Synerflex Success Moments

A friend of mine sent me this video and it is about two dancers. And, they have just won the Silver medal out of 7000 competitors in China. You may ask what is so special about just winning the silver medal, right?

Now, I want to read their story as highlighted by CCTV channel in China before I show you the video of their dance. This is a MUST READ story and I guarantee you that they are definitely not what the ordinary dancers.

Here’s their story:
“The girl (Ma, Li) was a beautiful promising professional ballerina when she lost her right arm in a car accident in 1996. She was only 19. Her handsome boy friend walked away from her. She tried to kill herself only to be saved by her parents. Her love for her parents gave her the strength to live. She learned how to live her life independently.

She learned how to write Chinese beautifully and how to do many things including combing her hair, which she had to cut short from the waist-length to shoulder-length. She learned to cook and to wash clothes … In a few months she opened her small bookstore.

Five years later in 2001, she was invited to compete at the 5th national special performing art competition for handicaps and won the gold medal. That success gave her the hope to return to her beloved stage.
In 2002, a handsome 20-year-old young man (Li, Tao) madly fell in love with her. She ran a way from him for fear of being hurt again.

After she disappeared in Beijing, Tao searched her up and down despite his parents’ strong objection and ridicule. He finally found her dancing in a bar. They have never been separated since.

They were very broke when SARS was spreading because all theaters were closed. In 2004, he got a license to be her legitimate agent and was trying to help her develop a unique performance. In a cold snowy night, when the two huddled in an underpass to wait for the sunrise in order to catch a bus after a long day at a movie shooting site working as extras, she suddenly had the urge to dance in the snow with him. She had used her dance to tell him her story so many times before and this time, after their “dance” ended, he suddenly realized that THIS should be her unique performance.

In September 2005, she ran into a 21-year-old young man (Zhai, Xiaowei). He was being trained to be a cyclist for the national special olympics. He had never danced before.

He climbed on a tractor when he was 4 years old and fell off it and lost his left leg. His dad asked him, “The doctor will have to amputate your leg. Are you afraid?” He couldn’t comprehend what would be so different so he said no. His dad said, “You are going to face many challenges and difficulties in life, are you afraid?”
He asked, “What are ‘challenges and difficulties?’ Do they taste good?” His dad laughed with tears, “Yes, they’re like your favorite candies. You just need to eat them one piece at a time!” (Then his dad ran out of the room in tears.)

So he’s always very optimistic and athletic with a great sense of humor. He had tried high-jump, long-jump, diving, swimming, and just settled on cycling. His coach believed that he would be able to get 2-3 gold medals in the national special Olympics games. (In the video interview, you can see him doing a bridge with great ease!)

He initially didn’t understand how he could “dance,” so Li invited him to see her performing “Hand in Hand” with another male actor. He felt that he saw a perfect soul dancing on the stage and agreed to give it a try.
Li & Tao treated him like their younger brother and they stayed under the same roof during the more than 1 year of intensive training and practice. One would not be able to imagine the kind of challenges and difficulties they faced. He had NO dancing background and she is a perfectionist. There are so many touching stories.
Much determination has gone into the making of this performance. Just for that one “drop” move at 3:41 of the clip, he landed her on the hard floor more than 1000 times!!! To get the move right, they started at 8 a.m. and got the first successful move shortly after 8 pm!

All they did was to train and to practice from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. day-in and day-out until the three of them ran out of money in early 2007 …

The rest is history. In April they were one of the finalists among 7000 competitors in the 4th CCTV national dance competition. It is the first time a handicapped couple ever entered the competition. They won the Silver medal with the 99.17 high score and not to mention the highest audience popular votes. They became an instant national hit.

—————-

http://cctv.com

http://english.cctv.com”

Now, do you agree that they are not the ordinary dancer? To me, they are indeed a pair of extra-ordinary dancer. Now watch their dance video here…

I hope their story does inspire you. When you think about it, when we have all the hands, legs, and almost everything but we always feel we lack of something to be successful. If you think about it, how can a dancer without arm partner with another dancer without leg (double whammy) be successful? To normal people, they are bound for failure. But, even with double the problems or challenges, they are able to excel.

But, it doesn’t mean that everything is a bed of roses for them. Look at the time they put in to learn and practice. They are willing to put in all their heart and soul and just to make what they do a success. What I learn from them is that if we really want to achieve something, don’t TRY but really put in all our heart and soul to make them come true.

In the next few days, it is the Chinese New Year again and it is a time of thanksgiving again and we should appreciate with what we have and start utilize the talents, skills, knowledge, etc that we have to make our goals come true rather than complaint of what we are lacking. So, take this opportunity to think again what you can do to make this world a better place to live in and in Personal Kaizen, we call this the hansei time. Don’t just be busy, busy, busy in this Chinese New Year. Remember to stop and think for your success.

Finally, I would like to wish those who celebrate Chinese New year a Happy and Blessed New Year and don’t let any obstacles stop us from succeeding like these two dancers.

By the way, if you want to watch their touching interviews (it is in Chinese) below are the videos. And, don’t forget to give us your comments on what you learn from them.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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