Disney Employee Engagement Speaker
Five daily blogs about life's 5 big choices on five different sites.
Have you ever seen a world record unfold before your very eyes?
Ever catch one on video?
Last summer, in Finland, I did both.
The “buzz” afterwards was that it was the equivalent of Roger Banister breaking (1956) the four-minute mile barrier.
Pushing the limits, even if it’s simply walking in your very first 5k, is what doing the impossible is all about. It’s about you, your goals, and going after them.
The USATF Master’s Track & Field National Championships are being held in Sacramento, California next month.
Sacrifice is required. And so is patience. You already know this. And you also know how difficult, and some would even say impossible, these are.
Yet we must, over time, develop the good habits that let us have a positive outlook, in spite of the setbacks and missed opportunities. It is our only hope for hope.
Four days ago, I had to pass on the Florida State Masters Track & Field Championships. It’s a 30-minute drive., and my “home track”. But I’ve spent years with chronic foot pain and am not ready to compete again.
Rita Hanscom was selected as Master’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year for 2009.
Rita Hanscom (San Diego, Calif.): Named World Masters Athlete of 2009 by the IAAF and World Masters Athletics after winning five gold medals in Lahti and setting a world record in the W55 heptathlon. She’s a deputy attorney general for the state of California.
The photo above is from the 2009 Master’s Track & Field Outdoor World Championships in Lahti, Finland. It was a privilege to meet Rita and her son and daughter.
In Finland, there was a sense of community and fellowship among the 5,300 athletes from 80 countries. It’s challenging to explain. It was unique, competitive, healthy and vibrant, supportive. Amazingly supportive.
Who couldn’t use as much of that that the law will allow, in pursuing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle?
So the second week, I ran two mailboxes a day. Third week, three mailboxes a day.
Yes, many of you have heard this before. Which is one of the secrets to excellent results – repetition. Never get tired of doing the basic, common sense things.
Stories are critical to perpetuating past success and moving to even greater success. You already knew that right?
Eventually, the goals became impossible, but their pursuit was compelling.
What’s fascinating is how intense it was to rise to the level of representing the United States at the 2009 Master’s Track & Field World Championships, without anyone knowing.
Neighbors. Family. Work. Ten years. Ten years of dedicated, relentless effort.
Invisible to everyone around me. For a decade.
Now, neighbors know. And Family knows. Yet to this day, most where I work have no idea.
And so the question today is this, “What is your impossible goal and will you persue it without any fanfare or glory, but just for the sake that it’s a noble goal?”