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by Charles Burke Mark Llewhellen said he HAD to do something. He felt compelled to offer some kind of help, but he was just a runner, a guy who liked to get out and... well... run. The day the Twin Towers came down in New York City, he was devastated, and he could not simply sit and watch the suffering. Spending his own money, he flew to the US, at a time that many were avoiding air travel, just to see the destruction for himself. The streets were blocked when he tried to approach the site. Then, while he was eating, Mark says, "A waiter asked me if I would like to take a look out one of the windows at the back of the restaurant. I went into a state of shock from what I saw next. The remains of the Twin Towers. "I just stood there in just as much disbelief as I had been when I saw them go down on TV. "However," he continues, "As I snapped out of my trance, I looked over to my left and saw the Statue of Liberty. Immediately I thought, 'Good will come from this, as dark as things are right now. I don't know how, but good will come from this'." Now, this story is not just another tale about the 9/11 attack. There's a point - and some priceless lessons - to be learned from this Welshman who says that when he was younger he "Read numerous books from the American self-help industry." Mark returned to the UK, but he ached to do something, to reach out and help somehow. He was especially moved by the suffering of the children due to losses in their families. Every person on earth has faced the thought: "There's not a shadow of a connection between what I WANT to do and what I CAN do." Usually, the person will just sigh and turn away mumbling, "Oh, well, guess I'll forget it." But not Mark. Not that day. He couldn't find any logical connection between his existing skills, and what he wanted to accomplish, so he MADE a connection. Created it out of nothing. Early in 2002, Mark walked into the offices of the Daily Mirror newspaper in the UK and announced that he was going to raise ten million dollars for the children of Sept. 11. He had found - made - his connection. He would invite sponsors to put up money for his run back and forth across the continental United States. He had no money of his own, no backing, no sponsors... yet. Nonetheless, he was taken seriously enough to have his story appear in the newspaper. Then, when the article appeared, Mark couldn't stop reading it. Something about it wasn't quite satisfying. He remembered Albert Einstein saying, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Something kept whispering in the back of his mind, "Why just ten million? That's nothing compared to the scale of what happened to these children... to America itself!" His reaction didn't feel equal to the event itself. "On April 11th," Mark says, "I broke through a mental barrier, and from that day on I knew that this would, without a doubt, raise over $1 billion." (Yes, that's billion with a 'b' and nine zeros.) Mark had just set himself on course to make a billion dollar difference in this world. How far does he plan to run? It will total between 19,000 and 20,000 miles (30,500 to 32,000 kilometers) when he's finished, and it'll take him at least two years, maybe longer, depending on weather and other conditions. If he finishes on schedule, Mark will have run one marathon a day, five days a week, for over 100 weeks. Madness, you say? Nobody could do that? Mark already did a smaller version of this very thing in September-November 2000, when he ran the 1,620 miles from Denver to San Francisco. It took him just 60 days. Do the math - that's exactly 27 miles a day for two solid months. And that time, also, he did it for a group of kids - terminally ill children in the United Kingdom. So Mark knew he could run. He'd already proven it. And he knew he wanted to help the September 11 children. He's now proving that, too. He started out announcing he'd raise $10 million, thinking that was outrageous. But that target took on a life of its own, and it grew to $1 billion. The money will be generated by what Mark has named "The USA Run of Hope". The money will come from sponsors who want to help Mark help the September 11 children. And what must Mark offer them? How does he induce them to pledge that kind of backing? Well, he shares. He simply shares. He gives them a chance to be part of something bigger, more exciting and, yes, nobler than most people ever get a chance to participate in. He gives them full recognition for the donations they make. There'll be a CD-ROM with the names of all sponsors, staff members and anyone contributing help of any kind. And publicity. Lots of grass-roots publicity as Mark runs back and forth across the United states, tracing lines inspired by the 7 red stripes of the United States flag. How many towns will Mark visit during his USA Run of Hope? Thousands, surely. He's inviting people interested in fitness and running to come out and run along with him while he's in their area. (Remember the movie Forrest Gump, and his multi-year run?) Also backing his run is the International Sports Science Association (ISSA), a world-class fitness organization. In addition, the Comfort Zone Camp, the USA's largest bereavement camp for kids, will be the primary channel for the help that's provided to the children. Mark has