Bruce Van Horn's Blog, page 5

Boston Marathon 2015: Manifesting My Dream!

As I write this I am wearing my Boston Marathon finishers medal. Even though I didn’t come close to winning, or even close to winning in my age group, I still have the very same medal as the guy who won. I am also wearing my official jacket and t-shirt. I am all decked out and I am excited to share my experience with you!

On Friday April 17, 2015 my youngest son and I drove to Boston and stayed with my cousins who live nearby. Saturday morning we got up and drove into the city of Boston where we met up with David Brown, who is the Chief Advancement Officer for the Forsyth Institute. Last Thanksgiving, I was invited to run the Boston Marathon as a charity fundraising event for the Forsyth Institute. We spent the day with David at the Boston Marathon Expo. Thousands and thousands of people were packed into the convention center picking up race bibs, a t-shirt, and a bunch of other bling that you get when you are part of the Boston Marathon.

I had organized a social media meet-up beforehand. I sent out tweets and Facebook posts inviting anyone in the Boston area who wanted to meet me face to face to come and get a signed copy of my book You Can Go the Distance. I met some folks who follow me on Twitter and Facebook, as well as a few from my life coaching community. There was something special about meeting them in person. It was really a magical event.

That evening, I met the rest of the Forsyth team – 4 other runners; Shawn Cotton, Elizabeth Comeau, Sue Mackiewicz, and Adam Salsman. It was great to meet them over a dinner of fellowshipping, stories, and talking about how the race was going to be and sharing our nervousness and excitement about it. It was a wonderful evening!

Monday morning, April 20, 2015, I woke up at about 3:30 in the morning and had a hard time getting back to sleep. The excitement was too much! My Aunt and Uncle picked my son and me up and drove us into the city of Boston. The whole city blooms in love and excitement on marathon Monday – which is also Patriots Day. Because of the crazy traffic, they dropped me off about four blocks away from where I needed to be and I walked to Boston Commons where thousands of people were waiting for the buses to take us to the starting line out in Hopkinton, MA.

I expected to be alone in the thousands of people waiting, but standing right in front of me in the porta potty line was my teammate Sue Mackiewicz and her family! It was very cold, just about forty degrees, drizzly, and windy. But, it felt colder than that. Elizabeth Comeau had brought arm warmers for the team and had handed them out at dinner the night before. I expected the weather to be a little warmer and drier than it actually was, so I didn’t come quite prepared. Elizabeth’s arm warmers were exactly what I needed. I wore them and pulled them up over my hands to use as gloves. As I stood there talking with Sue, her daughter, Audrey Rogers, noticed all I had on my head was my running cap. She said, “your ears are going to freeze!” Without any hesitation she pulled off her “Boston Strong” headband that was wide enough to cover the ears and handed it to me. If I had run that race without that headband covering my ears it would have been a completely different experience. To the two ladies who kept me warm, I love you and thank you!

There were thousands of runners waiting in Athletes Village, a big field behind a school where big tents were set up to keep everyone as dry and warm as possible. Eventually my wave was called. We walked a cold half mile to the starting line. Everyone was excited and ready to run the race. Just as the gun went off the rain poured down. It rained hard for the first eight miles! But it didn’t matter. I was running the Boston Marathon! This was a bucket list event for me, I was so excited. The weather didn’t matter to me. It was by far, the most pleasing running experience I have ever had. It went so amazingly well, despite the weather. I felt great. The crowd the runners along. My times were great, I was running faster than I anticipated I would. There were a couple times I was going so fast, I took some walking breaks to slow my pace down because I knew I wanted to save it for the end.

There was a one-mile stretch where I almost looped back and did it again. Students from Wellesley College, a girl’s college, came out to support the marathon runners! These girls know how to get a man motivated to keep running a marathon! Actually, some of them were motivating this 51 year old to stop running for a little while! Many were carrying signs saying “Kiss me!” So I did! 51 year old men don’t get lots of opportunities to kiss gorgeous 20 year old girls. I’m proud to say I probably kissed ten girls. It was wonderful!

It wasn’t long until I reached Heartbreak Hill – this is where runners usually run out of steam. It’s not just the hill. I have run marathons that are much harder than Boston. The problem is it is pretty much a downhill course until mile 20 when you encounter your first set of real hills. Your body and brain has been used to running flat or down hill. But it is all about mental preparation. I knew it was coming. I had a plan for it. The rain had let off from about mile eight until about the time I crested Heart Break Hill. The rain unloaded on us again and the wind picked up. We were running in pretty miserable conditions – rain and gusts up to 30 miles an hour. The crowd was still out there, it was so amazing to see thousands and thousands of people cheering for us.

