The Worth of a $20 bill

A speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

This speaker was teaching everyone a very valuable lesson. No matter what he did to the money, people still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you don't lose your worth. You are still priceless to those who love you.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are and whose we are. 
You have value.  Don't ever forget your worth!

~Unknown~

17 years ago today

‎17 years ago today I was on my way to boot camp in Orlando, Florida. I remember thinking how long my enlistment seemed on day 1...12.5 years later I can't believe how fast time flies!

Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten.......

Use the FORCE Luke

This has been 4 feet from my desk for exactly 3 years!  There is another one about 9 feet in the other direction too.  I am amazed somedays that I was ever able to have the strength to stay out of them!!

Burnt Popcorn

I have been having a bit of a hard time lately with my diet.  Yesterday I went to microwave some popcorn (you know, the kind you should stay away from when you are watching calories!) My problem is that I run so much I seem to give myself permission to have more than necessary. My thought process goes something like this: I am burning so much it doesn't really matter!  But it does....

Anyway, I put the Pop Secret Butter Lovers in the microwave for the regular amount of time and half of it popped while the other half burnt to a crisp and stunk up the whole office!! It was as if the heavens opened and told me to make a better food choice, so I put in the garbage and refilled my water bottle then went back to my desk.

SO, I am still on track with my diet thanks to a super duper microwave!

Critical Success Factors

After I finished my marathon 10 days ago an hour behind my goal, my friends at the finish line were a bit concerned that I would be disappointed. To their surprise, (not mine) I came across the finish line with a smile on my face and I had a great day!

My friend Christie who put on the race told me the other day that since I set nearly unattainable goals (which she is right about) it is hard to have everything go perfect every time to reach my goals (which she is right about). She also said, I am one of the most positive happy people she has ever met regardless of how things turn out at the finish line (which she is right about). Thank you Christie for reminding me!!

My point here is, keep setting goals and keep moving forward. Sometimes things don't go your way, you may hit a plateau or have trouble getting motivated.  Just make a point to take something positive from every experience and apply to your next goal.

During the time it took me to lose my weight I had many horrible days but I was always positive and tried to put the bad days behind me as soon as possible.  You can't change the past, but you can learn from it.

Lake Lowell Marathon 26.45 mi 04:12 09:30 pace

Lake Lowell Marathon DONE!! Thanks to Christie for putting on such a fun event. I think it was the most fun I have ever had at an event since I was there with my family, friends, and running buddies. It was a mini-DailyMile meet up too. It was nice to meet Amy K. and Shanda D. as well as say hi to Otto Casey D. and others. Emily B. was an life saver as a roving aid station, THANK YOU Missed meeting Mike C. (he must have kicked my butt to the finish line!)


Anyway, it was a wonderful day and my slowest marathon..which I finished with a smile on my face! I made lots of lame excuses along the way but I was just tired☺ I was the race leader for 10.5 miles through the hills. Leading the race was an awesome feeling, just me and the motorcycle cop.

Leading around mile 4

I know it doesn't mean much when the guy who passed you beats you by an hour however! I was in second place until about mile 16 I think when Dennis A. caught up to me. He suggested we draft behind the next group of people so we did. I lasted about 100 yards before they smoked me and he hung in to the end.

Goofing around for the camera at mile 15

The biggest highlight of the day was being able to cross the finish line with my wife. She did the half marathon which started an hour after ours and it worked out the we were pretty close at the end. I think I saw her way up there at about mile 22 and it took me almost 2 miles to catch her. I saw her check over her shoulder a couple of times to see where I was. She was getting reports from the other runners passing her that I was fading fast. I was hoping she was taking this as motivation to beat me to the end!! Anyway, once I caught her I told her to slow down because she was killing me! (which she didn't)

We decided to finish together which was a big thrill for both of us. My family was there taking pictures and the reception from the crowd and other runners at the finish was amazing. BTW, Michelle beat me to the finish line by a few seconds and I couldn't have been more proud.

I nominated myself for 1st place for the biggest blister, I don't know if I had any competition in this department but mine was about an inch and a half long and an inch wide. (I am retiring those shoes BTW. I ran at St. George, Boston, and Lake Lowell in them and now it's time to lay them to rest......)

The volunteers were awesome, weather was perfect, and the four hot dogs and half a bag of chips I ate at the end were just what I needed. Good times, I told Christie's husband that I can't wait til next year.

Discipline

Saw this on Luau's blog and had to share.

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments - Jim Rohn

Friday thought for the day.......

Hardships serve to make you stronger. Just as a gem cannot be polished without friction, nor can a life be perfected without trials.



Believe in Yourself

Thanks to Fit Chica on Dailymile for sharing this.......