In honor of the start of the Olympic Games this weekend, I would like to offer a few thoughts regarding dreams and destiny in light of this week’s BP winner, Patton. The real George S. Patton led a remarkable life, and we get a pretty good glimpse of it in the film that chronicles some of the highlights (and lowlights) of his armed service during World War II.

A couple of times in the film, Patton shares with other commanders that he believes he has had previous lives. Shortly after he arrives in North Africa, he has his driver take him and General Bradley to the ruins of a Carthaginian city and reminisces how he was present when the Romans destroyed the city more than 2,000 years earlier. Later when another military leader comments, “You know, George, you would have made a great marshal for Napoleon if you had lived in the 19th century,” Patton replies, “But I did.” Despite these rather far-fetched beliefs Patton possessed, the general’s sense of his destiny is pretty remarkable. Granted, he is also quite pompous and doesn’t especially excel in following orders, but there’s just something inspiring about someone who completely believes in himself/herself.

Patton reminiscing about his Punic War experiences in a former life.

Along with his belief in reincarnation and his past success, Patton evinces conviction that his present life is destined for greatness. When he encounters setbacks on the field of combat or in his military career (for instance, after he’s “benched” for slapping a soldier who is suffering from combat fatigue), Patton frequently expresses frustration and even seems dumbfounded that everything isn’t working out totally smoothly since, of course, his fate is to be a legendary military hero. Still, the film’s viewer tends to gravitate toward Patton’s viewpoint that he undoubtedly was born into this world to leave a gigantic impression on it.

For Me Then…

I love real-life stories about ordinary people who aspire to and achieve greatness. Patton is a bit different in that he never seems to have been ordinary. I don’t believe in reincarnation, so I don’t subscribe to the idea that Patton was extraordinary in the 20^th century because he had had several “practice runs” at greatness in past lives. However, I do believe that his confidence in his abilities along with his conviction that there was a reason for his existence in his time and place—regardless of the setbacks and challenges he encountered—contributed to his remarkable achievements. There is a fine line between self-confidence and pride, I think, but possessing the former probably gives one a bit of an edge in life, a boost of assurance that propels one to dare more, and thus to reach for more. In that way, one’s dreams can propel one to one’s destiny—something we see a lot of come Olympic time.