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Lane 8 Flashback

It’s 5AM, November 17, 2009 here in Orlando, Florida. I write five blogs every single day. Adidas has a tag line, “Impossible is Nothing“!

Nike has one too, “I’ve Got Soul“.  It’s even a You Tube video.  It’s what I’m I’m craving right now – a little soul.

That video, even though it’s only 63 seconds, never fails to inspire me. How many days, and how many ways, do you inspire yourself before you ever walk out your front door?

Seriously, how many?  Hey, you don’t owe me an answer. You’ll never owe me anything. But I challenge you to challenge yourself and ask, “What do I owe myself?“

Hurts Like Hell

Blah, blah, blah….hurts like hell. Still.  My foot hurts.  A lot.

If you’re new to Lane 8, welcome.  Earlier this year, there were quite a few Lane 8 blog posts discussing my foot pain and whether or not I could travel to Finland for the Master’s Track & Field World Championships.

And yesterday, after writing the post, “43rd”, it caused me to do several things:

  • Be amazingly thankful
  • Become more confident
  • To feel like a victor, rather than a victim
  • Pray for others to overcome their own struggles

The last one in particular is the one that seems most important.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

If you’re goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough.

Carpe diem.  It’s completely up to you. You are the CEO of YOU, Inc.

Yep, it’s gonna hurt like hell to reach your big dreams.  Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Once you realize that hard work is the way, the way gets easier.  It doesn’t become easy, simply easier.

43rd

Friday we went to Twistee Treat, like we always do, and our order came out the drive thru window, like it always does (without ordering).

The friendly Twistee Treat employee, Lori (may or may not be her real name), asked, “How’d it go?”

We’ve been going to Twistee Treat for four years and Lori was always there on Mondays and Fridays.  For the past year or so though, Lori has a different schedule, we rarely see her.

Quickly, my brain started working overtime to remember what Lori was referring to.  Nothing.

So I sort of embarrassingly asked Lori, “How’d what go?”

“The track meet.”

Then it hit me.  I gave Lori a Lane 8 business card at some point and must have described the Lane 8 vision.  You know, “If your goal isn’t impossible….I don’t care if I get the worst lane and come in last.”

Because I’ve had time to process, and have overcome the reluctance to just spit it out, I was able to come right out with it, “Forty-third.  In the world.”

“There were 5,300 athletes from 80 different countries.  In my event (400m) alone, there were 63 athletes aged 50-54.  Eight of them were Americans.  Seven made it to the semi-finals.  I was the one that didn’t.”

43rd. In the whole world.  Ya with me?

Lane 8 Mistake

Okay, so it’s about 4PM on Friday afternoon.  Spent the day working through some serious, and hopefully short-term, sickness.

So of course, this puts Lane 8 behind schedule.  No worries though. Lane 8 is just getting to today’s post and realized that yesterday’s Lane 8 post was about New Year’s Resolutions.

However, had to smile (which felt really good) because the Lane 8 blog post was intended for jeffnoel.org

“Should I move yesterday’s Lane 8 blog post, or maybe delete it?”

“Nope, leave it like it is.” Why?

Because it’s who I am.  I am close to God – through hard work. Many of you can relate. For anyone else, please don’t take offense.  Never intend to sound “preachy”.

Anyway, let’s learn from this.  Physical well being is only one piece of what makes us human.

If you don’t feel healthy and vibrant, guess who moved?

If you’re planning on getting in shape for your New Year’s resolution, now is the time to start thinking about what you are going to do differently – differently than past wellness thoughts and wellness attempts.

Now is the time, not later.  Now. Ya with me?