I keep forgetting about what a great inspirational website ted.com is. At first I tried to figure out who this Ted guy was. Then I decided I’d just do a little digging. Wouldn’t you know it’s an acronym. Directly from their website:
TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year’s TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.
Well today while I was killing some time on Twitter I came across and interesting tweet from TEDxCalgary. Take a few minutes to watch the inspirational video below.
What I found interesting about the segment is that it’s all true. 100% accurate that it simply takes an “I can” attitude. I don’t find it a coincidence that today I was also reading about Someday Never Comes by John Chow while reading his free ebook. His opening paragraph sums it up:
Do you know how to tell a successful person from a unsuccessful one? The easiest way is by the language they use. When you talk to a successful person about his goals, he’ll tell you what he plans to do and when it will be done. When an unsuccessful person talks about his goals (assuming he even has one), you’ll hear something along the lines of, “I hope to do this someday.” Here’s a clue for all you losers out there; someday never comes.
That’s right. It’s there in black and white. And it’s something I’ve known for some time. Nobody will do it for me. I must do it myself. Not only that but I can do it. It was clear to me when I set out to run my first full marathon. I completed it because I had the “I can” bug, not the “I will”. It was a goal. A clearly defined gem with an end time limit defined along with some other contributing parameters. So I know goals work for me when I set them. I’ve even commented on other peoples posts about setting my goals, but where are they?
Well, it’s time to stop doing everything right now and write out some goals. I’m logging of Twitter, stopping iTunes and ignoring email (which I’m pretty good at thanks to Tim Ferriss).
I’m going to write some goals, and then copy Lyndon and share them with you for you to help hold me accountable. I hope that you can help me with that?
Four weeks ago, at 5:00 in the morning a gun shot was heard and an impressive display of fireworks were set off. That was in Honolulu, Hawaii. I wasn’t really there for business or pleasure. It was determination of achieving one goal by the end of 2009. That goal was to complete my first ever, full marathon. A fool full 26.2 mile race. The primary goal was completion and secondary was under 5 hours.
Looking back at the majority of 2009 it wasn’t that challenging. It did definitely have it’s challenging and trying times. Especially those that caused my stress and blood pressure to rise almost to the breaking point. Those of you close to me, know exactly the series of events that I’m talking about. I try not to focus on them too much so that I can still keep smiling.
Back to Hawaii. It’s often where my mind goes when I need to escape anyways. It was the start of the Honolulu Marathon—MY Honolulu Marathon. Myself and over 20,000 other competitors began putting one foot in front of the other. The streets were dark with the exception of basic illumination from overhead street lights. It was a weird feeling running through downtown Waikiki, running red lights—granted on foot. I was amazed at the number of people out cheering the runners on, even though it was so early in the morning.
The race for me was amazing. I don’t remember a whole lot about running the race. I pretty much got lost in my mind. There were definitely parts that I remember like watching the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean while running through mile 12. The sweltering heat along the H1 around mile 21. And of course the beer keg at mile 24 — which I realized was beer after I’d already passed by.
The biggest single benefit that I got out of the run though was learning that when I set my mind on a goal, and something to focus on that I’m highly passionate about, there’s no stopping me. It boasts well for an upcoming post on my 2010 goals that I know I need to do.
And it’s true what they say about a runners high. It’s been 4-weeks and I still love reflecting on the feeling of it. Even through the exhaustion and pain. I’m looking forward to my next one—once I figure out which one it will be. Have you got any running tips or experiences about running, whether a marathon or anything else? Let me know in the comments. Happy running.
While my friend was in town over the weekend we got talking. She just turned 30 last month and one of her goals has been to run the half marathon (a whopping 13.1 miles) of the Manitoba Marathon before turning 31. Since it only happens once a year – on fathers day – it has to be this year. We had a bet a few years back but neither of us competed on it. So I told her this year I will run with/against her. I’ve done the leisurly 13.1 mile run through Winnipeg before. My personal best of 1:41:23 (something like that) was years ago. I ran my first one back in 1991 and a few in between. The most recent completion was probably about 4 years ago in 2:30 and change…yikes!
So the conversation continued over glasses of wine and bottles of beer and I said that running a full, yes that 26.2 mile trek, is something I’ve always wanted to do. Living in Calgary gives me a distinct advantage in the “train high, compete low” aspect. Air is thinner at a higher altitude so the body must work harder. When competing at a lower altitude the air contains more O2 and thus the body works less…at least in theory. One of the lowest places I know of is Hawaii and I’ve known a few people that have run the Honolulu Marathon. So a quick Google search showed that this year the Honolulu Marathon is on Sunday, December 13.
It really seems like a great training schedule has already been developed. Train for a 13.1 mile race in the Manitoba Marathon on Sunday, June 21 followed by almost 6 months of additional training for the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday, December 13. Who knows, I might just have to toss in the Maui Marathon on Sunday, September 20. Really, it’s just another excuse to hit the island paradise!
So watch the “Fitness” category for training tips and my journey as it slowly un-folds. And of course, feel free to plan some trips to Hawaii in the last half of ‘09 and perhaps we can meet up on the course!