Then something happened to me that has never happened in a marathon before. I have had other events, injuries, aches and pains, but I have never cramped before. At mile twenty-three my right calf cramped up. I don’t know whether it was a combination of cold weather or the fact I was a little undertrained and was running faster than I had planned on. It was very painful! I ended up walking the bulk of the last three miles into the finish line. But you know what? It didn’t matter. I smiled for 26.2 miles! I smiled at the Athletes Village. I smiled while on the buses going out of Boston because I had in my heart this overwhelming gratitude for being alive and I kept saying to myself “Bruce, you are running the Boston Marathon!” The weather was irrelevant; it doesn’t get better than this in the life of a marathon runner.

At mile twenty-six we rounded the corner onto Boylston Street. At this point I decided I didn’t care how much I hurt, I was going to run the last section of the race. I knew my son would be somewhere in the crowd, I didn’t want my family to see me walking. There was a little bit of vanity going on too, the cameras and television crews were all on the last quarter of a mile stretch. So I started running again. It was painful, it was rainy and windy. But I didn’t care. I was overwhelmed with joy. About a hundred yards from the finish line, I started to pick up my pace and get excited.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my son. And I knew that the most important thing for me to do was to not cross the finish line – yet. I took a detour. Instead of running straight to the end like I had visualized for well over a year, I ran straight to him. I gave him a great big hug, kissed the top of his head, and gave the rest of my family high fives. That was all I really wanted, for them to be there to see me achieving this tremendous feat in my own life. Then my son said “Dad! Go! Go!” He wanted me to finish! It was less than a hundred yards to go! My calf was screaming. I started running again, repeating the mantra “Just don’t fall, just don’t fall.” The last thing I wanted to do was trip and fall at the finish line. But I didn’t.

I had visualized over the last year exactly what my marathon run would be and what I would do when I crossed the finish line. Many of you have heard me talk about this on my podcast. I knew I was going to say the affirmation I had been saying to myself for over a year when visualizing it: “I am feeling victorious, strong, and healthy as I stretch out my arms and stride across the finish line of the Boston Marathon.” And that is exactly what manifested! As I ran up to the finish line, people spread out and went to the sides enabling me to come straight across the center of the finish line with my arms held straight out. I crossed the finish line and it was so emotional. I made it! I scratched this item off my bucket list!

It was a wonderful experience. If I could do it all over again, given the weather conditions and given my cramping, I absolutely would! This time last year as I lay in a bed recovering from surgery to remove cancer, I didn’t know the how’s. I only knew what I wanted to accomplish someday. Don’t have a dream and say to yourself “It will never come true because I don’t know how.” That’s not your job, that’s God’s job to figure out. Your job is to dream the dream. To visualize your dream coming true. To feel the feelings you want to feel when you achieve those dreams. Experience the happiness and joy of achieving your dream today while you are working towards your dream. Even the smallest step in the direction of your dream will be rewarded. You can’t just dream your dream and sit on the couch. You’ve got to put action to it.

The universe is amazingly accommodating. You’ve got to tell people about your dreams. People are going to rally around and support you. If anyone criticizes you or makes fun of you then eliminate them from your lives. You don’t need that kind of negativity. I talked about my dreams in blog posts, I talked about it on my podcast – that I would someday run the Boston Marathon. I didn’t know when. I thought I was going to have to qualify to run it. But I didn’t. David Brown at the Forsyth Institute read about my cancer and my dream of running the Boston Marathon. He was moved to reach out to me. He had the ability to make my dream come true. So he contacted me. That’s how it happens! Don’t get caught up in the how’s of your dreams. Put them out there. Feel your dreams, talk about your dreams to other people and take steps.

Take steps every single day because the reality is this: today, this moment right now is the only moment that we really have. You might not have a tomorrow. We are all going to die someday. Do you want to die in the pursuit of your dreams or just sitting on the couch thinking about vague wishes? Do something today to make your life amazing. You don’t have to go out and acquire amazingness. You already are amazing. You have exactly what it takes!

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You may also listen to me talk about this on my “Life Is A Marathon” podcast: My Boston Marathon Experience

Boston Marathon 2015: Manifesting My Dream! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Life Plan: Step 6 – Work the Plan. Make Your Dreams Come True!

