Edition 80 Monday March 7th 2011
Hi, 8 hours 39 minutes and 8 seconds unbelievably just another day at the office for Cameron Brown the NZ Triathlon legend as he cruised his way to a record 10th NZ Ironman title in Taupo on Saturday. No one in the history of Ironman has won the same competition 10 times anywhere in the world ! Just in case you didn’t know the Ironman requires competitors to swim 4km, cycle 180km then run a marathon distance of 42.5km to finish off! The pro’s are tucked up in bed whilst the part timers are still out there over 15 hours later in the dark having also started their swim in darkness early that morning. Hard for us mere mortals to comprehend but amazing how many are out there doing it !
Everyone competing from Cameron throughout the 1500 strong field down to those embarking on their first Ironman had a personal goal to drive them. The atmosphere was electric and inspirational.We are glad we made the effort to get to Taupo to experience this amazing event and as it turns out, history in the making !. I came away determined to also become an Ironman one day. Hard not to want a piece of that action after being there first hand and feeling the emotion, the pain, the determination and the the ultimate satisfaction generated from every competitor. The first step on my the pathway is frighteningly close as March 20 Maraetai looms…..bring it on I say !
There is also something great about getting out of town for the weekend, its like having a week away. We re-acquainted ourselves with RotoVegas and loved our day in Taupo at the Ironman…note to self, need to do this more often . I hope you had an equally rewarding weekend with family and friends,… Cheers Jonesey… (PS; thanks for the awesome feedback on last weeks “Upbeat”)
Harry the super fit hound would be a starter for an “Irondog” series if one was organized!
“Amateurs hope. Professionals work” Garson Kanin
My Ironman experience last weekend reinforced the importance of a totally professional mindset. Sure our ‘elite’ triathletes are full time professionals but the Ironman event demonstrated the amount of training,commitment,focus,time and dedication obviously required to succeed. Presenting themselves in the best mental and physical condition was clearly paramount.
Made me think about the importance of applying this philosophy to our business and personal lives. This led me to thinking about how little ‘time’ and ‘focus’ most of us seem to ‘dedicate’ to personal ‘training’ to ensure we present ourselves in the best ‘condition’ to perform at work, in the community or at home. Then I had an idea about how I might change that, which got me thinking about a couple of recent and seperate events linked to training opportunities. This in turn created a new business idea that I am now pursuing as a result of connecting a whole lot of previously unrelated dots!
Amazing what you can do when you are inspired by others and apply a professional approach . Also incredible how connected and close we are to a multitude of ideas, support and resource without realising it. Each of us needs to take time to develop a professional mindset that will help us to be the best we can be in our chosen field but to also help identify and create new ideas and opportunities.
“You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That's the mark of a true professional.” Joe Paterno ex Penn State Football Coach
No comments:
Post a Comment