Run With Intent
Buckminster Fuller once said, "The minute you choose to do what you
really want to do it's a different kind of life." And it's not about
what you're getting PAID to do! If you want to live abundantly, decide
what you really want and figure out a way to do it. Be clear and live
with intent.
You may have heard of Fred Lebow. Fred complained to his doctor that
he lacked energy. His doctor advised him to take up running in order
to increase his stamina. He fell in love with it! He was 39 years old
when he entered his first race -- and did horribly. He beat only one
other contestant…a 72-year-old man. But he loved it!
Fred decided what he really wanted to do -- and he did it in his spare
time. He joined the New York Road Runners Club and organized New York
City's first marathon race. But what Fred truly wanted to do, even
more than run, was to bring people together. And that is what he did.
He believe that anybody should be able to run -- people of all ages,
any background, professional or amateur, and of any country. Today,
more than 28,000 people of all backgrounds and nationalities compete
in the NYC Marathon.
Not everyone in New York was excited about people running through
their neighborhoods. Fred was approached by a youth gang that warned
him that nobody had better run through their turf. "That's great,"
Fred enthused. "I need someone to protect the runners in your area,
and you look like just the fellows to do it." He gave them each a hat,
shirt and jacket and that year, when the marathon went through their
neighborhood, these young men proudly guarded the runners along their
way.
Fred decided what was truly important to him and he found a way to do
it. He lived with intent. That single decision made his life
remarkably different.
In 1990, Fred Lebow found he had a brain tumor. In 1992 he ran his
final race. He crossed the finish line holding the hand of his friend
and Norwegian Olympic medalist, Grete Waitz. A bronze statue was
created of Fred in his running clothes, checking his watch. It is now
placed at the finish line of every race. Fred died in 1994. But as one
sports writer said, "Fate handed him a short race. With his gall, with
his love of life, Fred Lebow turned it into a marathon."
Fred would say that it's not about how long you live, but how you run
the race of life. Do you run it with intent?
~ Steve Goodier ~
[ by: Steve Goodier Copyright © 2005 (LifeSupport@yahoogroups.com) -- {used with permission} ]
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