Lance Armstrong & Mahatma Gandhi

Lance Armstrong & Mahatma Gandhi.

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”Mahatma Gandhi

Found this quote contained in Lance Armstrong’s Twitter message the other day.

You can follow Lance Armstrong on Twitter.  He has over 1.3 million Twitter followers.

Indomitable will.  I can’t get that word out of my mind.  Indomitable.

Impossible to defeat.  This is incomprehensible for me.

Kinda like going to Finland in three weeks for the World Championships.

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Le Tour de France

Le Tour de France is in it’s 96th running.

What’s the point?  It’s a 21-day competition.  Over 3,500 miles.  Seriously, 3,500 miles.  Think about it.

Some say it’s the world’s toughest athletic competition.  I would have to agree.

Time trials.  Flats. Sharp turns. Mountains.  For 21 days.  And these cyclists are riding hard.  Every single day.

Punishing. Grueling.  Relentless.

And then there’s this guy, maybe you’ve heard of him, Lance Armstrong.

Seven consecutive Tour de France victories.

Excellence.  Focus.  Drive.  Strategy.  Perseverance.  Tenacity.  Intensity.

Traits to live by, eh?

Or as Lance Armstrong suggests – traits to Live Strong!

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki, Finland.  Yesterday, my wife and I were talking about the upcoming trip.  We agreed our current plan is the right one.

The day before, my son (nine) and I were talking about it too.  I told him, “I need to figure out how to not throw up or pee my pants before the race”.

He replied, “Huh”?

I said, “Seriously, I’m gonna be so nervous.  I have to figure out a way to deal with that or I’ll truly be faced with unwanted circumstances”.

In 25 days, I fly to Helsinki for the 2009 Master’s Track & Field World Championships, 400 meters, 50-54 age group.

I told my son, I won’t be running with people from Central Florida, or even the whole state.  Not the Southeastern United States. Not the entire US.  Not North America or even the western hemisphere.

The entire world.

Until I found myself on this “stage”, and I’ve been a lot of stages as a professional speaker, I had no idea what it meant to be world-class.

What I’ve found is there is a monumental difference between dreaming about it, and actually going up against the world’s best.

I hope this inspires you to try harder, or differently, than you have in the past.  If you do, you will experience more, and live with less regret.

This will make you a better person in so many ways.   Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

World Championships email

Wanted to share this email from yesterday – the latest news from World Master’s Athletics.  If you don’t have time, or interest, to read the whole thing, here’s the bottom line:

There are 5,300 world-class athletes, from 80 countries, who are going to Lahti, Finland to represent their country and compete at peak performance.  Plus, there are some interesting links.

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“Dear recipient,

World Masters Athletics Championships 2009 are approaching good pace and we are very excited to get the games started and to meet you in person. We hope that you are fine and that your preparations are going well.

You are one of among 5300 athletes who are participating to the games. You will be competing against strong competitors who are coming from 80 different countries so you are sure to get a real challenge.

We are still working on the schedules, but once we are done, the entry lists and the schedule will be found from our website at https://www.wma2009.org Remember to check the website every now and then for more instructions.

The opening ceremony will be hosted in LahtiMarket Square on Monday evening 27th July starting at 7 pm. We are hoping that you and everybody else, who are attending, would bring a small flag of their home country to this event.

After you have arrived to Lahti, it is recommend to fetch as soon as possible an equipment bag from Lahti 2009 Centre that includes all the necessary items you will need during the games, including a start list, a competitors handbook and information about the host city Lahti. You are asked to register to the games at the same place. An official identification paper with a photo is required.

There will be a big Athletes’ Party on 4th August in Sibelius Hall that is located beautifully by a lake in the passenger harbour. You will be able to enjoy a show by a famous Finnish pop singer Laura Voutilainen and delicious food and beverages. Tickets to the party cost 35 € and you can buy them until 30th July from the Lahti 2009 Centre.

There are still available accommodations in Lahti and the neighbour areas. You can ask more from Lahti Travel. (https://www.lahtitravel.fi,

[email protected])

Some useful links:

Bus Transportation between Helsinki-Vantaa airport & City of Lahti

https://english.wma2009.org/athletes/transportation-in-lahti/bus-transportation-voucher/

avoucher is available to print out which gives you a discount

Official Physiotherapy and massage Partner of World Master Athletics 2009

https://www.tcr.fi

Wellbeing Garden, the Beatles Show

https://www.lahtiorgan.fi/beatles.html

Official Championships Products

https://www.official-merchandise.net/Event_or_Sport/World_Masters_Athletics.htm

We wish you warmly welcome to Lahti and we hope that you will be able to gain some unforgettable memories during your stay.

See you at the Stadium!”

Further Explaination Required?

Further explanation required?  Maybe.

Wanted to add an insight to yesterday’s post, just so I can feel better about myself, and offer one of my secrets to help you in your own leadership and excellence journey.

Sharing the mile split times may have sounded, to some, like I was boasting.  It is never the intent to boast.  Ever!

If you knew how hard I’ve worked, for years, to learn pace and cadence, you would probably want to apologize for thinking, “This guy is full of himself”.

What I was really wanting to communicate (and I hope I’m doing it better today 🙂 ) is the encouragement to plant the seeds for impossible goals, and then have the patience and courage to see things through.

Overcome the setbacks, the criticism, the pain, the doubt, the fear.

It must be overcome.

This is one of the big lessons we don’t learn – patience, perseverance and tenacity.

We don’t, because, our goals aren’t big enough.

So, in summary, the secret is, “If your goal isn’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough”.

Dream Big.  Get There.  Stay There.

Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