monday morning motivator! 21, one foot in front of the other

i’m up especially early today

it’s marathon day here in boston and i’m going out to mile four in a few minutes to help with the distribution of water. i’ll be joining a running club that a few of my yoga students are members of–the thirsty irish runners. apparently there is going to be beer involved. sigh.

at any rate the key phrase that leaps out for me this week is brought to you by the boy, who at four years of age (almost!) is now able to unlock the doors and let himself out whenever the notion strikes him, and who was on one such adventure a few days ago when the woman caught him down the steps at the end of the front walk trying to decide if he would turn left to go up the street to the corner store, or right to take a wander in the direction of the playground. either way, of course, involves a busy road full of fast cars.

later that day, in one of those moments that stands out in bright relief against the twin poles of hum drummery and manic frustration that define the parental playing field, he asked the woman “mama…does persevere mean to keep doing something no matter what? well that’s what i was doing today when i went out side to take a walk…i was persevering!”

persevering–to keep going no matter what

so how appropriate that today is the marathon, the only race you win just by finishing! there’s so much buzz about the way to get things done, the way to reach your goals, the way to achieve your dreams. and being the lover of simplicity and sophistication that i am, i think of a couple of people separated by thousands of miles, vast cultural differences, and polar opposite hairstyles, who arrive at the same place in the difference of say a statement and a tome.

big fuzzy head of hair

in his book outliers, malcolm gladwell gladwell comes to the conclusion, after lots and lots of research into the lives and successes of people as diverse as bill gates and the beatles, leading to lots and lots of spilled ink (320 pages worth!), that one of the biggest indicators of eventual success, is that people just keep doing their thing long enough to get really good at it and long enough to just lose the competition.

it’s not that these people are born any more astounding than anyone else; we are all amazing creatures of life and light–it’s just that they keep on a path, their way, long enough to develop their talents–like the biblical story of the one who uses their talents being given more, and the one who buries their talents being given less.

shiny bald head of no hair

and then there is the dalai lama, who in his simple way says something to the effect of if you are on your path, just keep walking! this is also one of the big keys in mike dooley’s leveraging the universe spoken word opus. when he was in the fancy t-shirt business with his mother and brother, they would go to the trade shows year after year, and discover that people with better lines, better designs, and better business plans had dropped out of the business, while he and his family were doing better each year. what was the secrst to their success? they just didn’t quit!

one foot in front of the other

so today while am handing out water to a whole lotta people just getting started on an arduous task–”keep on going” will be the mantra in the air. and honestly, everything else is just what we do to make it ours, to color it with our own unique personality, our own gifts. the essential key, as true today as it was when i was a young pup foolish enough to embark on that 26.2 mile journey with barely six weeks of training, is perseverence.

no stopping. and if you stop you get going again. keep on moving down that road. one foot in front of the other. you never know when the terrain is going to shift and what had been all uphill becomes a steady decline down to sea level. you never know when you’ll turn a corner and find a crew of people cheering you on. friends perhaps, or strangers, friends you haven’t yet met. you never know when you’ll hear those fateful words…”you’re almost there!” sometimes spoken five miles before the finish line!

persevere. keep on going. don’t stop. one foot in front of the other. the winner isn’t the fastest one, the smartest one, the sexiest one. the winner isn’t the one with the best design, the fanciest logo, the coolest business card. the winner is the one who keeps on going until they have no choice but to keep on going. the winner is the one who follows their dreams all the way to the end. the winner is you!