The Humanity of a Marathon – San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon

On Sunday I experienced humanity in a way that I never had before by attending the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon and Half-Marathon. The race was a great equalizer. The distance of the course doesn’t care about your age, race, health or anything else.

As I stood at the finish line watching the runners and walkers come in, I was so impressed with everyone in attendance. There were over 27,000 participants and the spectators were cheering them all on. I saw an elderly gentleman walking the final stretch. As he saw the finish line, he put his hand over his mouth, preparing for the flood of tears that were coming. It was clear that this was something special – he was walking with an oxygen pack. People cruised in on walkers, one gentleman trotting along with a full 55 pound military pack. Others were running for loved ones that had lost battles to disease. It was striking to watch the pain, the joy, the sheer excitement of every participant and how much the onlookers were experiencing these feelings with the runners. It was amazing. As my friend Lisa said, “the finish line is the reason WHY I run.” Wow. I couldn’t ever fully appreciate what that meant until yesterday.

You’re likely in the middle of your marathon of life right now. Look towards those people on the sidelines cheering you on. Seek out the people that are going to tell you to not give up, even when giving up feels okay, because you’ve gone through so much. Reach for the right people who can move you forward when things get tough. Do it, even when a train stops the race. The finish line is so much more fun than stopping mid-race.

Can You See The Future?

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When you speak to one of your employees or coworkers, you have a choice.  You know these people are growing, as we all are.  You decide daily whether you recognize the people that you are speaking to as they are right now or as you know who they can and will be.

Choosing to recognize these people as the people you know they can be builds your team.  Additionally, it helps craft those people’s self view.  This will stretch them and allow them to become the person and team member you know they can be and develop into something greater.  That person may already have a great view of who they are and you helped bolster it.
If they’re like the rest of us, your encouragement and future focus of them as a person may be precisely what they need to continue growing because no one is speaking positively in their lives.  Today, choose to see the people around you as the future version of themselves.  You’ll make their lives and yours better along the way.