Story Time..."RING THE BELL"

 

There is a true story about a man named Ben Yosef, who trains some of the most remarkable Arabian Horses (which are a type of Stallion...by the way!).  These horses are known for their toughness, service, and obedience.   They are the most sought out horses in the world.  What separates these horses from all the others?...well, from the time they are able (little ones), they are trained to do special tasks everyday, in the heat, at any time,  and then at the RING OF A BELL, they are trained to immediately to go to Ben and he rewards them for it.  

This training goes on for years, until the true test comes.  The Horses are taken to a corral and locked inside, away from everything, left in the heat, with no food or water, for DAYS, even weeks!  After awhile, he returns to gather his prized horses, to bring them back to the desert ranch, where there is water and food.  As they get closer to the watering hole, he lets the horses go.  They immediately run to the water...just as they are getting close to the water, Ben RINGS THE BELL!  All the horses ears perk up...most keep running to the water...a few slow down, look back and continue to the water...and a select CHOSEN ones, slow down, turn around without hesitation, and slowly walk back to Ben!  They are then rewarded with all the water and food that they want and need and are given the best tasks any horse could have in this World.   They are the MOST sought after Horses in the World!

I share this story because, sometimes it is hard to see why we go through all these runs, miles, waking up early, hydrating, monitoring your sleep, trying to eat well, pushing yourself on the same Friday run :), and still try to be normal!   I guess, the key to GREATNESS, is NOT to be NORMAL!  It requires something special, some sacrifices I suppose, and a willingness to separate ourselves from others, just like the amazing Arabian Horses, mentioned in the story.  It's about willing to do what others aren't...NOT so we can appear BETTER than others, but to improve ourselves...and the greatest thing about Arabian Horses is that they are used mostly as Service animals...helping and inspiring others, to want more!  We should want to improve ourselves, while HELPING others to be willing to "return at the RING OF THE BELL", even when it seems the HARDEST!  The Bell could represent so many things...tough moments in a run/race, days where you feel really tired and just want to sleep, and on and on!  When you "hear the bell", what will you try to do from now on?  Let's ALL work on it!  :)

EVALUATION TIME:  Which type of Arabian Horse are you right now (the great thing is, that we can work on it...its a CHOICE!)?  Are we just the perky ears and still run to the water horse...perky ears, look back, and still run to the water...or perky ears, turn around, return, and become the CHOSEN (which by the way was a CHOICE that the Horse made, not Ben)!

                                           I just love story time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   :)

Happiness is NOT the Goal!

 

I have had this thought for some time now, because we try to do our best, we try to show up most days, we try to do more miles, we try to improve and give a little more, but it doesn’t always seem to pay off!

Whether it is our newbies trying to increase their miles, or others shooting for the chance to go to HARC, or others to run Varsity, and maybe others who are trying to run with the fastest kids around…each of us has some kind of “obstacle” seemingly in our way.  And sometimes that can be frustrating and NOT a very HAPPY time in life.   

But to keep this very simple for all of us…IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN “OBSTACLE” TO WORK AROUND OR GET OVER, OR FIGURE OUT, THEN YOU PROBABLY AREN’T LOOKING VERY CLOSELY OR REALIZE IT!   It’s the challenges in our lives that truly make us better, not the smooth times (those are nice also of course), but real HAPPINESS comes from the HARD WORK that is EARNED by figuring things out, by working through it, by helping others, by doing it together, by believing in the process!  That’s right, the PROCESS is where we experience the GREATEST HAPPINESS!  That doesn’t mean that we literally don’t have a goal of being Happy, but how we are HAPPY is from the WORK that we put into the process…which means we don’t always know or understand all the “obstacles” but we TRUST and BELIEVE, and WORK because that is the only way to give ourselves a chance!  Take that chance on you, on each other and pursue HAPPINESS…especially since now you should understand HOW to be HAPPY!  Run on my Friends!

The SECRET...

 

Let's see who really is paying attention and takes to HEART, what we share in these posts!  Sweet and Simple and to the point!  When we ask what the "SECRET" is...you can respond with the following asnwer!

The Secret is...there is NO SECRET!

CONSISTENCY is more important the Intensity.

PROGRESS must be the focus over Perfection.

FUNDAMENTALS over Fads.

OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

Simple and yet profound!

The "FORMULA"

 

 

I was reading a book on a famous football coach, Andy Reid...Head football coach of the Kansas City Chiefs (won the last 2 superbowl's in case you didn't know!).  In his book, he mentions a FORMULA that he uses to help his players get the most out of themselves, each other, and for the TEAM!  I thought it would be cool to share, PLUS, IT FITS RIGHT UP OUR ALLEY OF WHAT WE COULD USE FOR US ALSO!

I'm not trying to share spiritual or religious ideas with you or make any of you think you must do this...it simply was really cool to me that this is what a big time Coach, known all over the World, shares with his Team and everyone else about what matters.  The FORMULA involves what he thought Jesus Christ's primary characteristics would be, if he were a football player.  

1. Eliminate Distractions:  Seems pretty obvious, but we all struggle with it!  If we could just let things go a little and not get caught up in sooooo many things that demand so much of our attention and focus on what matters most to us!  We are not saying that you don't do things you love or should do...just make sure they fit on your priority list so that you can be ALL IN!

2. Create Energy:  Are you an energy giver or energy taker?  Are you helping others and giving back or do you require others to get you out the door or to get you to do things?  Of course we all need help now and then (even to get out the door), BUT OVERALL, are you GIVING back, to others, to the Team, to everything?  Be an Energy Giver!

3.  Fear Nothing:  We all have fears, but are you gonna run away from your fears?  Are you going to get to the bottom of your fears? Are you willing to "go in there and go in there deep?"  Are you going to attack your Fears?  And that leads us to the last step of the FORMULA...

4.  Attack Everything:  Attack your fears, your goals, your passion, your commitment, your choices, your courage, your consistency...Attack the CC's of XC!  Don't just simply say these things, show it through your actions...ATTACK!

It was interesting to see the perspective of this well-known coach!  To me is was keeping things simple and using his FAITH and WORK Ethic to imagine what would someone who is important to him (Christ), do to improve their lives, sport, situation, etc.

We challenge you to do the same this week and the weeks to come!  Do these 4 things and see what happens...you will be amazed at what the FORMULA does for you...for all of us!