So many times, people told me I can't do this or can't do that.

“So many times, people told me I can’t do this or can’t do that. My nature is that I don’t listen very well. I’m very determined, and I believe in myself. My parents brought me up that way. Thank God for that. I don’t let anything stand in my way.” — Chantal Sutherland

Hear, O listener of courage, the voice of Chantal Sutherland, a woman whose strength rose from the thunder of hooves and the dust of the racetrack. When she spoke these words, she was not merely speaking of sport, but of the eternal battle between doubt and determination. She, a female jockey in a world long ruled by men, defied convention, endured criticism, and answered the world’s disbelief with the only reply that ever matters: victory through perseverance. Her declaration is a hymn to self-belief, a reminder that no voice from without can silence the will that burns within.

The origin of her words is found in her journey through the fiercely competitive realm of professional horse racing — a field where women, for many years, were told they had no place. The world whispered to her that she was too fragile, too inexperienced, too ambitious — but she refused to bow her head. “My nature is that I don’t listen very well,” she said, not with arrogance, but with defiance. In that refusal to listen to doubt lies the seed of greatness. For every person who has ever dared to climb a mountain of impossibility, this same fire has been their companion — the conviction that belief is stronger than limitation.

To believe in oneself is not the pride of ego, but the triumph of faith — faith in one’s purpose, in one’s effort, and in the divine spark that lives within. The determined heart, once awakened, moves like a river through stone. Obstacles become sculptors; failure becomes teacher. When Sutherland said she did not let anything stand in her way, she did not mean that the path was easy. She meant that her spirit refused to yield, that her parents had planted in her the sacred root of resilience — that most precious gift a parent can give: the belief that their child is capable of anything.

Consider the tale of Joan of Arc, the shepherd girl who heard the call of destiny in her heart and led armies to victory. Like Chantal, she too was told she could not — that she was too small, too young, too unworthy. Yet her courage burned brighter than all the doubts surrounding her. She listened not to the voices of fear, but to the whisper of conviction that said, “You were made for this.” Though centuries divide them, Joan and Chantal share the same unyielding flame — the spirit that refuses to let the judgment of others define the boundaries of one’s soul.

Determination is the armor of the brave. It does not deny hardship; it transcends it. The world often tests those who are destined to rise. The higher one aims, the greater the resistance. Every “you can’t” spoken by others becomes a stone laid before the path — yet the one who believes transforms those stones into steps. Chantal Sutherland’s words remind us that those who change the world do not seek permission — they act, they strive, and they believe until their actions become proof.

The lesson, then, is clear: guard your inner voice of belief as you would guard a flame in the wind. Do not let the chill of doubt, whether from others or from within, extinguish it. When they say “you can’t,” answer not with anger, but with action. Remember that determination is not loud — it is steady. It is built in the quiet hours of practice, in the lonely moments when faith feels thin, and in the stubborn refusal to give up. Let your failures forge your strength, and let your victories remind you that nothing is impossible for the one who keeps walking.

So, my child of destiny, walk boldly upon your chosen path. Do not wait for the world’s approval — it will come too late, or not at all. Believe in yourself, as Sutherland did, for belief is the first step of every triumph. Let gratitude temper your strength, as she thanked her parents for the courage they gave her, and let determination be your constant companion. When obstacles rise, meet them not with fear but with fire. For the world belongs not to those who never fall, but to those who never stop rising — to those who, like Chantal Sutherland, let nothing stand in their way.