Hi friend,

What would make a 16-year-old dive into Lake Ontario at night, swim for nearly 21 hours through cold waves and darkness, and refuse to give up when almost no one thought she could make it?

That’s what Marilyn Bell did in 1954.

She wasn’t famous.
She wasn’t the favourite, as other swimmers included a world-famous long distance swimmer from another country.
She was just a determined Toronto teenager who believed she could do something no one else had done: swim across Lake Ontario.

On September 8, she slipped into the water near Youngstown, New York.
By the time she touched the breakwall at Toronto’s Exhibition Grounds the next evening, she had covered almost 64 kilometres of open water.
She became the first person ever to complete the swim.

Crowds gathered along the shore and cheered her name.
Canada celebrated her as a hero.
But more than the distance or the fame, it was her grit (the quiet, relentless courage) that stayed with people.

Marilyn went on to swim the English Channel the next year, and other record-setting marathons.
Today, Toronto’s Marilyn Bell Park stands as a reminder of what determination can do.
Every person walking that stretch of the waterfront passes a space named after someone who once looked across a vast lake and said, “I’ll try.”

Here’s the simple lesson:
Courage isn’t simply about being fearless.
It’s about staying in the water when your arms ache and the end feels impossibly far.

We all face our own “Lake Ontario.”
It might be a project that feels too big.
A dream we keep putting off.
Or a change we’re afraid to begin.
Marilyn’s story reminds us that progress happens one steady stroke at a time.

Three suggested action items:

1. Walk the finish line​
   Visit Marilyn Bell Park and imagine that moment she stepped out of the lake in 1954. Let it remind you what’s possible when you keep going.
   ​
2. Connect with local history​
   Join the upcoming #ExperienceTO: Sunnyside Historical Tour to discover stories (like Marilyn’s) that shaped Toronto’s lakeshore. Reserve your spot here.
   ​
3. Find your next swim​
   Write down one personal goal that feels challenging. Then break it into short, steady “strokes.” Focus on progress, not perfection.

Marilyn Bell’s story isn’t just a piece of Toronto history; it’s a living reminder that courage involves grit and inspires others.

Keep swimming.
Keep believing.
The shore is closer than it seems.

I wish you the very best!
Alex Răşcanu
​

P.S. If you would like to read all the past life lessons-focused e-newsletters, you can find them ​here​.

P.P.S. If you are interested in attending one of the upcoming free historical tours, you can find all of them here.