“And where does the power come to see the race to its end? From within.” -Eric Liddell

She “got what no one else wanted.” In the midst of almost losing the estate after her father’s death, she made a tough decision that no one agreed with at the time. Many begged her to sell her most prized possession, to pay off the property tax. She followed her gut however, refusing to sell though eventually offered millions.

Strategy For Winning

Before describing who this woman is, I would like to talk about something that has been super useful to me throughout the years as well. I am using it now as I am going through physical therapy from my second wreck in two years on my way to run and ride a horse again. I also used it to help me win 1st place for women in several 5K’s. 

One such race was recorded in my diary on September  17, 2011. That morning I could feel my heart pounding through my chest.  It was 8 o’clock in the morning and I was not feeling good. Suddenly, I felt an individual closing in behind me.  I looked forward, trying to ignore the mounting pressure around me.  Pulling all the strength I could muster from inside, I ran hoping to stay ahead.

Crossing The Line

Crossing the line, I turned to face the woman. Short of breath I said, “I thought you were going to beat me” and she replied “I was just trying to keep up”…

Times like that have made me realize, in life’s journey sometimes you run into unexpected obstacles or face difficulties that training alone is insufficient to overcome. That is when you have to rely on something more.  For me at the 5K, it was a passion for running and an internal belief that I should win.

What’s that for you? What do you do when you reach the obstacles or breaking points in life? 

For the women at the beginning of this post, named Penny, it was ignoring the obstacle and fearlessly facing criticism on a decision. Many do not remember her making this decision with her heart but many remember who she decided to keep. His name is Secretariat. He went down in history as the Triple Crown winner, 50 years ago this year. I remember watching the movie for the first time by the same name on June 30, 2020. I was inspired by what this horse and owner would push through including health issues, criticism, loss and financial difficulties, and eventually come out on top.

Little Known Fact

In fact, when Secretariat died, it was interesting that they found his heart was twice the size of a normal horse. In the races you could see it. Many times he started out last. He loved to run though and although he was running against top horses at the time, he had something more…  It was heart both naturally and the heart he put into each run especially after losses and obstacles.

Sometimes in life, just like Penny followed her heart and made a decision no one initially agreed with and just like Secretariat who beat the odds after being ill to win a top trophy, there has to be more. More heart put into things to beat the challenges in life. 

In the words of Eric on another movie, Chariots of Fire, at the top of this post “Where does the power come to see the race to its end? From within.”