Defined

How will we defined?

How about this list for a starting point:

• The DIFFICULT decisions we made, not the easy ones.
• The UNCOMFORTABLE conversations we found the courage to have, not just the comfortable ones.
• The ADVERSITIES we overcame, not just the successes we enjoyed.
• Those we HELPED WIN, not those we won against.
• The CREATIVE WORK we made, not the jobs we had.
• The right things we DID, not just the things we did right.
• The risks we courageously took, not the paths we thought were safe--but really weren't
• The things we finished, not those we simply started.

In other words, I think we are defined more by our CHARACTER, than our SKILLS.

Skills can be learned from a textbook.

Character must be developed from experience--and then tested.

Over, and over.

Until it becomes a suit of armor that protects us during the storms.

And there will be storms.

And character will be that medal of honor we display that not only gets us through the storms, but across the finish line.

To victory.

AMJ

Winning vs. Not Losing

Only twelve more weeks until the Leadville 50 Race.

And the training is getting tough.

Real tough.

The training has consisted of running successive 9-mile round-trip repeats up and down Lookout Mountain Road.

Last week on my 43rd birthday I finally ran 3 repeats--27 total miles.

The farthest I have ever run.

This was after a disastrous run the prior week--a run that left me exhausted.

A run that destroyed my confidence and left me asking myself why I signed up for such a ridiculous event.

A run that humbled me and forced me to confront the big "why."

Why this race?

Why is this important?

I just completed a book called "The Warrior Elite" by former Navy SEAL Dick Couch. A book that profiles SEAL class 228 as they progress through 27 weeks of training.  Training that begins with 114 men and ends with only 20.

At the end of the book, Mr. Couch reflects on the men that made it through the the 27-week raining and the men who did not.  He concludes the following:

"I personally have come to believe the single trait that will get a man through BUD/S is the will to win.  The desire to win is different from refusing to lose, or not quitting.  A man can get through BUD/S  by refusing to quit....but he will not be a leader--a "go-to" guy in his SEAL platoon.  BUD/S cultivates this will to win, but to one degree or another, top trainees bring it with them when they walk through the door..."

In no way am I comparing Navy SEAL training to training for the Leadville 50 race.

But the mentality that is required to complete Navy SEAL training is instructive.

Achieving any big goal requires the desire to WIN.

Not simply the desire to not LOSE.

In other words, every fiber your body and mind must be focused on looking up the mountain at the goal of summitting.

And not cautiously looking down the mountain to prevent falling.

It's playing aggressive offense.

Instead of fearful defense.

So here is the question:

What is the one thing in your life that you want to win?

NEED to win.

Can't NOT win?

Perhaps it saving your family's house from foreclosure.

Or landing that job that was meant for you.

Or saving your teenage son from addiction.

Or crossing the finish line of that first marathon.

In my opinion, a person who wants something more than breathing and life itself is a person who is unstoppable.

For that single-minded, laser focused mind-set will get a guy through the tough days.

And there will be plenty of tough days.

The kind of days that require remembering that succeeding means wanting to win...

And not just wanting to not lose.

My running partner and I are planning 3.5 repeats up Lookout Mountain next week--32 glorious miles.

Miles that will be achieved by eating right, sleeping right, and drinking lots of water.

But the real means of getting up that mountain all those times will not be our ability to run the miles..

It will be our ability to come up with a REASON run the miles.

A big reason.

Like the desire to WIN.

And not simply, not lose.

AMJ

Discipline

Webster's dictionary defines discipline as:

"orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior."

Great definition.

I think discipline is also applied commitment.

The willingness to continue doing the activities you need to do to achieve your goal...long after those activities are no longer fun to do.

Discipline is getting up at 5am for those training runs--every day--when you don't want to.

Discipline is doing the calculus homework--instead of watching the Bronco game.

Discipline is eating ONE slice of Hawaiian pizza--instead of three.

Discipline, coupled with ambition, is the bridge between dreaming a goal and achieving a goal.

It's the difference between dreaming about running a marathon--and running through the winter to be ready for it.

It's the difference between dreaming about losing 20 pounds--and electing the popsicle over the Ben and Jerry's ice cream to lose it.

It's the difference between wanting an "A" in Chemistry class--and turning off ESPN to to do the work to EARN the "A."

So like I said,  I like Mr. Webster's definition of discipline.

Because discipline is not about brains or talent.

But about behavior.

Behavior that can change the course of our lives.

And those around us.

And make big dreams into big realities.

AMJ 

A Formula for Results

I love a great idea.

But I love a great idea that produces great RESULTS even better.

The problem is that most great ideas never advance beyond the INSPIRATION phase.

And a great idea that never moves beyond the inspiration phase simply remains...well...a great idea.

An UNREALIZED great idea.

Because inspiration alone never produces results.

An inspiration to run a marathon won't get you across the finish line.

An inspiration to go to college won't get you to graduation.

An inspiration to lose weight won't reduce the waistline.

An inspiration to raise great kids won't produce productive adults.

Because real results require more than just inspiration.

I have found great ideas become great results when I mix the following:

Results  =  inspiration + perspiration + preparation + focus

The formula is simple.

But rarely easy.

But when applied consistently, produces great ideas.

Ideas that are inspiring.

But also real.

AMJ

Seeing is Believing

I planned on running up and down Lookout Mountain Road three times this morning.

I only made it twice.

The body was ready for the third pass...it was the brain that said "we're done."

I just couldn't "see" doing it again.

In distance training, when the brain doesn't SEE a goal, the heart won't BELIEVE the goal.

So the legs stop moving.

As Olympic psychologist Denis Waitley says: "the software drives the hardware."

I think this tough lesson applies to any goal--completing college, starting a business, running a marathon.

It all begins with "seeing."

So you can believe it to be possible.

No amount of training will allow a person to run a marathon if she believes the distance is too long.

No amount of college business degrees will enable an entrepreneur to start a success business if the entrepreneur doesn't first see and believe a successful path exists.

No amount of brains will get a student through college if she doesn't see and believe she is smart enough to graduate.

Indeed, brains, talent, and motivation are necessary ingredients for success in running or any other endeavor.

But I think it really all begins with seeing.

And believing.

I am going to try again next Sunday to run Lookout Mountain Road three times.

I'll make sure I bring the same fuel--plenty of water and two PBJ sandwiches.

But I will make sure I bring a different set of "eyes."

Eyes to help me "see" that it is possible.

AMJ