Doubt to Do

Part Eleven… When you simply know no different!
Listen to the podcast here.

If you are a regular reader of our Weekly Focus (twice weekly until mid-July), you will now understand that the focus is very much a story around my personal journey riding an organised charity bike ride of 200 miles on the 7^th/8^th July.

Often fabulous stories of inspirational people help to highlight what can be achieved! Last week (Part Ten), I told you about the wonderful Wilma Rudolph.

Whatever challenge we face in our lives, we can all learn from others…Stories that inspire can lift our spirits and allow us to pull on the mental strength that we may not previously have had.

Let me today introduce you to Cliff Young.
The story is a great example of the term “Conditioning” that I have previously mentioned…Allowing previous events/actions to cloud our beliefs and thus effect our performance.

Cliff Young was born in 1922 in Victoria and lived on a 2,000-acre Sheep Farm. The family had little money and much of Cliff’s time was spent on his feet all day herding all of the sheep and across the entire estate!

Many years later in 1983, a pal of his told him about an epic ultra-marathon. Sydney to Melbourne and a distance of 875km! Cliff decided to enter…Why not! Just a race over 875km! At the start line, rival competitors were surprised to see an odd-looking man, dressed in overalls and walking boots. Very different to his rivals who were resplendent in branded athletic attire. It was fair to say that Cliff was somewhat mocked!

Undeterred, the race started with the other athletes soon pulling away and leaving Cliff far behind. He ran at a slow, loping pace, and trailed the pack by a large margin at the end of the first day. While the other competitors stopped to sleep for 6 hours however, Cliff Young kept running. He ran continuously for five days, taking the lead during the first night, and eventually winning by ten hours. Rather like the parable of The Tortoise & The Hare.

The race became headline news in Australia and commanded both Television and Press coverage. Cliff entered again the following year but was soundly beaten by the other athletes.

The true story shows how our perceptions of what is possible are not always true. That limiting beliefs will prevent our true potential from being achieved…Cliff Young had no limiting beliefs. He demonstrated to others that once achieved, what was considered impossible was in fact possible.

.