I made a huge mistake when I ran my marathon.
Experienced marathoners warned me about it. They said I would have problems. I didn’t listen, I figured they didn’t know me well enough to give me their two cents.
Spoiler Alert: I was wrong.
The mistake I made? I didn’t train hard enough.
I didn’t put in enough miles. I didn’t run at a fast enough pace. I slacked in the last month between the holidays because I couldn’t step away from the turkey and ham long enough to put in some real mileage.
And it killed me.
I struggled through the last ten miles. I was hurting. The soreness was unreal, I could barely run for five minutes at a time, and I must have looked like I was a stone throw away from collapsing because I can’t even guess how many spectators asked me if I was going to make it.
This principle translates so clearly to everything we do in life. You can’t say you’re going to be a doctor, skip out on college and medschool and then show up in an operating room with a scalpel and ask someone where you’re supposed to start cutting.
If you want to accomplish something great, you’ve got to be willing to sacrifice to prepare for it.
Writers don’t crank out first drafts that get published; they painstakingly edit, rewrite, re-edit, delete, add, and totally give up on projects before they create a book worthy of newsstands.
All-star athletes (outside of Allen Iverson) don’t skip out on practicing their shots, spin moves, or swings and then go out and win a title.
Everything you do, every single day, is training for something. Training to be more compassionate, training to be a better friend, training to become a better teacher or wife or student.
The more you train, the more success you will have.
Don’t lose sight of the goal at hand. Practice who you want to be today, and train what you want to achieve. You’ll thank me when your day comes.