Think back to a time in your life when you tried something new.

When I was a teenager I volunteered to work the water station at a 10k race. It was called the "Heaven Can Wait" 10k run and ironically, it was sponsored by the local cemetery.

My job was to pass out water to the runners. I remember being so excited to see all the different kinds of people who passed by and grabbed a cup of water. Some ran past, some walked past and a few wheeled past. I saw so many types of people doing it, I thought maybe I can do it too!

So the next year I signed up for the race and gave it a shot. Back then I didn't do much to prepare except jog around my neighborhood. I never tracked how far I jogged, or timed myself, I just ran around. I had no time goals for the race, no specialized training, no game plan, nothing. Needless to say that I prepare differently when I run races today, but back then my only goal was to finish.

On the day of the race, it was incredibly hot and humid. I remember struggling at about the 5th mile, thinking, "I must be crazy, why did I do this? What was I thinking? And at one point, I said, "I am never doing this again!"

Have you ever felt that way about something? You eagerly undertake a goal and in the midst of it comes a moment of struggle, and you realize it is much harder than you imagined it would be?

That first 10k race was quite an experience. I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked. At times, I didn't know if I could finish. Then came a defining moment.

At one point near the end, a 70 year old man ran past me, very very fast, and I felt embarrassed that I was 50+ years younger than he and I couldn't even keep up with him. I felt defeated for a second. But then I realized something. He was running his race and I was running mine.

He had different capacities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. Remember my goal was merely to finish.

How often in life do we compare ourselves to others and feel disappointed in ourselves when we really shouldn't? After a minute, it hit me that this was a lesson I could draw from. I learned something about myself in that moment. I turned my embarrassment into inspiration.

I decided that I would not give up on running races, in fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and prepare properly and one day I would be one of those 70 year olds who was still running. As I crossed the finish line, I was proud of my accomplishment.

I am so glad I didn't give up on running. Today it is an incredible source of joy in my life. I have run several races since then, 5ks, 10ks and I run purely for fun. I have studied running books, made friendships with other runners and I can report that I love it now more than ever.

In life we all have those moments where we compare ourselves to others. It's only natural. Don't allow those moments to disempower you. Turn them into motivation and let them inspire you. Use them to show you what is possible. Every struggle is rich with opportunity. You define your own race when you define your own goals.

With the proper preparation, coaching and conditioning, you can improve your results to achieve anything you want in life.

The impact of fitness and nutrition on my life has been remarkable. I can do things now that I could not even do in my 20's all because of coaching, proper nutrition and conditioning.

You decide your race and you decide your own pace. Rarely in life will your destiny be determined by one little race.

"Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable." - Coach John Wooden

Life is a series of races. There are lessons in every race. There are life lessons to be learned every single day. If you don't win the race, but you get the lesson, and grow, you are truly a success.

Live Your Dreams.

Jill Koenig

Jill Koenig, the "Goal Guru" is one of America's Top Goal Strategist's. A best selling Author, Coach and Motivational Speaker, she is an expert on the subjects of Goal Setting, Time Management and Business Success. Her Goal in life is to help you unleash your untapped potential. Get your free Goal Setting CD at: www.GoalGuru.com

Volume 3, Number 2 July 2007 Man Restores Lost Dental Bone Dentist says "Awesome!" If you don't have gingivitis you are rare, lucky, or very young.   compared them  to those taken in 1998, she could hardly believe her eyes! Instead of the Nearly 80 percent of American adults have some form of gum disease. One of the most common of these is gingivitis, which can lead to periodontitis, and to the destruction of bone and tooth loss. A gentleman, who had been undergoing treatment for periodontitis for more than twenty years, told us his exciting story. By 1998, nine years ago, he had experienced significant loss of the bone expected increase in bone loss, it showed significant new bone growth. The tooth was now firmly anchored in several millimeters of new bone as you can see in the new X-ray taken on April 25, 2007. Also there had been no further bone loss around the other teeth in the intervening nine years while using MicroBrite, as there had been in previous years. that holds his teeth, with only a few millimeters of bone left to anchor one tooth, as shown in his X-ray dated August 4, 1998. He also uses RBC products, so when we introduced MicroBrite in 1998, he switched his dentifrice from drug store toothpaste to MicroBrite, and has continued to use it ever since. In order to support bone growth and bone density, the gentleman said he also took Protivity for amino acids and MagiCal for calcium, magnesium, and other minerals contained in marine deposits. The surprise occurred this spring when his hygienist took a new set of X-rays. When she   She called to the dentist who looked at the two X-rays and exclaimed - "awesome!" According to the dentist, bone restoration almost never occurs in chronic periodontitis. Most drug store toothpastes contain oxidizing agents. They are devoid of electrons and do not scavenge the free radicals, nor counteract the acids, formed by food particles and mouth bacteria which tend to erode tooth enamel and create cavities. MicroBrite is a cleansing dentifrice. It is not a medicine. It does not generate bone growth, or treat periodontitis, or any other disease. But it is different from most toothpastes. MicroBrite is an antioxidant that produces trillions of electrons to scavenge free radicals, and also creates an alkaline environment to counteract mouth acids.* For healthy dental cleansing use MicroBrite. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