already attracted the beginnings of a strong crew of people intent on helping bring this dream to fruition. But they have room for more. They're putting together a team of area coordinators right now, and they still need help. If you're interested in assisting in this effort, I'll give you the website and email addresses in a moment. What exactly will be done with the money? Will the kids actually see any of it? That's always a valid question. Mark and his fast growing team have created the Ambassadors' Club for his USA Run of Hope. Out of each dollar contributed, 50% will go immediately to Comfort Zone Camp. The other 50% will be divided up. Part will go toward the expenses of putting on this amazing event. The other part will be used for setting up annual September 11th Run of Hope events in towns and cities all across the US, and coordinated by the newly-established Run of Hope Foundation. So the Run of Hope will become an annual event. There will be a Run of Hope every year for as long as people remember the children of September 11, 2002. I'm not going to tell you the entire story here. This piece is really about how you can learn to be as effective as Mark is. But if you'd like to know more about Mark and his run, I've put all contact information at the end of this article. I hope you'll visit the websites, contact the incredible people involved and find a way to share in Mark's Run of Hope. THE LESSON: Now, how can YOU use these same principles, the ones demonstrated so well by Mark Llewhellen, to do something bigger than you could possibly do alone? Let's take it a step at a time. FIRST: There must be a dream, a vision, a mission. Something to be done that is worthy of your highest efforts. The deep desire to achieve something really special and unique is what makes all that effort worthwhile. No matter how flawlessly you do all the steps, unless you're alive inside with what writer Lloyd C. Douglas called a "Magnificent Obsession", it'll all come out average. Or less. How to light that inner fire is a big subject all by itself, so it deserves an entire article (at least) of its own. Today, therefore, we'll assume you already have the dream or the desire. If you don't quite have it yet, just relax, lean back and keep reading. Before we're through you may find it's easier to discover a life-changing mission for yourself than you ever expected. SECOND: Bite off more than you can possibly chew. Mark went to the newspapers and promised he would raise $10,000,000 for the 9/11 children. How humble is that? How reasonable? Then, to make things REALLY interesting, he raised the stakes another 10,000 percent to $1 billion. My friend Joe Vitale has a wonderful tape set with Nightingale-Conant called "The Power of Outrageous Marketing." In it, he gives example after amazing example of how you can use outrageous, attention-grabbing ideas to leap out of the crowd and be noticed. Once you're noticed, all you have to do is perform the outrageous act you've promised. Simple, huh? Humility and self-depreciation have no place in this step. You may be the soul of self-denial in your regular, daily life, but set it aside during this part of your project. Of course, you should have the skills and abilities that will enable you to do the task you've dreamed up. If you don't have the necessary know-how, go think of a different project - one you actually CAN do. THIRD: Start looking for ways to share. Nothing big was ever done alone, and your project - whatever it is - will be no exception. Unless you want to slide back into obscurity, you'll offer other people the chance to sparkle and shine alongside you. They'll usually move heaven and earth to make sure you succeed. It's in their own best interests. If you don't shine, they get no reflected glory, and they instinctively know that. Afraid one or more of your partners will hog the spotlight and get too much of the credit? Maybe take your project away from you? That's not usually likely to happen, unless you seriously mis-structure the basic plan. Or if you quit trying, and they HAVE to take responsibility for getting it done. But let's say it DID happen. So what? Your project is benefitting the world in a way that's important to you, right? The world may not know who was responsible, but the universe does. And you WILL be rewarded. It cannot be any other way. So start looking for ways to share. If you're not sure how to do that, do some homework. Find out how others have done similar things in the past. You don't have to copy, but you don't have to re-invent the wheel, either. Did you know that virtually every highly successful person has intensively studied the biographies of earlier successes? They learn from their predecessors, and you can do the same. As soon as you decide what you want to accomplish, just go looking for stories of people who have done the same or similar things already. They've blazed the trail for you. Just follow them. So while most people think you're tackling something outrageous and nearly impossible, you're simply following a path already laid down by others for you (or you're at least going in the same general direction). Mark, for instance, was inspired by an earlier runner, Canadian Terry Fox who ran 3,339 miles across Canada. Terry raised over $24 million Canadian dollars for charity on his run. And who was this