Indian anti-colonial nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi once said, “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” On your path to achieving your dreams and aspirations, you will be mocked, doubted, ridiculed, discouraged and laughed at by supposedly well-meaning family, friends, frenemies and haters. As rapper Jay-Z said in his song Reminder, “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.” Your results would cancel the insults, and you would eventually be called to consult and construct.
I recently ran four full 42.2 KM Marathons in May 2023 as part of my goal of running across the ten Canadian provinces. Running one marathon is tough and running four marathons in a month is extremely tough. I strongly believe that “How you do one thing is how you do everything” , I run because it is one of the best metaphors for navigating life, pain and endurance. Most people don’t understand why I would run ten marathons in a year but I know why I am doing it and that is all that matters. Never explain, does that need it don’t matter and does that matter don’t need it.
“The wealthiest place in the world is not the gold mines of South America or the oil fields of Iraq or Iran. They are not the diamond mines of South Africa or the banks of the world. The wealthiest place on the planet is just down the road. It is the cemetery. There lie buried companies that were never started, inventions that were never made, bestselling books that were never written, and masterpieces that were never painted. In the cemetery is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential.”― Myles Munroe
As the saying goes,”‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” Every day we are all given the invaluable gift of time to create a masterpiece of our one precious life. We get credited with 86,400 seconds, 1,440 minutes, and 24 hours each morning, how we spend our time determines the course of our life. The average lifetime is about 83 years in which we spend 1/3rd sleeping (27 years), and another 1/3rd is spent commuting, working, and child-rearing, among other activities.
Dream as if you‘ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today. – James Dean
For 83 years old adults, the time to be productive is less than 20 years. Most of us delay living our lives as we say, “Someday I’ll, ” we overestimate the value of a year and underestimate the value of a day. Make every day a masterpiece by making the committed effort to the actualization of your goals and aspiration. As the late founder of Apple once said, “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” We only live once, but if we lead this one precious life, right once is enough.
In his inspiring 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, the founder and late CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, advised that we live every day like it could be our last as our time here is limited:
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
In How to Run a Marathon: The Go-to Guide for Anyone and Everyone, British sports reporter, and endurance runner Vassos Alexander shares strategies, tips and insight for running the 26.2-mile marathon distance. The book includes interviews with marathon runners, running documentaries, and training and nutrition tips for conquering the distance.
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill once said: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” The will to try, the courage to set the big hairy audacious goals; even when you don’t ultimately achieve the eventual goal, what you learn in the process is more important than the goal itself. Microsoft founder Bill Gate once quipped “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”
In 2009, Ursula Burns became the first African American woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company when she was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Xerox Corporation. In her memoir, Where You Are Is Not Who You Are, Ursula chronicles her story of growing up in poverty, being an outsider most of her life, her career trajectory, and the lessons learned leading a Fortune 500 company as a black woman.
One of Ursula Burns’s mother’s favourite sayings was, “Where you are is not who you are.” she constantly reminded her kids that their present position was not who they were. Nothing last forever, life is a season and it is impermanent.
Mellody Hobson (born April 3, 1969) is the Co-CEO, President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Ariel Investment Trust, a Chicago-based investment firm that specializes in small and mid-capitalized stocks based in the United States. Mellody currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Starbucks Corporation and a director of JPMorgan Chase.
Early Life and Education
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Mellody is the youngest daughter of a single mother to six children. Her mother, Dorothy Ashley, renovated apartments and condos in old and sometimes abandoned buildings. She grew up in poverty, and that experience drove her as a child to want to understand money.
“We moved often,” says Hobson. “There was always a lot of drama surrounding our living situation. At times, my mother couldn’t pay her bills and our electricity would be cut off, and we would have to heat water for our baths. We also had our phone cut off at times. We were even evicted a few times and had our car repossessed. But it wasn’t as bad as some had it, so I tried not to make too much of it. I had a loving family, and although my mother often came up short financially, she did the best she could.”
She graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago in 1987 and from Princeton University in 1991.
Money wasn’t an economic construct to me. It wasn’t toys and cars and vacations. Money was food. Shelter. Self-esteem. Books. Hot baths. Peace of mind. I wanted all those things. Not having money focused me. I was mortified every time the phone was disconnected, or the electricity shut off, or we got evicted. To this day, I do not take housing or the ability to pay my bills for granted. My childhood circumstances made me desperate to understand money—not to make it but to master it. 1
The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are usually the ones who do —STEVE JOBS
I have been hearing a lot of “You are crazy” statements of late especially when I share my goal of running the ten Canadian Provinces in 2023 (Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador). I smile and say to myself: what a compliment. Most of the time, you are crazy comes with follow-up questions such as How would you have the time? Are you not scared of getting injured? Who is going to sponsor your trips? etc. I have been told you are crazy so much that now it does not have the effect it used to have on me, now I just say to myself: Let’s Go. I smile because the 10 Canadian marathon running goal is not even in the top five challenges that I have set for myself.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi
In 1991, Mellody Hobson joined Ariel Investments—America’s first Black-owned mutual fund, the firm founded by John Rogers Jr. in 1983. She is presently Co-CEO, President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ariel Investment Trust. In 2019, she became the first Black woman president and co-CEO of an investment fund when she stepped into those roles at Ariel.