 2007 RBC Life Sciences, Inc.

 

For details on how to get your hands on this product, go to

http://114905.rbclifesciences.com/Products.aspx?ItemID=152

 

 

Run Hard
This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.—2 Timothy 4:7

Not many people would disagree that professional football is a rough, sometimes violent sport. Years ago, during a Monday-night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears’ hall-of-fame running back, had accumulated over nine miles in yardage by running with the football. Another announcer remarked, “Yeah, and that’s with someone knocking him down every 4.6 yards!”

Walter Payton was one of the most successful running backs to ever play professional football. He knew that everyone–even the best–gets knocked down. The key to his success was getting back up and running again just as hard the next time he took the football.

In the race that is the Christian life, keep your eyes on the finish line and run hard! No matter who tries to cause you to stumble or whatever circumstances knock you off balance, when you fall down along the way, get back up, dust yourself off and get back in the game! Don’t become discouraged and quit! In life, you will get knocked down. But, if you keep your eyes on the Lord and keep running hard, you will be assured of finishing well in the end!

Free report

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This is pretty good.

Ben Carson was just another kid trying to survive.  Raised by a single mom in the Detroit ghettos he had a terrible temper and an even worse self-esteem.  He was labeled the “stupidest kid in the 5^th grade” and no one held much hope for his future.  How then did this angry boy become the renowned Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery of the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland as well as one of the world’s top brain surgeons?

His mother.

Today’s story is not about Ben Carson, though we’ll talk about him more another time.  This story is about Sonya Carson – the woman who created greatness in her son. 

Sonya Carson grew up in harsher circumstances than her son.  Abandoned when she was just a child (one of 24 children), she was raised in abusive foster homes.  She longed for love, safety and a sense of belonging.  She only made it through the 3^rd grade before she had to leave school.  Whatever dreams she had were being crushed by a world of poverty and abuse.

She was only 13 years old when 28 year-old Robert Carson married her.  Robert treated the beautiful little girl like a beloved “china doll”.  Sonya believed she had found everything she had looked for during her lonely childhood.

It all changed when she had children.  Suddenly her devoted husband was rarely at home, and she had to endure whispered conversations on the phone when he did show up.  Her life plummeted back into poverty and neglect. She took it until her two boys were 8 and 10, then she found the courage to leave her husband and move to Boston. 

Life was better only because she was on her own.  She had the freedom to create the life she wanted.  But how?  Leaning on a strong faith she struggled for ways to make life better for her sons – often working 2-3 jobs just to provide food and housing.  Yet she knew it would take more than that to help her boys live up to their potential – to break from the cycle of poverty. 

She decided to take radical action to change things for Ben and Curtis by setting “house rules”.  Her boys could only watch TV for 2 hours a week.  They had to go to the library, then pick out – and read – two books every week.  To earn their privilege of TV time they had to give her a written report of the books they read.  Both boys resisted but they did it.  They didn’t find out until much later that Sonya, with her 3^rd grade education, couldn’t even read the reports. 

Her course of action paid off.  Ben, in particular, changed as he realized he was not really stupid.  The day he answered a question in class that no one else could answer – all because he had learned it from one of the books Sonya forced him to read – gave him a voracious appetite for knowledge.  Suddenly he was devouring books – learning everything he could.  He realized he held his future in his hands.   He took that understanding and applied himself until he became one of the world’s top brain surgeons.

He freely admits he owes his success to his mother, Sonya.  He’s right.  Yes, of course had to apply himself, but it was Sonya who gave him the desire to do so.  It was her actions that convinced him he could be anything he wanted to be.

Somehow this amazing woman rose above all the terrible circumstances of her own life in order to create a better understanding and a better life for her boys.  Yes, the circumstances of her life changed as both her boys became successful men – Curtis an engineer, and Ben, a doctor.  But ask her what her greatest success is…

“Helping my boys reach their fullest potential.” 

Sonya Carson changed her life.  She changed her son’s lives.  And because of them she has changed the world.

Now that’s what I call success!  Every single one of us has challenges to overcome, circumstances to rise above.  Whether we do or not is completely up to us.  Sonya could have chosen to wallow in the cycle of abuse and poverty.  She chose something different.

What about you?