creating your own new normal

I stumbled upon Anton Krupicka's blog the other day and was blown away by what I read.  Anton's an ultra marathoner who has won several of the most competitive 100 mile races in the US.  His blog offers a peak into the life of an extreme athelete and what it takes to not only survive, but to compete at insanely long distances.  In his blog Anton shares his weekly training schedule.  For week after week, this guy puts in 145 to 200 miles in the mountains of CO.  That is anything but normal.  That is insane.  Anyway you look at it, that volume of work would destroy even the best trained athletes; not just physically but mentally.  How does he do it?  How does he maintain this level of training year after year? 

One of the secrets to Anton's work effort is hidden in plain site on his blog.  As you read his posts he often talks about the people he runs with.  While I get the impression that he does most of his running alone, he often runs with the likes of Scott Jurek and other ultra running legends.  For Anton and his running pals, 200 miles a week is normal.  Its what they do.  In their minds it's not superhuman; its business as usual.  Chances are, if you were to become a part of their world you would slowly adopt their perspectives on what is possible.  If your circle of friends routinely ran 26 miles a day, chances are what you define as humanly possible would begin to change and your goal of running 15 miles a week would become much more attainable.

We can't all live among people likeAnton who are the best at what they do, but we can be influenced by them just the same.  Reading biographies is a great way to change what you define as possible.  Seek out the great men and women of the world and let their stories redefine what you see as the art of the possible.

the first rule of reading

If I was going to create a list of rules for reading, rule number 1 would be always read with a pen in hand.  You never know when a life changing sentence will come along.  Inspiration can be fleeting, so if you are going to read, be prepared to make note of what speaks to you. 

I have a growing list of quotes from books, articles and magazines.  Some quotes are from works of fiction, most are from great leaders and thinkers, but all of them resonate with the way I see the world.   I'm not sure which quotes remind me of what I think and which have actively shape my thinking.  Truth is, it doesn't matter.  What does matter is that this list of quotes is my way of taking (some may call it stealing) from the artists, thinkers, speakers and leaders who have come before me and using them for my own devices.