For agents and brokers who want to win
“Is not being willing to give things a go in the first place. People who fail are those that don’t have a go and don’t make an effort. Failures can’t be bothered. There are few people who’ve tried something and fallen who didn’t get enormous satisfaction from trying, and I’ve learned more from people who have tried and faltered than from the few charmed people for whom success came easy.”
- Sir Richard Branson
This past week I had the incredible opportunity to listen to an interview with Ingrid Betancourt, a Colombian politician who was held hostage in the jungle for over six years.
In 2002 Ms. Betancourt was abducted by the Marxist guerrilla group, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC); never knowing from day to day if she would be killed, kept hostage or released. Read her story in Harper’s Bazaar.
Can you imagine, even for a moment, what it would be like to have no idea of your destiny or have any control over it? It’s hardly fathomable.
In one of the last comments Ms. Betancourt makes in this article, she says:
“It got worse and worse. As it got worse, I decided that I had to learn from my condition. It wasn’t coincidence or mere accident that I was there. I had to give meaning to what I was going through. I decided that I needed to rethink everything about my life. And rethinking my whole life meant rethinking who I was and who I wanted to be. I lost everything — my hopes and future, and even something so basic as being able to talk to somebody or the freedom to go to the bathroom, eating or not eating — but I realized that I still had the most precious of all freedoms: deciding who I wanted to be. And nobody could ever take that from me.”
That last sentence got to me. She’s right, every one of us has a choice of “who” we want to be, how we want to react and what decisions we make each day to spark our happiness, our health, our relationships, everything. Each decision we make is a direct reflection of WHO we are!
If this sparks you, take a hold of who you are, who you emulate, who you represent and resemble and who you want others to see you as! It’s your choice!
Remember when you were little and you reached for the fire or the stove and got burned? It didn’t take long for you to realize that reaching out to touch a flame wasn’t a good idea!
At that point, did you decide never to be around fire? Did you decide that only “fake” candles would be allowed in your home or if you went camping and needed a camp fire, you’d just shiver instead? I hope not! (That would really be a bummer!)
My point here is simple, in life, we have situations that come up that scare us, maybe upset us, but it doesn’t mean we have to avoid these situations all together; we just need to navigate a little wiser through them.
In the fitness world, I see people who are afraid to try new and different exercises because they tried something similar once and didn’t like it. It doesn’t stop there, however, some try several things and decide they didn’t like something (or many things) and refuse to consider a new variation of the same thing to see if they might enjoy the exercise or routine a different and new way. What happens is the alternatives start getting narrower. Eventually, these folks decide there’s only a handful of options (if even that) to work with and limit themselves for the rest of their lives.
If we continue to constrict our choices, we will no longer allow ourselves to have diversity at all!
Is that what we want? To have no viable (or recognizable) “choice” as we get older?
Consider this with your fitness routine! Have you limited your own selections? Do you think because you’ve tried something once that you throw out any similar alternatives? If you do, the walls in your world become smaller rather than vast. Try stepping out of your comfort zones a little and see if you can safely and gingerly expand your world! You might find that there’s something new, exciting and different that you would never have considered because of long ago beliefs and self-inflicted boundaries!
Last Wednesday I had the privilege of attending the 17th Annual Silicon Valley Prayer Breakfast in Palo Alto. The theme was “Finding Meaning and Purpose in Life”. There were two incredibly powerful speakers. I walked out humbled and inspired. I walked out determined to find my meaning and purpose in life.
First was Tim Borland – in 2007 he ran 63 Marathons in 63 days. Why you ask? Tim’s life mission is to advocate for children in need by using his gift in endurance running. Click on the link below and watch this video – this is Tim’s meaning. This is his purpose:
Tim’s four keys to finding meaning and purpose in life:
Second was Joe Ehrmann. He played football for the Colts for 13 year and was named Colts’ Man of the Year. In the same year Ehrmann played in the Pro Bowl he watched his brother Billy loose his fight with cancer. This experience caused Ehrmann to rethink and reorder his priorities in life. Ehrmann spearheaded the construction of a Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore in memory of Billy. In the off-season, Ehrmann attended classes at Dallas Theological Seminary and, following his football career, he graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, specializing in urban ministry. He was ordained in 1985. Parade Magazine name Joe the “Most Important Coach in America” due to his tireless efforts to change the culture of sports. Joe and his wife Paula co-founded Building Men and Women for Others to help every man, woman and child reach his or her potential. He was also the recipient of the National Fatherhood Initiative’s Man of the Year Award.
This is his meaning. This is his purpose:
As a Pastor for more than 25 years of his life he has been with many people as their life on earth ends. He said – all people care about at the end of their life is who did I love and who loved me, and did I make a difference. Nothing else matters – not money, not fame, not power – nothing else.
Two ordinary men doing extraordinary things. So, what is your meaning and purpose in life? If you don’t know – find it!
I hope many of you have had the chance to watch some of the Olympics! What inspiration!
What I personally am most fascinated by is the stories of those athletes who have overcome adversity, specifically serious, if not life threatening injury.
Let’s take Askel Lund Svidal who sustained intense injury in 2009, now winning the Gold in Vancouver, or Lindsay Vonn, with her shin so injured she couldn’t put on her ski boot without excruciating pain, then went on to win the Gold. Let’s not forget Chris Del Bosco who overcame drug abuse and a broken neck, to go on and be invited to ski on the Canadian team this year.
Every night I watch the Olympics, I hear of an amazing story about perseverance, dedication, commitment and sheer determination!
How is it that someone can endure such pain and hardship; then muster the courage to go back to the source of the pain?
I have read a few articles about the physiology of overcoming “fear” and I really liked this quote:
“As for the ever-present fear, many have found a way to manage it. “You never overcome it. The fear factor is always there. I don’t care how good you are at your sport, there’s always a risk of injury, always a risk of crashing, so it’s just a case of risk management. Whoever can manage the risk best, while getting as close to that line as possible, is the fast guy on race day.”
Isn’t this really part of the game of life? To overcome our fear and BE that person who is close to the line on our own race day?
These Olympic Athletes are special…that’s why they are Olympians! But I believe the athlete in all of us has encountered our own falls, it’s how we finish the race, or better yet how we proceed IN the race that makes us our own champion!
Here are some great stories I found from athletes, local and worldwide who have created their own destinies through strength and “risk”.
http://matadorsports.com/5-athletes-who-have-overcome-life-threatening-injuries
http://www.trivia-library.com/c/20-athletes-who-overcame-injury-and-handicaps-part-1.htm
Enjoy the Games!
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