This is the 6th and final installment of my Life Plan series. To start at the 1st installment, Click Here

Step 6 in creating your Life Plan is where all the magic happens, but it is the step most people skip: doing the actual work, working the plan to make your dreams come true! For a long list of reasons, many people will do all of the preparatory work, creating their life plan in great detail, yet they will not follow through and do the actual work required to make the plan work. It’s good to know, isn’t it, that you are different; you are not just a dreamer, but also a doer!

Paulo Coelho’s book The Alchemist is a MUST Read book, especially for someone with a dream and a desire to make that dream a reality. I highly recommend you read that book, as it will bring to your attention many of the issues, trials, and temptations you will face on your journey to pursue your dream life. Do not be like the Crystal Merchant who said, in the book, to the boy: “…you’re different from me, because you want to realize your dreams. I just want to dream… I’m afraid it will all be a disappointment, so I prefer to just dream about it.”

In my Life Is A Marathon podcast, I go into great detail about how understanding certain passages from The Alchemist will be vital to your success in pursuing your dream. I strongly recommend you listen to this episode for the context to this Life Plan step.

How to Work Your Plan:

Gratitude is the secret sauce! Start each day with gratitude—be thankful for being alive, for who you are, and for what you have RIGHT NOW!
Keep your dream, your goals, and what you need to do to improve by 1 point constantly in front of you.
Each morning: Read aloud your affirmations from Step 5 to remind you of what you want your life to be and why.
Each morning: Review the purpose statements for each spoke in the Wheel of Life, and what your #10 looks like. Read aloud your affirmations, your “I Am” statements. Financial, for example: “I am so happy and grateful I am earning $___ per month as a direct result of loving, serving, and adding value to people’s lives!”
Each morning: Review what you need to do to move 1 step higher, and make a plan and take action on these steps—“today I will…”
At the end of each day: Record your victories—never record or dwell on your failures—a victory can be found in learning you don’t want to do whatever caused you to fail again—“next time I will do something different than…” (keep it positive!)
Weekly: Review your gratitude and victory logs—give thanks for any progress! Revise/Add action items as needed
Monthly: Repeat the weekly review, but for the entire month, always focusing on gratitude and celebrating any victories, no matter how small.
If at any point, you have achieved the next level for a life spoke, record it, celebrate it, go through Step 5 to discover what the next level higher looks like.
Quarterly: Conduct an honest evaluation of your progress, revising as needed.
Yearly: Go through the entire process again—Steps 1 – 5. Our dreams can change as we move through life. Always be updating your plan. Your plan is alive!

If you’d like to listen to me talk about this step, it’s on the Life Is A Marathon podcast

Much love,

Bruce

Have you ever thought about working with me as your Life Coach? Consider joining my Life Is A Marathon (LIAM) Life Coaching Community. You’ll get direct access to me as we work together on your Life plan to help you take your life to the next level, but you’ll also be surrounded by a community of other people just like you with the same goals. Get all the details and join at team.lifeisamarathon.com Do it today!

Life Plan: Step 6 – Work the Plan. Make Your Dreams Come True! appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Life Plan: Step 5 – Putting the Plan Together

This is the 5th installment of my Life Plan series. To start at the 1st installment, Click Here

Step 5 in creating your Life Plan is bringing all of the work from the previous steps and putting them together to create your actionable Life Plan.

Life Plan: Step 5 – Putting the Plan Together

Step 5 is where all the pieces of the puzzle come together to create a single, cohesive Life Plan. So get out a few blank sheets of paper or start a new document on your computer and let’s build your Life Plan!

Write in big, bold, letters as your heading: “My Life Plan”

Put today’s date underneath the heading, so you will have a timestamp on this version of your Life Plan

Write two Big-Picture Affirmation Statements:

The word affirm means: 1) state as a fact; assert strongly and publicly. 2) offer emotional support or encouragement. They are written in the present tense using positive language.

Affirmation statements are a powerful way for you to support yourself in what you want to create.

Write an Affirmation Statement for your Dream Life from Step 1. Use your own words, but write a few sentence similar to this: “I am joyfully, actively and intentionally living the life of my dream. I am …. (include a few details from the dream letter in Step 1). My dreams become reality as I intentionally take action to make them real.”

Next, write an Affirmation Statement for your “Voices from the Past” script. Again, using your own words, affirm the positive affect you have had on the lives of people. Something like: “I am now, and have been, a positive influence in the lives of many people. Their lives are better because of me and the way I live, love, and invest in creating meaningful relationships… (include a few details from the script of Step 2).”

