Against All Odds: My Story (36 page)

I nearly gagged right there on the tarmac! The stuff was awful! I later discovered that the drink was comprised of warm horse milk mixed with butter and salt.

Welcome to Kalmykia!

Our hosts were anxious to show us their culture and how the Mongolians lived during the 1800s, so we viewed their makeshift tents once used for housing, their pig-roasting pits, and various historical displays. It was sort of the Mongolian version of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.

At the close of our tour, we went to an archery range where some of the Kalmykia sharpshooters were practicing. One of the local experts brought over a bow and arrow to me, nodding toward the target. I didn't understand the language, but it was plain to see that he wanted me to try my luck at shooting the bow and arrow.

I pulled on the bowstring and immediately realized that this was no toy. It was strung tightly, and it took a lot of strength simply to pull back the bow.

Oh, no!
I thought.
This is going to be really interesting or really embarrassing.

I was about fifty feet away from the target. I pulled back the bow, aimed as best I could, and let the arrow fly. The arrow streaked through the air almost as though it were on a wire, and smack! It struck the bull's-eye, dead center, right in the middle of the target! It was as though an angel had delivered that shot!

I wish I'd been composed enough to act nonchalantly about the perfect shot, but I was as surprised as anyone. My mouth dropped wide open in amazement.

“Carlos! You did it!” Gena crowed behind me. “You hit the bull's-eye!”

“Yeah, I know. I hope they don't ask me to do it again!”

The dictator's mouth was agape, as well. He rushed over to me, clasped my hands with his, and raised our arms together high in the air in front of the target, clearly showing the arrow in the center, while his staff photographers snapped dozens of pictures.

Later the dictator took us on a tour of the town. We noticed as we went around the community that there were large banners bearing the dictator's picture, as well as other leaders including the pope and several presidents.

Gena whispered under her breath, “The next time we come back here, there will probably be a picture of you and the dictator up on one of those walls, with that arrow in the center of that bull's-eye!”

Our many travels have prepared and conditioned us for what I believe will be an important step in the life of my family and me.

After the wrapping of
Walker
, and the birth of our babies, I began to look at my life and say, “OK, what do you really want to do at this stage of your life?” As odd as it may sound to some, when the twins are a little older, we as a family hope to serve God and help other people by doing missionary work.

One night Gena and I were invited to appear on a television talk show along with some friends of ours. A special guest on the program that night was Larry Jones, head of Feed the Children, a worldwide relief organization based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We'd never met Larry before, but Gena and I had seen Larry's programs on television for years, often depicting tragic human need and asking people to respond. Far from a fly-by-night swindler bilking the public, playing upon the compassion of viewers, Larry Jones and his organization have been working for more than thirty years in some of the most difficult situations and most impoverished spots in the world, such as Calcutta, Ethiopia, Mogadishu, Bosnia, and others. They've worked with indefatigable effort, under the worst of conditions, alleviating as much pain and sorrow as possible by feeding the hungry.

As I listened to Larry tell story after story of horrendous human suffering in the world, coupled with incredibly simple, doable opportunities to help, I was inspired by his passion and impressed with his sincerity and his humility. Gena and I fell in love with the man's heart. It seemed that he didn't have a selfish bone in his body, that his entire purpose for living was to help others who are hurting. Besides providing food, clothing, and medicine for children in troubled spots around the world, Larry's organization also provided a helping hand for impoverished people in America.

Although I'd never lived in squalor, I could relate to living in poverty, recalling the tough circumstances in which my mom lived and how hard she worked to keep food on the table for my brothers and me. I knew what it felt like to have no hope and how the good folks from the Calvary Baptist Church had helped Mom when nobody else would or could.

After the show I said to Gena, “Now that's the type of work I would like our family to get involved in.”

Gena didn't flinch. “I would love our children to be a part of something like that.”

We began pursuing short-term missions opportunities, in which we could serve God and other people. We already have a compassion for kids and have been doing all we can through KICKSTART, our own organization, working with kids in the schools. Working with other mission groups will simply be an expansion of what we are already doing.

Gena has become an integral part of my entire life, including my children, my family relationships, adopting my family history as her own. Our relationships with our children are stronger now than they've ever been. We believe that God has good things in store for each of them.

Over the last two decades, I've spoken on a volunteer basis to thousands of underprivileged youngsters. The most common question they ask me is, “Mr. Norris, what is the secret to your success?”

I respond by saying there is no secret. I explain that there are two distinct paths we can follow in life—a positive path or a negative one. On the positive path you don't wait for things to happen; you make them happen by setting goals and working hard to achieve them, no matter how long it takes.

On the negative path you feel like you can never accomplish anything, and that nothing good will ever come your way. If you say to yourself, “I can't do this or that,”
can't
becomes the operative word in your mind and results in a self-fulfilling failure. The person who says, “I
can
,” has already started on the path toward success.

You must be positive about everything you do; otherwise it is easy to become affected by negative thinking. Like it or not, we are surrounded by negative attitudes, words, and thoughts. All you need to do is listen to the people around you. There will always be someone who tells you that you can't achieve something you want because you are not big enough or smart enough, or your skin is not the right color, or your religion is the wrong one, or you are not qualified enough, or you are overqualified. People who tell you these things are frequently not successful themselves.

When I decided to get into films, I was told repeatedly that action films were on the decline; no one was interested in me as an actor because everyone considered me an athlete who had no acting experience. Beyond that, I was thirty-six years of age when I made the transition from being a martial arts teacher to being an actor. To some people I was a has-been before I even started!

If I had accepted such judgments, I would never have made that first movie; nor would I have persisted and made other films after the first. I treated the initial rejections as temporary setbacks because I knew that with enough time, determination, and hard work—along with a faith in God and a positive mental attitude—I would succeed.

Few people become successful overnight at any endeavor. Most successful people have learned to stick with whatever it is they wish to achieve and to work step by step until they reach their objective. That has certainly proven true in my life.

It's been interesting to notice how my priorities have changed in recent years. Many of the cravings and desires that once were part of my life are now gone. Certainly part of that is the result of maturity, a strong commitment to my marriage and family, a deepening of my faith, as well as having more time and financial security than I did in past years. I've learned how to be confident without being cocky. More importantly, I've come to a place of contentment in my life. But contentment does not imply complacency.

People often ask me, “How do you stay in such great shape?”

Truth is, I must work at it, just like anyone else. I get up each morning and work out physically; Gena and I take time each day to read the Bible, pray, and exercise spiritually; having short-term and long-term goals is also important to me; and of course, I have two little children to keep me busy! I don't ever see myself retiring; I always want to be active. I've noticed that many people who retire almost immediately begin to atrophy in every aspect of their lives. Before long they get weak and flabby, physically, intellectually, and spiritually. Besides, I don't see anything about retirement in the Bible. It seems to me that God expects us to keep living every day of life to the fullest, believing every morning that “God has plans for you!”

In many ways I believe my best days are still ahead, that everything up to this point is preparatory for something that God wants me to do. I wake up each morning, watching for the opportunities to do something that others say can't be done. I still think young; I feel young, and I never want to lose that attitude.

Gena loves to quip that she expects to celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary in Hawaii. “No pressure, honey,” she tells me. Of course, that means that I'll have to keep myself mentally, physically, and spiritually sharp for a while. On our fiftieth anniversary, I will be 108 years old!

But I'm planning to be there. Why? Because I believe I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Besides, I like living …
Against All Odds!