Today I pretended as I ran that I was running on very thick foam padding. I believed that my knees and feet were stepping on the softest of roads and that each step created a soothing balm to the rest of my body.
Believe it or not, it worked. I ran the same 15 miles that I had so much trouble doing on Monday and I hardly felt a step. It seemed almost as if I blinked and I was home. I did not set a new speed record, it took me nearly as long as it took me to do on Monday. I find it interesting that I did not feel any pain as I ran. I just ran on in my brain and proved once again to myself that each one of us has the ability to invent whatever illusion we want to believe.
This caused me to have a deep conversation with myself about reality. An influential person in my life taught me nearly 20 years ago that I can invent whatever reality I want to invent. He told me that when I argue my limitations they become mine and I am stuck with them.
This is quite an amazing thought. Can it really be true? Is the only thing that limits our opportunities our own fears and/or willingness to accept status quo? Do we really have the power to accomplish anything we want? What do you believe?
Almost three weeks ago I started running. I began with a very powerful vision of running 52 miles in one day. I dreamed that I could accomplish this task within a 90 day period. Many around me think I am crazy. This does not change the fact that in the very first week I ran 45 miles and in the second week I ran 22 miles without stopping. Nor does it change the fact that this week I will run at least 60 miles. My body still tells me that I am crazy. I look forward to the time when it becomes accustomed to the physical exertion that my mind believes it is capable of doing. I am getting tired of waiting for it to catch up with the real me.
Since I began this process I have not used an alarm clock. I have awoken every day at exactly 4:30 AM. I have not felt tired when I get up. I have not felt like I want to stay in bed, even when my body is still sore. I have yet to finish a run when I feel like I could keep running. In fact, when I finish, I barely can bend over to pick up the paper. Today I ran for nearly 2 1/2 hours. I can barely comprehend my own ability to do this.
Despite this ability, doubt sometimes creeps into my mind. Today I saw the immensity of the task at hand. I thought to myself, "How can I possibly believe that I could run 52 miles in one day?" I was consumed for a moment with the response, "I can't." But for some reason I just kept running.
I ran when I didn't feel like running any more and then I screamed, "THIS IS NOT MY LIMIT." "I AM DESTINED TO MAKE THIS RUN." Immediately my mind reflected on a song titled "Corner of the Sky" from the Broadway Musical Pippin. The version I have is sung by the great Diana Ross. The chorus of that song says – "Rivers belong where they can ramble, Eagles belong where they can fly. I got to be, where my spirit can run free. Gotta find my corner of the sky." What a great purpose statement.
I don't want to be mediocre or normal. I want to continually push my limits and discover just what I am really capable of doing. It is not easy being a "Master of Make It Happen." Each experience raises the bar, which means that I must continually do better each time out. That is a lot of pressure to operate under, but it is the only way that I believe that we can truly satisfy the demands of continuous improvement.
As I tear down the walls of previous realities, I discover that I built those walls to begin with. I truly am the one who decides my own limits. My reality begins and ends by my own definition. I haven't figured out how to levitate or walk through walls but I no longer believe that it is impossible. I know it sounds crazy, but if you would have asked me a month ago if I would be able to run 60 miles in a week by this time, I would have thought it just as unlikely as walking through a wall or levitating. Today the asphalt felt like foam padding. Go figure!
What is your reality?
See you on the road 
Andrew
