"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

Roger Bannister

Prior to 1954 many people believed that 4 minutes was a physical barrier that no man could break. On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister had convinced himself that he could break that barrier and his effort proved successful. On that day, not succumbing to the idea that it was impossible, he ran the mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. This victory began in his mind. If he thought he could not do it, then he would not have been able to do it. The same is true with all of us. If we truly believe that we cannot make the future we want, then we will not do it. If we change our thinking, however, then we can change the result.

The proof of this is in what happened after Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile. Fifty-six days later, John Lander also ran the mile in under 4 minutes. Clearly, his mind was impacted by what Roger Bannister had accomplished. He saw, and therefore knew without a doubt, that the 4 minute mile was attainable. Do you see parts of the future you want already being fulfilled by others? For example, if one aspect of the future you want to create includes writing a book - do you see evidence that anyone else has ever written a book? By reading this passage you have just that evidence in your hand. You know it can be done. You are beginning to set up your mind to lead you to the results you want. The power of this was manifested during the next three years as runners ran the mile in fewer than 4 minutes 16 times! Their thinking was all altered by the success of what came before them. They changed the way they thought from maybe I can do this to I can definitely accomplish this. Once they understood it could be done, they had to determine the right workouts (action steps) that had to be taken to lead them to that result. Thinking led to results.

The MEAPA Way suggests that individuals, business, schools, communities and other organizations can learn a variety of lessons from this story by watching this five minute video and answering the following questions:

• Why didn't Bannister want wind on that day?
• How many days prior to the race did Bannister rest?
• When did Bannister decide to take over the race?
• How did he demonstrate the ability to believe that he created his own life?
• How did he demonstrate the ability to work towards a specific goal?
• What kind of barrier did Bannister think the four minute mile was?
• As you seek to further your personal and professional development, what lesson/s can you take from this story and apply it to your ability to take calculated risks or practice self-improvement?