Against all odds… I did it anyway

This picture is the culmination of thirteen years of effort.
This picture is the fruition of a plan interrupted by life.
This picture is the lemon of a body forced into submission.

If this picture is worth a thousand words, those words start with: AGAINST ALL ODDS, I DID IT ANYWAY.

Why?
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Because I didn't run my first mile -- of my entire life -- until I was 39 years old. If you'd told me during my first four decades that I was an athlete, I would have laughed you out of the room. Making excuses to get out of physical education was second nature. Sweating? Discomfort? No thank you, I'll pass.
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I struggled with an eating disorder for most of my college years, and some beyond that. And, now, while I spend my job on stage and screen in front of millions people, I still have body dysmorphia that would make your head spin.
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Suffice it to say: my body has never been my friend. And that was before it decided to wage war on me, with an autoimmune disease so rare that only 800 people in a country of 330 million had ever been diagnosed with it.
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The hard road is never crowded with people, but it sure does teem with doubts, uncertainties, and insecurities.
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And, yet, this.
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This is the proof that we are capable.
This is the proof that we are layered.
This is the proof that we are magical.

Even if we don't yet know it.

Here's what I know to be true this week: we can do so much more than we think, but only if we actually want it.

That's not me bro-talking you about "how much do you want it, maannnnnnn?!?" It's me reminding you that you need to set a goal that matters -- actually matters -- to you. And that takes asking yourself three questions:

1. How do I know that this ridiculous goal is the right-sized goal for me?

Because the goal scared the crap out of me? Yes. Only about 2,000 American women have run all six majors. Cool cool. Aim high, right?

But more than that: it organized my mind, my body, and my emotions to think about something bigger than me. I couldn’t screw around and expect to make it to the start line uninjured or the finish line unscathed. I had to make a plan, follow a plan, revise a plan, follow a plan, lather, rinse, repeat.

Your mileage may vary — literally — but for me, having something at the end of the road that is going to kick my ass if I don’t respect it sure helps me get out of my own skin — sadly, not literally (see, above, lemon of a body) — and get focused on where I’m going.

2. What do I really want?

If you were being honest with yourself — truly, unflinchingly honest — what would you really want? What would you consider worth fighting for?

You don’t have to want the thing that is socially acceptable, that is the norm, that looks good to everybody else. Go train for an Iditarod dog sled team, open an eco-lodge in Columbia, write mystery novels, farm your own energy, or, yes, go after that executive promotion. Don't worry if anyone but you approves of it. The world is a big place, and it’s big enough for your boldest dreams if only you are confident enough to dream them.

In over 20 years of studying and recruiting top leaders, it was never the ones who simply wanted the next promotion to the next big job who was ultimately the most successful. It was the ones who were so hungry for their own self-determined goals that they were intrinsically motivated to go after them. These are the ones who do the extra work, in the dark, when no one sees. These are the ones who are willing to dig deep and fight like hell to make it happen. They do it for themselves because they want it so badly that they can’t not do it. They are insatiably hungry. And you just can’t be insatiably hungry for someone else’s goal.

3. How do I actually follow through?

Runners who run marathons for charity actually finish — despite being less experienced and less fit, on average than those who qualify — at a greater percentage than non-charity runners. Why? Because they know their why. They are running for something more than themselves. It’s why I completed 2014, because despite being hurt (you can read the full story here), I got to say hello to hundreds of people who supported me in their pursuit. They were my why, and the charity they supported through me was my why. And that gave me extra fuel to keep going when things got dark. If you remember why you are doing what you are doing, you will have no choice but to do it, and do it as well as you can.

And, if you need an accountability buddy, pick something that scares you, and tag me on social media @heyLGO and I’ll check in on you and keep you on track. Why? Because you are my why.