The Defining Moment of Mother Teresa’s Heroic Life [Excerpt]

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Excerpt: Mother Teresa wasn’t born to heroism. She became a hero because of her heroic choices… which all began when she met a dying woman…

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The following is an excerpt from Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins. 

In it, Tony explains one of the defining moments in Mother Teresa’s life that led her to become the warm, selfless, compassionate woman we remember her to be today.

I’ll turn it over to Tony to lay out the details. I hope this finds you well.  Enjoy. 

Enter Tony Robbins:

Many people look at a person like Mother Teresa and assume that she was born to heroism.

They claim that she’s just an incredibly spiritual woman and that she’s always been set apart by her commitment and selfless contribution to the poor.

While it is true that she is a woman of extraordinary courage and compassion, it is also true that Mother Teresa had some crucial moments that defined her role as one of the great contributors of our time.

Mother Teresa did not set out to help the poor.

In fact, for over twenty years she taught the wealthiest children in Calcutta, India.

Every day she overlooked the impoverished slums that surrounded the well-to-do neighborhood in which she worked, never venturing outside her tiny sphere of influence.

One night, as she was walking down the street, she heard a woman crying out for help. It was in the moment that this dying woman fell into her arms that Mother Teresa’s life changed forever.

Realizing the seriousness of the woman’s condition, Mother rushed her to the hospital, where she was told to sit and wait.

She knew the woman would die without immediate attention, so she took her to another hospital.

Again, she was told to wait; the woman’s social caste made her less important than the others being treated.

Finally, in desperation, Mother Teresa took the woman home.

Later that night, she died in the comfort of Mother Teresa’s loving arms.

Mother Teresa’s “defining moment” had transpired: the moment when she decided that this would never happen again to anyone within her reach.

From that moment on she decided that she would devote her life to easing the pain of those who suffered around her and that, whether they lived or died, they would do so with dignity.

She would personally do everything in her power to see that they would be treated better than they had ever been treated their entire lives, with the love and respect that all people deserve.

So many people want to avoid any hint of a problem or challenge, yet surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character.

Many people don’t discover their heroic nature until a major difficulty or life-threatening situation occurs and they must rise to the occasion because there is no other choice.

The next time you find yourself in a tough spot, decide to make a difference in that situation and take action, no matter how small it seems at the time.

Who knows what consequences you will set in motion?

Identify yourself as a hero so that you can act as one.

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Read Next: 28 Powerful Hero Quotes — For The Everyday Heroes In Your Life and For The Hero Inside You

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If you enjoyed this excerpt on Mother Teresa’s Life then you’ll probably enjoy reading Tony Robbin’s full book. It comes highly recommended: