Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile in 1954, shattering what everyone believed impossible. Once he did it, thousands followed. The speaker argues that what we see is filtered through our beliefs, and real change requires personal responsibility, faith, and grinding through hardship.
Chapters
Before April 1954, the common belief, the universal belief, because it had been tried again and again and again and people had failed, the belief was that man was not physically capable of breaking the 4-minute barrier, that he could not run a mile in less than 4 minutes. When something happens to them, they begin to believe that that's the way it is, that's the way it's always been, and they can't see the possibility of it being any different. 250 yards to go and Bannister takes over. Watch his giant stride take him to the front as he races the last lung-bursting— Roger Bannister came along and he broke the 4-minute barrier. Since that time, up to this day, over 20,000 people have done it, including high school kids. 20,000 people. What changed? Here's what happened when they got on the track. They knew it had been been done. And because they knew it had been done, there was a new belief about this barrier that was unreachable. And those 20,000 people got in the race believing, knowing in their heart that someone had done it, that it's possible that they could do it. If someone can make their dream become a reality, then you can make your dream become reality. Eyesight and mindsight. Eyesight is judging on what you see, judging according to appearances. But mindsight is how you interpret what you see. One guy said, it's not possible, it's over, I'm finished, I can't do it, I can't make it. He surrendered. I've faced rejection again and again, I'm not going anymore, there are no jobs out there. But this other guy, he felt that in spite of the no's and rejections, in spite of how bad the economy is, in spite of what the newspapers are saying, that it's possible. 'No, that somebody somewhere will give me a job.' He just kept going, thinking it was possible. And guess what, ladies and gentlemen? That's what we have to do with our dreams. Because things happen to you in life that you can never ever anticipate, and many times when those things happen, you want to give up. Easy is not an option. It's hard living. Life is hard. See, it's hard when you are 49 years old, been working on a job for 17 years, and they come in and tell you you're finished and give you one week severance pay. You got to start all over again. It's hard handling just the tragedies of life. It's hard when you're working on something and you put everything you have in it and it doesn't work out. You lose your money and other people's money. You know what I discovered? When you're working at your dream, somebody said the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. It's good to you. Why? See, what you become in the process is more important than the dream. That's far more important. The kind of person you become, the character that you build, the courage that you develop, the faith that you're manifesting. Oh, it's, it's something that You get up in the morning, you look yourself in the mirror, you're a different kind of person. You walk with a different kind of spirit. You've got to have that kind of courage, that type of determination. If you want to make it happen, it's you. But you've got to take personal responsibility to make it happen. You must have faith. You've got to believe in yourself. You've got to believe in your abilities. You've got to believe in your service, your company, your ideas. Questionably. You got to have faith, and that faith gives you patience. That it's not gonna happen as quickly as you want it to happen. It's your dream. If you want it to happen, get your butt up and make it happen. If you want it to happen, rise and grind. I dare you not to go back to sleep. I dare you to get up, and I dare you to chase your dream. It's possible you can win. Whatever comes to you, don't run from it. Don't try and duck it like most people do. Step toward it. You want to make your dream come true, you got to stay focused. Some people rather get even than get ahead. Stay focused on where you want to go. Where are you going with your life?
