19 to 27 to…

Read the last post before proceeding.  The one titled 19 to 27 to 35.  This one won’t make sense without that context.

Good.

The team then heard the real number from me.  The number you can read about in the book Born to Run, if you’re the type that needs to know the source.  The real number, when our running strength slips back to our running strength at 19 is not 35.  Our decline is not linear.  Not even close.

64.

64 is the real number.  Are you kidding me?  Nope.

This number may be hard for you to believe, it wasn’t for me.  Want some more evidence?  Go to the website for the Leadville 100 trail race.  Look back over the previous years winners and notice an Indian sounding name that appears as the winner in 1992, I believe it was.  Then google his age.

Want more.  Ask me to tell you the story of the 80 something woman that rode her bike up Mount Iseran, or the three 70 something men that rode just ahead of me all the way up to the top of Mount Galibier.  These mountains are “out of category” Tour De France climbs.  Translation, the Tour rates it’s mountain climbs from a category 4 to a category 1, with one being the toughest.  Out of category means they are beyond classification.  Too tough for a label.  

Nobody must have told them.

Yesterday, we challenged the individuals at our practice to capture a big dream for themselves that would be physically challenging and that would give them energy.  Beyond losing weight.  Looking good.  Keeping up with the boss, or any other “outside in” motivation.  It could be going on a three day cancer walk to climbing Mount Everest to swimming the English Channel.  The key was that it was something they wanted to do.  Something, maybe from way back, that would make them smile.  Next we asked them to gain clarity with the “why” behind their dream.  Why did this give them energy?  Why was this something important for them?  Why questions are powerful.  Answering them, with clarity, even more so.

Lastly we asked them who else they would involve.  Who would they invite to go along, to be a part of it, to make it better, or to simply support their effort.  So, in summary here’s their productive actions:

1.  Dream again.  Dream big.  Dream about something physical that you want to accomplish.

2.  Get to the “why’s” behind the dream.

3.  Determine who you want to do this with.  

4.  Go and connect them to your dream and allow them to influence it’s direction.  

5.  Choose a baby step to move you toward your dream.  

6.  Set up reminders to keep you going with the baby steps until they become baby habits, and then big disciplines down the line.

Enjoy the journey.

The truth is that we are listening to some bad, uninformed scripts in our heads.  We are buying the lie that tells us that with age, all we can count on is the decline.  And a rapid one, at that.  That is simply not true.  The truth is that we need to dream again.  Like we did back in high school or middle school, or elementary school, or whenever it was that we stopped…

Dreaming.

And, today, start it back up.  We have an engine that was meant to be used.  Carve out little baby steps of time and effort and get after something that gives you energy.  Get someone alongside and it will be so much more fun.  Before long, you’ll have more energy and the summit will be back in your sight.  And, here’s the really cool part.  Do not miss this…

The same dream and DO recipe applies to your work and to all the other CORE inspired aspects of your life.  

Dream and Do.

The only thing stopping you is…

You.

I hope to see you on the trail…