Disney Employee Engagement Speaker
Five daily blogs about life's 5 big choices on five different sites.
Ordinary is what we expect.
Yet extraordinary is happening constantly.
Yesterday was a special moment for South Africa and for the 400 meter race at the 2015 Track & Field World Championships in Beijing’s Birdnest stadium (home of the 2008 Olympic Games).
Never before have three runners in the same heat broken the 44-second barrier.
The winner ran the 4th fastest 400 meters ever, in the history of Track & Feld.
Michael Johnson holds the world record (since 1999) at 43.18.
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Steve Prefontaine. The son of an Oregon logger man.
Too small for football. Too slow for track. Not a sprinter. Also not fast enough to be a great miler.
But, he could endure more pain than anyone else.
He set the the National High School two-mile record. Bill Bowerman, the University of Oregon head Track Coach, recruited “Pre” and the two of them forever changed American running.
Steve Prefontaine is the only athlete, ever, which Nike has immortalized with a bronze statue. Are ya with me? The only one.
This You Tube video is the final five minutes (of a 13-minute race) of the 1972 Munich Olympics 5,000 meter final. It’s breathtaking, and awe inspiring to watch a man run the best race of his life, and finish fourth.
America thought the best was still to come and the world knew that Steve Prefontaine would return in four years, with a vengence and determination to win the Olympic Gold medal and set a new World Record.
But a tragic, late night car crash changed all that.
Carpe diem.
“You can observe a lot by watching.” – Yogi Berra
What did you learn from watching Germany’s Guido Mueller, age 70, break that world record?
I learned age is a state of mind. And the longer you wait to believe this, the harder it must be to do something about it.
I also learned it’s better late than never – otherwise, my wife and I wouldn’t be parents.
What are you waiting for? For the people around you, will you be an example, or a warning? Carpe diem.
Lane 8 Needs Motivation. Daily. Period.
Ya with me? DAILY.
Was reminded of that yesterday after giving a speech, a man asked me privately, “How do you motivate people”?
Without any hesitation, because it’s a common question, “If you want to motivate others, you need to be motivated yourself”.
It’s the first and only rule of motivation. Enthusiasm is the most contagious thing in the world. The second most contagious thing in the world is the opposite.
The lack of enthusiasm. Admit it or not, everyone takes their cue from you.
When you look in the mirror, are you a mountain or a molehill?
Lane 8 Digresses? Maybe. Maybe not.
You know this if you’ve been following Lane 8 for a few months, the thesis at Lane 8 is taking care of our priceless physical gift – our body.
You have also come to discover the sub-thesis here is that goals should be impossible.
So why all the Suomi (Finland) Ski Jumping stuff? Call it a mental break from the physical focus.
In fact, the day all the Lahti Ski Jumping videos were shot was a rest day at the Masters Track & Field World Championships.
Rest is critical to physical (and mental and spiritual) health. So just enjoy this diversion and expect the break to be over soon. Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