In Mellody Hobson’s masterclass, she delves into how to hone your own strategic decision-making skills and access two real-life case studies that exemplifies how she applied these tools in complex business situations.
You got a dream. You got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves… they want to tell you, you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.
In one of my favourite scenes in any movie, Will Smith (homeless salesman Chris Gardner) passes a strong message to his son Christopher Jr ( Jadon Smith) about the power of holding on to and protecting your dreams and aspiration. While playing basketball, Christopher Jr. muttered the following words:
“Hey dad, I am going pro! … I am going pro!
Will Smith: Okay yeah. I don’t know you know I… You’ll probably be about as good as I was. That’s kind of the way it works you know. I was below average. You know, so you’ll probably ultimately rank…somewhere around there you know so…I really – You’ll excel at a lot of things just not this. I don’t want you shooting this ball around all day and night. All right?
Jadon Smith: All right Will Smith: Hey! Don’t ever let somebody tell you … you can’t do something. Not even me. All right? Jadon: All right Will: You got a dream. You got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves… they want to tell you, you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period. Let’s go
You got a dream. You got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves… they want to tell you, you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.
We can all relate to the above scene from The Pursuit of Happiness movie. We have all had our dreams belittled by so-called experts, well-meaning family and friends. You hear things like: You can’t do that, that is just the way it is, you are too short, too tall, too black, too skinny, too fat, too this or not that. As Will Smith advises his son in the movie, If you want something, go get it. Period.
If you want something, go get it. Period.
I recently ran four back-to-back-to-back-to-back full 42.2KM marathons in the month of May 2023. It is part of my goal to run a marathon in each of the ten Canadian Provinces (Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador). Setting the goal was scary at first but by taking action it became easier by the day. My ultimate goal is to qualify for the 2025 Boston Marathon and the qualifying time for my age bracket is a long stretch from my present running time. Any time I share my Canadian Province goal with peeps, I hear a lot of snarky statements such as Are you not scared of getting injured, do you work, how are you getting this funded, you are crazy, etc. Some of these questions are genuine but I find a lot of them not sincere anyways. I always remember my why anytime I hear these statements and keep it moving.
Never explain does that need it don’t matter, does that matter don’t need it.
Success is having a clear picture of what you want and then eventually your life matches that picture. Success is having a clear process of having your vision come into reality. Success is realizing a life you dream of, progress towards a worthy goal and vision in your life is the pathway to success.
Thoughts are the currency with which you purchase your dreams and your vision. If you change the way that you think, you can change your life.
Depth Perception: We all have a vision but the challenge with most of us is that we think it is further away than it is. You have created patterns and believes that makes it far away,
You would never rise above what you believe in. You would never longterm rise above what you think you deserve.
Who are you? Physical body, Intellect and spiritual element.
Repeteadly believe that you are born to do something great. Expect great things to happen for you. The Recticular Activating System in your brain reveal to you what you believe deeply in your heart. Enthusiasm is an energy frequency. In life, we get what we most believe we deserve.
Be careful about what you want cos you are going to get it. Be specific.
You are born to do great things in your life and you won’t know when you are doing it.
Meditations
“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.”
― Gandhi
Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – Language
Language shapes the way we see the world and ourselves within it.
Take more care with your words and frame your thoughts more continuously. Notice words and phrases that contain judgments and imply limitations, try swapping them for alternatives that are more empowering and compassionate. Instead of saying “but” try “and” replace “have to or should” with “want to or choose to” rather than “that is impossible” try saying “It has yet to be done”.
“Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides.” – Rita Mae Brown .
Daily Jay with Jay – Game Tape
Journal to discover your behavioral patterns
All the best in your quest to get better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – Carl Jung
One of the keys to happiness I have found in life is this: You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to engage with anything that does not serve you. Most things in life are not inherently bad; they usually serve us until they stop. As Swiss Psychoanalyst Carl Jung noted, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” What is unconsciously or consciously directing your life? Most of us lead our lives based on the dictates of our social programming, religious indoctrination, unquestioned societal norms, social media pressure, and the shoulds and have-tos. You don’t have to do anything in life, especially if it stops serving you, such as being loyal to toxic family and friends, negative behaviour(s), addictive hobbies, stressors, drama etc.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to change you is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Here is a breakdown of how I faired in executing the above goals in May 2023:
Four Marathons in May
As part of my bigger goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, I set a goal to run across the 10 Canadian provinces (Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador). The month of May was the toughest of the schedule as I ran four back to back to back to back full marathons in a month. I visited three new cities and provinces.
