DAY 0 - Murray River Marathon - In a Kayak

This morning as I sit here in my calm cafe on Bay Street, I have no idea what is around the corner in less than 24 hours, Ill be paddleing a Kayak further than I ever have EVER in life, Can I do, I'm not so certain.

I will do one thing as I set off on the journey today, Ill try as hard as I can and do everything I possibly can.

for every day I pass the check point Ill donate $100 to a worthy charity, each day I beat my previous days effort and time (wishful thinking) and get faster ill add an extra $50 to the donation.

That being said I really dont know what else im in store for here, 404Km is a long way even if im in a relay team with Jarad and the team.

Anyways Stay Tunded for the updates.......... The Adventure begins

The approach was not quiet right! - so change it.....

When I decide to take on a challenge, its always as I did in business for many many years pick the hardest most difficult challenge, and than work at it, make it look easy and succeed, now in saying that there is a lot that happens in the middle.

I have recently had to reevaluate how I pick my challenges:

There are challenges that help you grow, there are challenges that beat you into the ground (I often pick these to teach myself a lesson, make sure I understand the pain of not doing things as I should).

The first is productive, the second is self defeating, it has taken me a while to figure out the difference between the two.... and I still haven't in its entirety and probably never will.

I had one core principle when I worked in business and was somewhat successful at what it did in a different era - Surround yourself by the best people, talent and thought leadership in what ever your doing, listen to them, learn from them and than give them the credit.

As I have moved into living a different phase of life, I have forgotten some of these principles, I have surrounded myself by the best people I can...... but that is where it has ended, I have failed to listen to them and grow from the opportunity presented - I think many of us are guilty of this, but we often don't put our hand up to take responsibility.

This came up this week, when I had a conversation ( a very uncomfortable one) with one of these people who is by far one of the best people I have surrounded myself with, (for those of you who know him its Steve), and better than I deserve looking back a couple of years ago when the journey started, his motivation and dedication to his profession has him leaps and bounds ahead of his peers, I personally hold the highest respect for him even if I dont always live the value or show it.

I haven't been listening, many people know that sometimes its not enough to just say to me I need to do something, you need to scream it from the roof tops, you need to get me uncomfortable to make the point before I let my guard down, like many of us we have many years of built up standards, values, norms and beliefs..... which can be helpful and in many cases unhelpful as we move to the next level.

I have an outstanding opportunity, many people don't have the opportunity to change there life, and to set aside an indefinite period to do it, I have had this and to continue to not would be a waste of a huge opportunity and not finishing something I have started.

I had and still have one belief that has been holding me back:

"I'm just a guy that got him self a little bit fit, and decided to run a couple of races, I am never going to win a race nor am I in the league or capable of it I should be happy with just finishing the race".

Life is defiently not about just finishing the race, its (as I had to be reminded this week) about doing the best you can do, every single time you front up to everyday life, every challenge..... and being happy with what you have done!

By me thinking I'm only ever going to be fit enough to just finish the race means, I will never ever win the race.

This has meant I have to set my self the challenge to WIN the race, what ever that is, and for a while I'm going to need to be reminded of

1. It is possible for me to win a race and
2. I need to stay focused and continue to listen to those around me .

Now this is when we come back to taking on the challenge, will I take on the self defeating challenge or will I take on the challenge that is productive, the answer is take on both, you can have big challenges, BUT you need to have a lot of little ones in between to give yourself the change to grow to it, than even the self defeating challenge is no longer self defeating.

The "BIG" Challenge Ive set myself is the North Face 100 on May 14 and 15 2011, running 100km through the rugged blue mountains in NSW.

I now need to do a few things, set myself lots of little Challenges in between so this one is not self defeating, I need to re-arrange my life with even smaller things:

1. Put food in my kitchen and cook at home, no longer can I afford the luxury of unhealthy eating (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at cafes and restaurants with the unknown in the food working against me.

2. I need to work hard every day at training, be and stay committed to WIN and GROW!

3. I need to believe I can WIN.

4. I need to learn to listen and do not be afraid to ask or accept help from others around me.

Do I have this completly upside down, let me know ?

Cheers
Jeff