Jim Rees On Belief's

So, as you know, I've completed the race across America four times. Once as a four person team back in 2005 when we finished a credible fourth overall for our first time going across America, and then three times as a solo racer. And my first solo race back in 2007 was probably my biggest learning point. The race itself is 3,000 miles of cycling non stop from San Diego to Annapolis in Maryland, and it goes across the Rocky Mountains, through the deserts and all the live traffic that you have to contend with. So you have a support crew that follow you across America to keep you as safe as possible. And it was actually in that race in 2007 that I got my biggest learning about my limiting beliefs that I had at the time about my ability to finish the race. And in fact, actually it proved me to really have to dig deep into my belief about whether I could finish the race or not. And then at about 1800 miles into the race, I started developing what is known, a condition that's known named by the guy that actually originally got Schermer's neck, Michael Schermer. And he actually ended up with Schermer's neck. And it's become a term that ultra cyclists are familiar with. But actually, basically what happens is your neck muscles fail, they completely fatigue and you end up in that position, which is extremely dangerous when you're attempting to ride a bike. And my crew thought that this was a big game changer and didn't believe at that point in the race, with 1200 miles to go, that I was going to be able to finish the race. And they started coming up with various options to try and negate this issue that I had. They came up with a Pringles box that they stood, they stuck and strapped on the front of the bike on the handlebars. And after about two minutes of cycling down the road, I went over the first bump and nearly broke my jaw. So that wasn't the right solution. But eventually they came up with a neck brace that did actually work. And I ended up having to cycle the rest of the race 1200 miles with that neck brace. And with about 160 miles to go, I had 10 hours to finish the race and I was completely shattered. The Shermer's knackered. I'd been struggling with this neck brace for that last 1200 miles and it was really causing me major issues. I was really sleep deprived. I had to take a really big long sleep, which then put me in jeopardy of whether I was ever going to finish the race within the actual cutoff time and the crew actually had given up by this point. They actually had resigned themselves to the fact that it was I wasn't going to finish within the cutoff time. They woke me up with 10 hours to go in the race and they said, Jim, you're going to finish, you're not going to finish the race, you're not going to beat the British record and you're definitely going to be outside the cutoff time. And their mood was really, really quite bad. And at the time I couldn't believe that they were even saying this to me because, you know, I thought they knew me really well. I thought that they knew that I was fully committed to finishing the race, not just for myself, but also for my sponsors, for my wife, for the rest of my family, and also for the crew that had dedicated their time to support me with the Race Across America. So with 10 hours to go, I had 160 miles to ride and at the time I was only averaging 10 miles per hour and I actually had to increase my speed to 16 miles an hour for the rest of that, for the rest of the 160 miles. And I finished the race just within the cutoff time with eight minutes to spare. So I guess what's my point? What's my message behind all of this? I really had to dig deep and tap into my belief that I was going to finish the race. That was the thing that really drove me. I absolutely, passionately believed with certainty that I was going to get the race done. And of course I snuck in with eight minutes to spare. And I guess if you're thinking about your, yourself in your sales environment as a leader, ultimately it's your beliefs about the people that you're working with, your belief about your ability to achieve whatever it is, whether it's a sales target, whether it's a new thing that you're attempting to achieve in your workplace, it's your belief about whether you're going to be able to get that done or not. And ultimately that's really the whole message around the Race Across America for me. Back in 2007, I really did believe I was going to get it done. In 2008 I went back and went a whole day quicker and again I believed I could go quicker and I proved it to myself. And then in 2009 I went a whole half a day quicker again and finished the race in 10 days, 20 hours, finishing sixth overall and took a total of 13 and a half hours sleep in that 11 day period. So I really do passionately believe that beliefs are the core of what drives us as human beings.