Be the Secretariat of Offense.

This is Lesson #1 from a seven year-old movie.

Last night, I caught up in “Secretariat” a movie that I had already seen twice. It was on, egads, the Lifetime channel – don’t tell anyone. With the commercials (thank God for commercials), it was three hours long, which is much more time than I had to spend.

Yet I was sucked right in. The movie featured an attractive cast and had an uplifting soundtrack, but so do many overproduced box office bombs.

What “Secretariat” had was a story to which we can all relate. To win anything that matters, you have to risk something, usually more than something. Usually, you have to put yourself out there and risk everything. Everyone who loves you, and cares about you, tells you not to do it.

They look at you sadly and say, “ We love you, but …” You fill in the blank:

“but it’s too crazy.”

“but we can’t afford it.”

“but you’ll lose everything.”

“but this has never been done.”

I have news for you – you can’t afford to not do it. Eventually, you will wither away and lose everything anyway.

“But,” you say, “if everyone I know and trust is telling me it’s crazy, how will I know it’s the right thing?”

The answer is right out of the movie. The brilliant John Malkovich, who plays the trainer, asks Penny Chenery (Diane Lane), Secretariat’s owner, “How will we know if we’ve pushed him too hard?”

Penny answers, “He (Secretariat] will know.”

So will you. Only you. Here’s the catch – just like Penny and Secretariat in the movie, you will never know how far or how fast you are capable of going until you’ve been pushed past the limit of pain and endurance and risk that you thought were unconquerable.

You will only do it if you are forced so far past your comfort zone that it will be a disappearing blip in your rear-view mirror. You will find things inside of yourself that you never knew existed. And you never would have known unless they were squeezed out of you by the force of your belief and ideas.

There is no other way. It’s terrible, terrifying and beautiful.

Once I had the opportunity to ask the late Jim Harrison, my favorite author/hero, to write some words of inspiration into my copy of his latest book at a book signing. His eloquent words of encouragement?

“To Jack Write your ownself” Jim Harrison

In honor of Secretariat, I say, “To you – Race your Ownself.”

Good luck.

If you would like to discuss, please drop me an email at jhenke@henkeinc.com.

Next time, Secretariat Lesson #2