Olympics – Page 4 – Disney Employee Engagement Speaker

Merry Christmas from Lane 8

And on this day was born a child. In a manger, at the stable. No room at the Inn. And they called him Emmanuel.

Impossible?

Perhaps nothing is impossible. Perhaps impossible is nothing.

Lane 8 is a simple website and blog. Even the first Lane 8 business card was handmade, in five minutes. And 5,000 were printed and taken to Finland.

August, 2009, in Lahti, Finland, the Master’s Track & Field World Championships drew 5,300 athletes from 80 Countries, with the same Olympic spirit as the official Olympic Games.

Many of the Master’s athletes celebrate Christmas, and that little boy everyone calls Emmanuel.

Lane 8 is simply a humble beginning. Not at all unlike a child born in a stable.

Merry Christmas from Lane 8.

Peace on Earth, good will toward men.

Favorite Motivation Tip

Here’s my personal favorite tip to stay motivated:

Find a million ways.

Who’s going to be more passionate and concerned for your motivation than you?

Seriously. Who?

Studying others who’ve overcome obstacles is just one way. It’s one of my favorite ways. Steve Prefontaine, a rebel, also happened to be a runner.

And in the process, with his relentless courage and determination, he changed the way Americans thought, and continue to think, about running. He held every American running record from 2,000 – 10,000 meters.

In his greatest race at the 1972 Munich Olympics, he finished fourth. No medal. No glory. No hero’s welcome.

But yet, he’s the only athlete Nike has ever immortalized in a bronze statue. Ever. Any sport. Period.

Wrong Is Easier

Doing it wrong is easier than doing it right. You can screw it up by doing it wrong.

And doing it wrong, is as easy as doing nothing.

Ya with me? Let me say that again. Doing it wrong is as easy as doing nothing.

Doing nothing is easy. Maybe that’s why so many do nothing. Doing it right, is hard work.

The people who do work hard are also tempted to do nothing. Most don’t believe this, but it’s true.

Take me for example. Last night I made plans to run five miles this morning. Instead, I’ve made a few rationalizations so I can do nothing instead. Actually, I’m very busy this morning. But not physically.

And so it goes….

WMA Finals M50 400 meters

WMA Finals M50 400 meters. Masters Track & Field World Championships, Lahti, Finland, August 7, 2009.

The top eight men in the entire world, aged 50-54, at 400 meters. Three of them are Americans – James Chinn, Ben James, and Jeff Lindsey.

USA has a long history of producing an abundance of world-class 400 meter runners. In Beijing, USA swept the Olympic 400 meter finals:

Men’s 400 meters
August 21, 2008
1. LaShawn Merritt, USA, 43.75
2. Jeremy Wariner, USA, 44.74
3. David Neville, USA, 44.80
4. Chris Brown, BAH, 44.84
5. Leslie Djhone, FRA, 45.11
6. Martyn Rooney, GBR, 45.12
7. Renny Quow, TRI, 45.22
8. Johan Wissman, SWE, 45.39

Seven of the eight Team USA M50 400 meter runners made it to the semifinals (top 24) in Lahti last week. I was the one that did not.

And yet, I still feel like a champion.

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

When I Run, I Feel God’s Pleasure

“When I run, I feel God’s pleasure”. — Eric Liddell

That’s It! Perfect! Thank you, Craig Nickoloff, for sending me your critical email message yesterday.

The week-long Writer’s Retreat I’ve been attending on Sanibel Island concluded yesterday. I have been working very, very hard. Committed. Intense. Focused.

I took a well-earned nap, woke up, checked my blackberry, and here’s the message I read. It was almost like a dream – a real, heaven sent type of dream.

With permission, here it is in it’s entirety:

“I’m still trying to figure out a way to not be so nervous that I make myself sick before the first race.”
Yeah, Buddy, you can do it!
If you’re visualizing yourself running & doing well, your body won’t have time to realize why it should be nervous.
Concentrate.
What’s your drive to run this race? Run the race for him.
Forget Lane 8. Run it. You’re running in your lane, to advance. You’re winning this heat. The other runners are pushing you. You no longer care about time. Qualify with this heat.
As Eric Little said, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”
You feel God’s pleasure.
You feel your son’s admiration & love. Cheryl’s proud of you, to no end.
You don’t have time to think about nerves.
That’s what will drive you.
You’re already an inspiration. That’s not on your shoulders anymore.
You’re here.
This race.
This race for the next one.
You’re running it.
And you feel that pleasure…
GO.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Gonna read this again and again.

You know, it’s really weird, but I too can say, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure”. Seriously.

Way seriously. Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