Now that I have been a "runner" for at least a couple of years, I can confidently declare that there is no achievement that comes easy. As the iconic Tom Hanks once said, "Of course it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it... It's the hard that makes it great!". These powerful words resonate, beyond sporting categories, into all domains of life that dare to offer the opportunity for greatness.
So, in the wake of a mentally and physically exhaustive weekend that marked certain running achievements for Mae, Doug, Casey and myself among countless others, I have been considering the value and distinctions between success and failure, victory and defeat. However, rather than risking failure in these musings all by my lonesome, I have elected to borrow from others whom I have found to provide unique perspective on these topics of audacity, struggle, experience and understanding; please let me know what you think:
"Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory" Douglas MacArthur
"Every action we take, everything we do, is either a victory or defeat in the struggle to become what we want to be" Ninon de L'Enclos (17th Century French author)
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat" Theodore Roosevelt
"Failure is only postponed success as long as courage 'coaches' ambition. The habit of persistence is the habit of victory" Herbert Kaufman
"Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater" Emil Zatopek
"I learned patience, perseverance, and dedication. Now I really know myself, and I know my voice. It's a voice of pain and victory" Anthony Hamilton
"In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time" Robert Collier
"I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed"Michael Jordan
i smell Victory....
On an uphill road aheadgawking at me,
A few twists and turns
lay inaudibly.
From a combat that just be,
A speck of massive dust
floats by in the air,
My eyes tuned up far
in the distance,
my head's camouflaged
in the cloud of ashes,
i struggle to breathe,
Yet in the midst of it all,
i smell victory...
Million miles ahead
Are steady strides taken
without sweat,
Voices in my head
From crowds on either side
Chanting and cheering,
Fuzzy dreams and vague
Visions in my mind
Refuse to die,
Living and breathing every
ounce of strength in me...
Life's twists and turns
Are as sharp as a blade
cutting through me like a knife.
Endlessly i bleed from this anguish,
i am weary and exhausted
yet in the midst of it all,
Smell victory that shouts
From within my brawn.
Weak yet still trodding,
Visualising the end that's near,
Sniffing and detecting it
Like a fog of smoke floating
in the air,
Victory is near! , victory is here! ,
i smell victory....
Langelihle Maphumulo
Then, there is this little nugget of wisdom...
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it" W. C. Fields
Very inspiring. Thanks for posting.
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