BE ALL THAT THEY CAN BE?
June 30, 2008
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."
BE ALL THAT THEY CAN BE?
On a recent A&E Biography segment, Oprah Winfrey was asked whether she considered all the competing talk shows to be a threat to her own daytime show. She answered with a personal story about running in a marathon.
It seems Oprah had always had a dream of running in a marathon. She trained for two years to get ready, and she ran her marathon. Oprah explained that, to her, competition was like that marathon. As long as she was hitting her stride with her goal of winning in clear focus, there was no time to consider the competition. She added that just turning her head backward to see how close competing runners were to her position was enough to rob her of energy needed to win the race.
Oprah's view of the competition brought to mind the U.S. Army recruiting slogan: "Be all that you can be!" Note that it does not say, "Be all that THEY can be!" Even when your competition has a recognizable face, why would you want to be them? If you want to improve yourself, speed up your achievements, or earn more money, why not just better your own time? Comparing yourself to others is a waste of precious time and energy.
Realizing your dreams requires a roadmap. First, you must decide on a destination - your dream. Next, you must choose a route. For Oprah, that involved hiring a personal trainer, improving her aerobic capacity, and adding strength training to her daily regimen. You must also identify some stops or landmarks along the way to help you measure your progress. Finally, you must apply all your energy to running the race - and achieving your dream.
Oprah's dream was to run a marathon. What's yours?
