Run With Intent
by Steve Goodier
Buckminster Fuller once said, "The minute you choose to do what you really want
to do it's a different kind of life." And it's not about what you're getting
PAID to do! If you want to live abundantly, decide what you really want and
figure out a way to do it. Be clear and live with intent.
You may have heard of Fred Lebow. Fred complained to his doctor that he lacked
energy. His doctor advised him to take up running in order to increase his
stamina. He fell in love with it! He was 39 years old when he entered his first
race -- and did horribly. He beat only one other contestant- a 72-year-old man.
But he loved it!
Fred decided what he really wanted to do -- and he did it in his spare time. He
joined the New York Road Runners Club and organized New York City’s first
marathon race. But what Fred truly wanted to do, even more than run, was to
bring people together. And that is what he did. He believe that anybody should
be able to run -- people of all ages, any background, professional or amateur,
and of any country. Today, more than 28,000 people of all backgrounds and
nationalities compete in the NYC Marathon.
Not everyone in New York was excited about people running through their
neighborhoods. Fred was approached by a youth gang that warned him that nobody
had better run through their turf. "That’s great," Fred enthused. "I need
someone to protect the runners in your area, and you look like just the fellows
to do it." He gave them each a hat, shirt and jacket and that year, when the
marathon went through their neighborhood, these young men proudly guarded the
runners along their way.
Fred decided what was truly important to him and he found a way to do it. He
lived with intent. That single decision made his life remarkably different.
In 1990, Fred Lebow found he had a brain tumor. In 1992 he ran his final race.
He crossed the finish line holding the hand of his friend and Norwegian Olympic
medalist, Grete Waitz. A bronze statue was created of Fred in his running
clothes, checking his watch. It is now placed at the finish line of every race.
Fred died in 1994. But as one sports writer said, "Fate handed him a short race.
With his gall, with his love of life, Fred Lebow turned it into a marathon."
Fred would say that it’s not about how long you live, but how you run the race
of life. Do you run it with intent?
Steve Goodier
Publisher@LifeSupportSystem.com is a professional speaker, consultant and
author of numerous books. Visit his site for more information, or to sign up for
his FREE newsletter of Life, Love and Laughter at
http://LifeSupportSystem.com.