One of the main inspirations involved in what I’ll be writing about today is from a movie that came out in 1979.

The name of that movie is “Running” and it starred Michael Douglas.

It’s a story about a man named Michael who is a long distance marathon runner.

The story centers around how Michael has had a history of quitting various things during the course of his life. This ranges from dropping out of college, quitting the jobs he has worked, and his marriage to the point where he separated from his wife.

In addition, he also had a reputation of quitting in the races he would compete in as a runner. In fact his own coach would even label him as a quitter because Michael would start out fast in the races he ran and would fade and not finish first.

The one thing that is unique about Michael is that he is very competitive and has a strong will but for some reason doesn’t seem to get over that “hump” and as a result finishes behind others.

Now of course there’s a reason I’m bringing this up because at some point in our lives this is the very type of thing we experience.

It may not be running for you but it could be in another area of life.

We all want to breakthrough and have the type of success that’s most important to us…

But in order for that to happen it’s important to have a strong will to achieve that success.

So my question to you is…

“How big is your will to succeed?”

1. Here’s your chance- During the movie, Michael qualified to run an Olympic qualifying race. In order to make the Olympic team as a marathon runner and represent your country in the Olympics you have to finish in the top 3 of this race. In the race Michael as usual starts out strong but fades and finishes in 4th place.

After the race his coach said that he quit and could have won the race. What his coach also said was that due to an injury to one of the top 3 finishers that Michael would be the alternate and be able to compete in the Olympics.

Why is this important to you?

Because during the course of our lives we get many chances to take that next step to having the type of success we want. Think about the moments during the course of your life and you’ll see this to be true.

How many times did you have an opportunity come up that gave you a chance to reach a certain level of success in a certain area of your life? How did you go about it?

Now take a look ahead.

No matter where you’re at right now in your life just know that there are opportunities everywhere. It’s a matter of keeping an eye on and being aware of them…

And the way you do this is to know what your values are or what it is that’s most important to you. Your ability to know what you’d “love” to do, are “inspired” to do and what you “dream” of doing will give you an excellent indication of what that is for you.

Once you determine this then it’s a matter of following through on it. How can you know that by following through you’ll reach the level of success you want?

Let’s take a look at that now.

2. Fall down get up- We all experience moments in our lives where we “fall down.”

The question is, “Do you get back up?” Let’s now get back to what happened with Michael.

So the big day came for Michael at the Olympics. The marathon is a 26 mile, 385 yd. race that is run on the last day of the Olympics through the streets of the hosting city, which in this case was Montreal.

As the race unfolded through the streets of Montreal on what was a rainy day Michael as usual broke out in first. The difference this time around was that he was lengthening his lead and was a comfortable distance ahead of the other runners.

Michael was most of the way through the race and well on his way to finishing first. As he was running he glanced back to see where the other runners were. When he did this he was rounding a turn and slipped on wet leaves.

He ended up landing on his back and was left with an injury to his shoulder and legs while all of the other runners passed him by.

Michael was out of the race and lying flat on his back on a wet Montreal street.

While lying there he heard the announcer say, on a radio that someone watching the race had, “Finishing the marathon is the achievement of a lifetime.”

At that moment Michael, bloodied and injured, got back on his feet and started to run.

What happens when you fall down? What happens when something happens in your life that leaves you with a temporary setback?

The question to ask yourself when this happens is, “How strong is your will to get back up and succeed?” What’s going to get you back up will be driven by whatever your mission is.

What is the true meaning and purpose behind what you want to accomplish? What are your reasons for pursuing it regardless of whatever challenges come your way?

What is your achievement of a lifetime?

The ability to get back on your feet and “run” or in your case move forward with whatever it is that you’re looking to achieve depends largely on how you handle challenging situations.

Having a strong will to achieve great levels of success will also have higher levels of support and challenge along the way. When you handle those situations in a poised manner your results skyrocket.

3. Beyond the finish line– By the time Michael got back on his feet and started to run, the race was well over with. In fact it was night time already in Montreal. This created an incredible scene.

As Michael was hobbling his way towards the finish line via an escort, the cars in the streets stopped and people lined the streets and cheered him on.

Even the TV stations interrupted their programming to report what was the most amazing story of those Olympics.

While Michael was making his way to the finish line there were other people waiting for him as well…his coach who called him a quitter and his wife that he was separated from.

As he crossed the finish line he was greeted by his wife and an entire escort of people.

For Michael it was crossing the finish line in a 26 mile marathon.

What is it for you? What happens beyond the finish line?

The first thing is that there is no finish line in life. Achieving the type of success you want to have is one thing but how about your ability to sustain that over time?

You’ve heard me say many times before that you’re already successful. That success will be in the areas of life that are most important to you.

If you want to change that form of success it comes down to having a big enough will to achieve whatever that success is that you want.

You’re already a magnificent and amazing person.

Now it’s a matter of also using your brilliance and genius along with that will to succeed and take it to the next higher level in your life.

Show the world that you truly do make a difference and be the shining star that you are.