Kevin’s Race for the Prize

One of the men I respect most in this world is Ron Finklestein.  There is one thing Ron has said in most of his books, most of his presentations, and has reiterated in his one on one coaching.  He has made a point to say it to me several times.   Ron says something to the effect of: “Run towards what you really want and not away from what you don’t want.”

This is an easy concept for me to comprehend, but a tough one to follow.  It seems the more we live, the more we struggle and the more we consume ourselves with fears.   Those fears drive most of our behavior.  Those fears drive most of my behavior.  I run away from what I don’t want.

One inherit problem with Ron’s statement is that in order to run towards what you want and not run from what you don’t want, you have to know what you want!  Most people struggle with knowing what they want.  I admit, most of my life I did not know what I wanted either (though, I had myself convinced I did know what I wanted).

I am still very aware of what I don’t want.  I know what I fear.  However, I will focus on what I do want and run towards what I want.

If you have questions about this concept and how to apply it to your life and/or your business, visit Ron’s website at http://www.akris.net.

 I have three cats (Yes, I am the “cat lady”).  I’ve been observing a most interesting trend:

In my previous home, I kept cat treats in my bed stand.  Each night I would slowly pull open the top draw and my two cats, Snuggs and Pouncers, would come running and jump onto the bed with eccentric enthusiasm.  Much like Pavlog’s Dog, as time went on, both cats would come running anytime the top draw opened.  They ran towards the promise of treats.

In my new home, I have that same bed stand.  However, Snuggs is long gone.  Pouncer is now joined by Pumpkin and my brand new kitten, Peanut. Pumpkin was around a few times when I did have treats in my bed-stand, but Peanut has yet to ever have a treat.  There isn’t any treats right now, there is only the hope of treats.

Each night when I go to bed, all three cats coming running with optimistic enthusiasm.  Of course, Pouncer leads the charge!  They jump on the bed and stair at the top draw of the bed stand waiting for it to open and for treats to appear.  Night after night, the cats run with child like enthusiasm into the bedroom.  Each night, the cats run towards hope.

I am not too impressed with Pumpkin.  You see, Pumpkin is a fat cat.  He has had his share of treats in his day and he misses those good old days.  He runs without fear towards hope because his gluttony overpowers any fear he has.  Nevertheless, each night he runs towards hope. Pumpkin runs towards hope.

I am fairly impressed with Pouncer.  He always leads the charge.  He used to receive treats every night.  He remembers those times.  He knows he has not had any treats in a long time.  Pouncer runs without fear because he is optimistic and knows that if he continues to run as fast as he can without caution, he will once again receive treats.  Therefore, each night he leads the charge with hope.  Pouncer runs towards hope.

I am most impressed with Peanut.  Peanut has never received a single treat.  She does not know that there was once treats in the bed-stand top draw.  She is scared, if not occasionally terrified as she runs towards the hope because she is not completely sure where she is going or what will happen.   She sees the hope her brothers have and she believes that if she continues to run towards the hope that something good will happen, something worth overcoming her fears and pushing on towards hope.  Each night, she runs with fear, but fights through her fears and runs towards hope. Peanut runs towards hope.

I want to be more like Peanut.  I can’t run towards hope without fear like Pumpkin and Pouncer do.  Like Peanut, I am afraid.  However, like Peanut, I need to continue to run through my fears and towards the hope and I need to believe in the good that is to come.  There is a bed-stand top draw opening up somewhere with treats in it for me.  I am going to keep running towards the promise of treats. 

Kevin runs towards hope.