The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, "I  
want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to  
a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse  
trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race  
track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a  
result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted.  
When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he  
wanted to be and do when he grew up.  

"That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal  
of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in  
great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch,  
showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the  
track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot  
house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.  

"He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the  
next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he  
received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with  
a note that read, `See me after class.'  

"The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class  
and asked, `Why did I receive an F?'  

"The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young  
boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant  
family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a  
lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the  
original breeding stock and later you'll have to pay large stud  
fees. There's no way you could ever do it.' Then the teacher  
added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic  
goal, I will reconsider your grade.'  

"The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He  
asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son,  
you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is  
a very important decision for you.' "Finally, after sitting with it  
for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at  
all.  

He stated, “You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream."  

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, "I tell  
you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot  
house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that  
school paper framed over the fireplace." He added, "The best part  
of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher  
brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week." When the  
teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this  
now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer.  
During those years I stole a lot of kids' dreams. Fortunately you  
had enough gumption not to give up on yours."  

"Don't let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no  
matter what."