Of Marathons and Millionaires

(originally published May 18, 2015. My original blog, on Wordpress, was hacked in early 2016. All of the original posts, through January 2016, have been re-posted here on Blogger.)

The inspiration to stretch beyond our limits can come from just about anywhere. My own inspiration to run five marathons in one year developed from reading numerous stories of people who accomplished goals that had appeared all but impossible – the former couch potatoes who now run marathons; the man who ran 50 (yes, 50!) marathons in one year; the stutterer who became a world-class speaker; the down-on-their-luck people who evolved into multi-millionaires; and in general, all the people who have accomplished the very thing that their friends and relatives told them they couldn’t do. And of course – my biggest inspiration – the amazing people at The Israel Sport Center for theDisabled.

Running a marathon presents obvious physical challenges. But ultimately, it is an exercise in mental toughness and spiritual resilience. All those months of training are merely the by-product of the mental resolution to accomplish the goal in the first place, the ability to envision oneself with an entirely different level of potential, and the perseverance to stay true to one's convictions whenever the going gets tough (which is often).

My new article on spiritual lessons learned from the marathon was just published on Aish.com this week. You can read it here. In a nutshell, I discussed the power of the concept of transcendence in the Jewish tradition, how it opens up new and previously unimaginable possibilities, and how we can accomplish amazing feats in relatively short amounts of time if only we allow ourselves to embrace a larger vision and then put in the work with that vision in mind.

The person with barely a dollar to his name who went on to create a fabulously successful business had to, at one point or another, make a decision to live his life differently, believe he was capable enough, and perhaps most important, find the inspiration to move forward. The same is true of the couch-potato-turned-marathon runner, the stutterer-turned-public-speaker, and anyone else who has transformed themselves enough to accomplish something big.

That inspiration ultimately must come from within. But knowing that others have already paved the way can give us the initial confidence we need to get on the path ourselves.

Inspiring others to go beyond what they had thought was possible is one of my goals in running these five marathons. My first goal, of course, is to actually run the marathons, thus going beyond what I had thought was possible for me. My second goal is that my running will have a meaning and an impact beyond my personal goal-setting  – that’s why I’m using the marathons to raise $5,000 for the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled. And my third goal is to serve as an example that will inspire others to set and accomplish new goals beyond what they otherwise might have done.

So far, I’ve run two of the five marathons, and am on my way to a third in St. Petersburg, Russia, in about six weeks. Thanks to many generous individuals, we are over 25% of the way toward our $5,000 goal for the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled (if you wish to help get us over the top, you can donate here. Thank you!).

And just recently, three people, in rapid succession, have told me that my 5-marathon run has inspired them to set sail on bigger goals. First, a friend from my high school years wrote me that I had inspired her to return to an athletic activity she loves “and make the year I turn 50 a new beginning.” Then, a fellow musician from my days playing in the Air Force Band wrote me to say that she’d “like to do something like you’re doing” and is seriously considering running half-marathons to raise money for a good cause. Finally, a good friend here in Israel told me that my running had inspired him to start running again, and that despite not having run in 20 years along with a problematic knee, he is now training for the Jerusalem Night Run to be held next month.

My hope is that by the time I’ve run five marathons, I will have inspired many more people to start working on new and bigger goals. Those goals need not be athletic. For me, running the marathons is only the vehicle for stretching myself from the inside. The same inspiration, drive, perseverance, and settings one’s sites on something larger could be applied to any goal.

As I’ve progressed through these marathons, I’ve started to wonder – could I apply the same energy  and focus to make a million dollars? I haven’t tried it, but probably. I’ve started to wonder if maybe I should. Why limit the inner skills I am acquiring only to running marathons? Maybe I could finally become decent at speaking Hebrew after years of coming up with reasons why I don’t. Maybe I could write another book and find a way for it to become a bestseller. Maybe I could find a way to do all those things in life I’ve always wanted to do but always seemed to lack either the necessary time or money, or both.

So what about you? What goals are simmering underneath the surface that you don’t fully believe you could accomplish? All it may take is to find someone who can serve as your inspiration and then – just begin.

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I am running these five marathons for the amazing children and adults at the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled. We have set a goal of $5,000. Every donation of any amount makes a difference. Click here if you want to help us get to the finish line!