the fall, and snakes and crows attacked the rest. They shouted and jumped in worry to urge their dear friend to come down and stop the silly dream.
This caught our frog’s attention and he looked down to see all these other frogs jumping. That made the frog more excited and energized to keep on climbing. He forgot about all the failing and injuries. He gathered all the strength in him and kept on jumping for more branches higher.
Every time he reached a new branch, the frog below panicked. It shouted and jumped even more than before. But by now, the frog was so sure of their support that he kept climbing the tree like a pro. Each new branch, they shouted ‘you can’t do it, come back down’; he kept on going up.
When he reached the top of the tree and achieved his dream, the frogs below felt ashamed of their doubts and went quiet. But they started shouting and jumping again, but this was to appreciate what the frog had achieved!
Now they were waiting for the frog to come down and tell them how he did it so they could try too. They screamed and shouted to beg him to come down, but he never responded. A few hours later, her mother came around and heard about what her son had done. They asked her, “Why isn’t he listening to us to come down and share his success story?”
His mother smiled and said, “My son is deaf; he can’t hear anything. When you jumped and shouted to stop him from coming down, he thought you were cheering him on to keep climbing.”
When I read that story, it touched and motivated me. I almost immediately wanted to go out and climb the trees. Below the story, there was a moral and lesson from the story, and it said:
If you have a dream and a purpose, and you believe in yourself, then you will need to have a deaf ear to most people. Most people will try to stop you from pursuing your dreams. They may not share your vision, fear the effort needed, or have failed when they tried.
In life, you will either recognise something that you can do deep down, or you will feel pushed to do it. You get a sense of purpose that only you can understand. It can be to be a leader, to start a company, to follow your talents, or to live a certain way.
And the process will discourage you at all stages. They will tell you that it is impossible for someone with your background to be a leader. They will tell you how hard it is to start a business and succeed. They will inform you that your talent is not enough to reach the top. They will share stories and examples of all who tried and failed.
You will have two options: to listen to them and stop pursuing your purpose and dream. Or be strong and have a deaf ear to pursue it anyway. If you do that for a long time, you have a chance of reaching the top of the tree. And the same people will cheer you on, wait for you to come back to them, and tell them how you did it.
If that frog heard what they said on the first branch, he would not have tried to go to the top. If you listen to them when you start, you will never make the effort to go for your dreams. And most of the time, the people you care about will be in the front seat discouraging you. You still have to be strong.
I shared that story with my mother and told her she is lucky football has never been my dream. I have always wanted to study hard and go into business. No one is going to stop me from that. She was happy that I minimised playing football and focused on my studies. We never had arguments again about football and studies.
Many years later, she was not happy when I said I was quitting my job to focus on my dream of building a business. She told me all the risks, challenges, and sad stories of all who have tried and failed. I reminded her of the book and the story about the deaf frog. She smiled and hugged me.
So if you are going to climb a tree that no one has ever climbed, you must accept that others will discourage and doubt you. Some of them will be your closest people.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free from suffering.
May you find peace and joy.
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Rogers Katuma
Financial Artist, Senior Adventurer, Occasional Storyteller, and Amateur Golfer