Terry Fox? Just an amputee who, according to the doctors, was dying of cancer at the time. But Terry refused to just crawl off in a corner and quietly surrender. Consider this: as you find partners who are willing to help you, they'll be delighted that they've found someone who can bring excitement, adventure and meaning into THEIR lives. FOURTH: Listen to your new partners. They'll often bring a wealth of experience and know-how that complements your own skills. Look at it this way. If your project interests them, it's almost certainly because they already know something about the field. A deep interest in an unknown subject is rare. So the people who are attracted to your project will be people who know enough to help you with subtle details. There's another reason to ask for their input, too. It instills in them a feeling of part-ownership, and they'll give you a larger measure of their loyalty. If they feel like a principal, they won't walk away so easily. FIFTH: Manage your own mind for the long haul. A big, impressive, outrageous project (like running 700-plus marathons end-to-end, like Mark will be doing) will have its tough days. And then some very tough days. That's when you'll NEED your magnificent obsession. If it's not powered by a fire burning hot in your belly, you'll find the project a very long haul indeed. Most people will discover that self discipline alone doesn't carry them all the way to the end. Learning to keep your mind on-target, on-track and willing, even on the hard days, is not a trick you learn from a checklist. It takes some real familiarity with your own mental processes. Learn yourself well enough, and everything is possible. But without that self knowledge, it's a crap-shoot - a gamble with very long odds. So spend some quality time learning how to work your own mind and feelings. SIXTH: Learn to relax when you come to the impossible places. This is where the "coincidences" will unexpectedly and mysteriously appear and carry you across unspannable gaps. It's where the most amazing "lucky breaks" will bring you exactly the person or the resource or the circumstances that you need to continue. Ordinary people call these things luck. Most successful people do not. That kind of lucky break doesn't come to just anybody. It only appears when your mind knows - against all odds, against all logic - that somehow you'll get through that impossible place. That's why the people who consistently have this kind of "luck" refuse to call it luck. They KNOW it's caused by something they're doing in their minds. They may not always know exactly what it is, but they always know HOW. So when you face the impossible, when forward progress is no longer humanly possible, just relax and KNOW you'll be carried through somehow. Whether you call it faith or confidence or a transcendent vision, just relax. Because whatever you believe strongly enough - it will be yours. No power in this universe can withstand it. President Andrew Jackson, generations ago knew this. He said, "One man with conviction makes a majority." SEVENTH: Be willing to feel fear. Mark Llewhellen said, "I have gone through more fear than I had ever dreamed possible but I knew it would be worth it. We can help these children bringing some light into their lives after the hard times they have been through." Do you see what Mark did? He faced his fear head on, and he balanced it with his vision of the good those children will be receiving. Courage, it has been said, is not the absence of fear. It is facing your fear and going forward anyway. T.S. Elliot said, "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." Does this mean you will never fail in reaching some of your objectives? No. Sometimes you may have experiences that seem like failures to you. But even your failures, if you aim high enough, will take you far higher than most people ever reach. Be willing to judge your failures gently, because you will one day turn, look behind you, and see many more successes than you thought you had achieved. So be willing to face fear, because most fears are only prejudices against new experiences. EIGHTH: Give thanks. Start being grateful before you ever take that first step. Feel deep, genuine gratitude for the success you're about to enjoy. At every step along the way, give thanks for your success. And when you've crossed the finish line, even before you thank all your partners and co-laborers, give rich, unrestrained, soul-lifting thanks to the universe you live in for its generosity to you. A thankful heart is the closest thing you'll find to the ancient Philosopher's Stone that was reputed to transform base metal into gold. Gratitude can perform this alchemy every day of your life, lifting the dullest, most ordinary experiences up out of the dreary mud and into the sunshine of pure delight. Gratitude and love are twin siblings. If you know one, you'll automatically know the other. They give you the power to ignore fear, boredom, and despair, enable you to pass untouched by dragons that slay the fearful, and carry you into the realm of ancient kings and queens, those who were thought to be blessed by the gods with divine powers. Now we know that these powers are within every single person, put there from birth. And if we, like young Arthur, draw the sword of our faith, our love, our gratitude from the stone