Marathon = The BIG THING

The marathon is your goal and it is not as hard as one would think.  In fact, like life, it is not as hard as you make it to be.  Sure there is a long distance, you get tired, and sore.  Sometimes you ask yourself why you do it.  That’s a marathon.  Just like life.  So there is no reason why anyone should not do it.

Running a marathon, or setting an “unattainable” goal is something that everyone should do.  Marathons used to be considered prohibitive, meaning that they were too hard for the average person, and that such races should be exclusive only to the elite.  Well, in the beginning, that may have had some merit.  Most folks were not running, let alone running distances beyond their mailboxes.  A marathon was one of those untouchable things.  It just wasn’t something most people did.  So, as a result, only the elite folks ran them.  Now thousands of people run marathons, ultra-marathons, and other long distances each year. The secret got out that the marathon – though a hard race – is not impossible. Like climbing Mount Everest, it used to be a monumental task but is now pedestrian.   

The lesson?  Anybody can run a marathon. And anybody can do anything they set their minds to.

Wow, that was a logical leap to a conclusion!  Well, not really.  In life, things only appear hard.  Humans build barriers in their minds based on no logic whatsoever.  Marathons, for instance, were long distance races only Olympians could run.  The distance was too far to survive.  The training was impossible. 

And that is why I have drawn upon the marathon as my metaphor for dreaming all of life’s big dreams, shrinking them down to your size, breaking them up to bite-size bits, and consuming them like you would vitamins.

In fact, throughout this book, every time you see the word marathon, you may substitute it with life or life’s goals.  There are so many unlimited opportunities on our planet.  There are zillions of dreams that are not realized b/c people place unnecessary obstacles in front of themselves before they even get started on their dreaming or realizing their dreams.  This means that folks start by saying, “Wow, I wish I could do that,” or “One day I’d like to be able to do that,” or “That’s always been a dream of mine.”  However, they do nothing to make those statements – those statements from the heart – come true. 

Do you realize that when you say things like that you truly are speaking from the heart?  These kinds of ideas and dreams are the things that quicken your blood, send you day dreaming, make you feel good, yet you likely do nothing to make that dream become a reality.  Ask yourself, why is that?  Why do I stand in my own way?  Beats the hell out of me.  People just do it.  They say things like, “Yeah, I’d like to do it, but….”  “That would be great, but….  Too many buts. 

William Shakespeare once wrote, “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we often might win by fearing to attempt.”

You can realize your dreams.  They are yours for dreaming and they’re yours for coming true.  Your goal is to dream big, understand why it is important to you, map out a way to get it done, and do it.

Personally, I think if you will indulge in this one exercise to run a marathon, you will see what I mean.  And most importantly, it will change your life forever.  After you read this book, I hope you are just around the corner from completing your first marathon.  I want this book to motivate you to run your first marathon, and more importantly, I want you to run that marathon and finish.  When you do, you will understand the steps outlined in this book.  You will understand the reward of dreaming, planning, and doing.

By running just one marathon, you will absolutely change your life.