“You are able to beat the odds only if you have the discipline to keep going when others quit.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2016-02-02) from his book, 3 Things Successful People Do: The Road Map That Will Change Your Life (p. 143). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

But it can be so easy to quit, can’t it? I mean, life is so tough.

John tells this story, “On an October evening in 1968, a group of die-hard spectators remained in Mexico City’s Olympic Stadium to see the last finishers of the Olympic marathon. More than an hour before, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia had won the race to the exuberant cheers of onlookers. But as the crowd watched and waited for the last participants, it was getting cool and dark. It looked as if the last runners were finished, so the remaining spectators were breaking up and leaving when they heard the sounds of sirens and police whistles coming from the marathon gate into the stadium. And as everyone watched, one last runner made his way onto the track for the last lap of the twenty-six-mile race. It was John Stephen Akhwari from Tanzania. As he ran the 400-meter circuit, people could see that his leg was bandaged and bleeding. He had fallen and injured it during the race, but he hadn’t let it stop him. The people in the stadium rose and applauded until he reached the finish line. As he hobbled away, he was asked why he had not quit, injured as he was and having no chance of winning a medal. ‘My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race,’ he answered. ‘They sent me to finish the race.’”

Keep at it. Don't quit. You have been sent to finish the race.

So are you going to keep at it?

Comments

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