Larry Carter, president of Great Lakes Christian College, tells the following true story:

I remember when I was a kid, some 40 years ago, playing on a Little League baseball team.

One of the things our coach did was host a picnic for the team at the beginning of the season. After we ate hot dogs and burgers, he sat us down for a pep talk. He asked, "How many of you have a dream to one day play in the Major Leagues?" Almost every hand shot up. Every kid with his hand up believed he could do it. You could see it in their eyes. He then told us, "If that is to happen —that dream begins now!"

I was so inspired by that challenge—all of us were —that we practiced and played hard and we went undefeated for the next few years. All-Star teams from other leagues would play us and lose!

Some 25 years later I became a Little League coach. I brought all the kids together at the beginning of the season to give them a pep talk—the same one my coach had given me. I asked my team the same question, "How many of you have a dream to one day play in the Major Leagues?" Not one hand was raised. Not one kid believed he could do it. You could see it in their eyes. I was speechless.

The rest of my talk was meaningless, so I said, "Really? Nobody? Well, go get your gloves and let’s throw." I thought about that day for a long time. What had happened in the 25 years since I was a kid? What had come into their lives to steal their dreams? What had convinced them they would never be more than what they were?