Winning Isn’t Being First
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60 years ago, on May 6, 1954, Englishman Roger Bannister did something many thought was impossible. He pushed the limits of the human body and ran the Mile in under 4 minutes. In all of recorded history, no human being had ever run a mile that fast.
Although Roger Bannister’s accomplishment is indeed extraordinary for many reasons (he was an amateur, student, trained little, went to school full time etc…) what is also astonishing is what has happened since.
46 days after he broke the 4 minute mile, another runner (from Australia) broke it.
Since that day, over 1,300 people have run the mile under 4 minutes. Two people have run a sub 4-minute mile over 100 times each, and 5 HIGH SCHOOL students have now run the mile in under 4 minutes.
Yet for well over one thousand, nine hundred and fifty three years, NO ONE had ever done it.
By the way, 23 days after Bannister broke the 4 Minute Mile, a woman from England broke the 5 Minute mark, something no woman had ever done before, and the current world record for women stands at just over 4 minutes 12 seconds.
The Impossible is simply something possible that has not yet happened.
In the sports-crazed society we live in most people believe that winning is everything. As the saying goes, ‘Winning isn’t everything, it’s the ONLY thing.’
I’m not sure that’s true. People confuse winning with being first. They’re not the same thing. VERY FEW people are the first to accomplish something. Most people give up. Sadly for many of them, they give up just before the moment they might have succeeded. They stop one corner short of the prize or give up one failure before the triumph.
It’s not easy to keep going, but it’s worth it. The one adage I find to be true one 100% of the time is that those who are successful simply don’t quit.
Yet, for most people, it’s much easier to achieve their success once someone else has done it first. Now it’s no longer a matter of faith, they have proof. And yes, when you KNOW it can be done, sticking with it becomes easier, not easy necessarily, but easiER than doing it when no one else has ever done it.
It’s why Entrepreneurs should be lauded, because more often than not, they are creating something new, trying to be the first.
1,300 sub 4-minute miles is impressive but it’s not a lot considering the time frame, and, the current world record hasn’t been broken in 15 years. In 1997, however, two miles were run in under 8 minutes!
There’s always room for another first. Chances are you may not even be trying to do something that is a first. For many of us we’re just trying to reach a goal or a dream for ourselves, but likely as not, someone else has already done it. If they can do it, so can you.
If, however, you’re one of the few who is trying to do something no one else has done, you are in good company. It will likely be hard. You’ll probably be tempted to quit. Don’t. It might be around the next corner, or the one after that. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Step on one stone at a time. Just don’t quit. We need you to be first. Others will follow but they aren’t able to be first. It’s up to you. We’re counting on you. You can do it, and we’ll be there to cheer for you when you cross the finish line.