Build a Plan for Each Spoke:

Write the following for each of the 7 Spokes in the Wheel of Life:

Name of Spoke

Write this Spoke’s Purpose Statement (Step 3)
Write this Spoke’s Ideal/Desired Condition (Step 3)
Write “Current Reality Rating:” and put in the number from Step 4
Write an Affirmation statement using “Why so high?” answers from Step 4

Something like: “I am feeling proud that I have…. I am excited about the momentum I am creating to further my progress toward…”


Write what needs to happen to make the rating 1 point higher (Step 4)
What action items will you take to move it 1 point higher?

I will do ____ by _____
List a few action items required for moving 1 point higher


Write an Action Items Affirmation statement

Something like: “I am joyfully, actively, and intentionally doing… to make 1 point higher my current reality”




Repeat the above process for each Spoke in the Wheel of Life

You now have a complete, actionable, Life Plan!

It includes:

Your Dream Life
Your ideal impact on other people
Your vision for the seven areas on the Wheel of Life
A realistic evaluation of your current situation
Specific actions you need to take to improve your current situation for each life area

When you are ready, proceed to Step 6.

If you’d like to listen to me talk about this step, it’s on the Life Is A Marathon podcast

Much love,

Bruce

Have you ever thought about working with me as your Life Coach? Consider joining my Life Is A Marathon (LIAM) Life Coaching Community. You’ll get direct access to me as we work together on your Life plan to help you take your life to the next level, but you’ll also be surrounded by a community of other people just like you with the same goals. Get all the details and join at team.lifeisamarathon.com Do it today!

Life Plan: Step 5 – Putting the Plan Together appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.

Life Plan: Step 4 – Rate Your Wheel of Life

This is the 4th installment of my Life Plan series. To start at the 1st installment, Click Here

Step 4 in creating your Life Plan is to honestly evaluate where you are now in comparison to your ideal wish for each spoke in the Wheel of Life. Once you know where you are, you can take specific action to move one step closer to the life of your dreams!

Life Plan: Step 4 – Rate Your Wheel of Life

“Once you know where you are, it’s easier to get to where you want to be!”

The last section of Step 3, had you write out your perfect situation, your dream condition, for each of the seven areas of life on the Wheel of Life. If you haven’t done that yet, you need to finish that process before you can move on to Step 4. With a desired destination, you are on a journey. Without one, you are just wandering.

Pick A Number:

For each spoke in the Wheel of Life, rate your current situation on a scale from 1 to 10. A 10 is what you described as your perfect, or ideal, situation for each area (See Step 3). If you pick 10, your current reality for that area is exactly what you wrote in Step 3. If you pick 1, you are just beginning on your journey toward your desired goal.

Relax and be completely honest with yourself.

Whatever number you pick is a good number. It’s the number that is right for you at this point in your life.

Do not judge it as “bad” if it is a low number. It is not “bad,” it is just where you are—which is good!

Why So High?

Using the Solutions Focus approach, for each spoke in the wheel, ask yourself “Why so high?”

If, for example, your current reality is a 5, ask yourself “Why did I pick 5? Why is my situation not a 4 or a 3?” Write down the answers to this question for each spoke. The answers will show you that you’ve already made progress; you already have resources and a foundation upon which to build; momentum to use to keep moving forward.

Never focus on why you are not farther along.

Focus on your successes, your victories for each area up to this movement in time.

“Why so high?” is a powerful question!

Just 1 Step at a Time!

Now that you know your current number for each area of life, and you know why you are as high on the scale as you are, ask this question: “What would need to happen to move just 1 point higher?”

If you rated a spoke at 3, what would a 4 look like for that spoke? What does a 4 have that a 3 does not?

Do not worry about how to get to 5 yet! One step at a time!

Write out, for each spoke in the Wheel of Life, what you need to do to move up by 1 point.

When you are ready, go on to Step 5.

If you’d like to listen to me talk about this step, it’s on the Life Is A Marathon podcast

Much love,

Bruce

Have you ever thought about working with me as your Life Coach? Consider joining my Life Is A Marathon (LIAM) Life Coaching Community. You’ll get direct access to me as we work together on your Life plan to help you take your life to the next level, but you’ll also be surrounded by a community of other people just like you with the same goals. Get all the details and join at team.lifeisamarathon.com Do it today!

Life Plan: Step 4 – Rate Your Wheel of Life appeared first on Bruce Van Horn.