of our sleeping minds, we too will become rulers of our world. NINTH: Treat your comfort zone as a way-station. Some years ago, somebody coined the term "comfort zone", but that's a serious misnomer. How many people do you know who are actually comfortable in their comfort zone? I use the term "familiar zone" because that's the real reason most people refuse to leave it. It's familiar. They know their way around. They may hate everything in their familiar zone, but it's theirs. As the old saying goes: Better the evil (the discomfort) we know than the evil we don't know. Well, it's important to get over that. The other day I found the following poem in Bob Scheinfeld's neat little "Insight of the Day" ezine. The Comfort Zone I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn't fail. The same four walls and busywork were really more like jail. I longed so much to do the things I'd never done before, But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor. I said it didn't matter that I wasn't doing much. I said I didn't care for things like commission cheques and such. I claimed to be so busy with things inside my zone, But deep inside, I longed for something special of my own. I couldn't let my life go by just watching others win. I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin. I took a step and with new strength I'd never felt before, I kissed my comfort zone goodbye and closed and locked the door. If you're in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out, Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt. A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true. Reach for your future with a smile; success is there for you! Author Unknown Until you're willing to change things and shake up your nice, familiar little routines, you aren't going anywhere. Maybe you've never thought about it, but a comfortable person is very hard to motivate into moving. Now, we've just said that most people aren't really very comfortable in their "comfort zones" so why don't they just move to where they'll be more comfortable? They don't move because fear is an even bigger discomfort than the distress they're currently experiencing. Fear of what? What awful thing keeps them immobilized in discomfort - even pain? It's simply the fear of the unknown. They don't know what's out there, outside their uncomfortable but safe little circle. But fear can be counteracted. First, as Mark did, be willing to face some degree of fear. And balance against it the dream you hunger to accomplish. Second, start learning something about "what's out there" and soon it won't be so unfamiliar. One tactic you already know for accomplishing this is to IMAGINE what it would be like if you did some of those "unfamiliar" things. Like being rich. Like being successful. Like being as happy as your wildest dreams. Once you explore the unfamiliar terrain in your imagination, you'll find yourself forgetting where the old boundaries were. The old forbidden territory will now be inside your familiar zone - and you may not have even noticed when that boundary shifted. Then you'll find yourself doing things easily today that yesterday were unthinkable. You'll find yourself taking on projects that delight and inspire you. You will no longer think that making a difference in this world is "outside your familiar zone." And just as Mark Llewhellen is doing now, you could easily find yourself creating outrageous new ways to make a difference - maybe even a billion-dollar difference - in this world you're passing through. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE: Read more about Mark Llewhellen at http://www.runofhope.com That's the official website for the USA Run of Hope. You'll also read about Hope, who will be running the entire distance with Mark. --------------- Find out how to become an Area or Event Coordinator for Mark's Run of Hope. You can e-mail Cort McCadden at mailto:cort@runofhope.com --------------- The International Sports Science Association (ISSA) is a major sponsor of Mark's Run of Hope. Visit their web site at http://www.ISSACertification.com --------------- The Comfort Zone Camp, founded and run by Lynne and Kelly Hughes will be the primary focus in helping the 9/11 children. The website is at http://www.comfortzonecamp.org --------------- Subscribe to Bob Scheinfeld's delightful free "Insight of the Day" ezine at: http://www.insightoftheday.com/register.asp --------------- Find out more about Joe Vitale's powerful tape set titled "The Power of Outrageous Marketing". Make yourself fabulously famous. Click on http://www.nightingale.com - Then do a word search for 'outrageous' or 'Vitale'. --------------- For AOL members: http://www.runofhope.com">Run of Hope website cort@runofhope.com">e-mail Cort McCadden http://www.ISSACertification.com">ISSA website http://www.comfortzonecamp.org">Comfort Zone Camp website http://www.insightoftheday.com/register.asp?aid=1337">"Insight of the Day" ezine http://www.nightingale.com">Nightingale-Conant website --------------- © Charles Burke About the Author Charles Burke is the author of Command More Luck, a book offering powerful suggestions for getting more cooperation from life, luck, and your own mind. Whether you call it synchronicity, serendipity, or just plain old luck, you CAN become more "naturally lucky." http://www.moreluck.com |