DAY 62: Morning Motivation- Brewing Success

Yesterday I had the privilege of hearing the founder and Chairman of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, speak at Notre Dame as he received the Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Business Ethics. Mr. Schultz is really a remarkable person, as he has built an extremely profitable corporation without having to sacrifice his morals and values. He has built what he calls a “business with a conscience”, a socially responsible business that does the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not solely because it will increase profitability.

Now what does the chairman of a coffee company have to do with running? Well, I always take advantage of the chance to listen to successful people speak because their words of wisdom more often than not apply to all areas of life. The philosophy they follow to become successful in business can be applied to our success in running if we apply these principles. From the start of his talk, Mr. Schultz told the audience:

“Success is not an entitlement. It must be earned.”

He said that in order to be able to exceed the expectations of your customers, you have to exceed the expectations of your people (employees). For example, Starbucks was the first company in America to provide full health and dental insurance and offer stock options to part-time employees. This action was greatly appreciated by Starbucks employees, and since they know Starbucks cares about them, they care about Starbucks. Have you ever seen an unhappy employee at a Starbucks?

Put in running terms, before you can exceed the expectations of your peers, you have to exceed you own expectations. You must give yourself an honest chance to grow and develop each day by giving a complete effort with each workout. You have to sacrifice the sweat, and you have to exit your comfort zone in order to advance into new areas of achievement.

Mr. Schultz ended his talk with a piece of advice that he tells all his audiences:

“Dream big dreams, and then dream bigger.”

All the great things that have been discovered, invented, or accomplished were first conceived by a dream. But don’t limit yourself. Dream as big as you can. There’s no harm done in dreaming. The greatest tragedy would not be in failing to fulfill a big dream, but rather it would be achieving a small dream and not using your full potential.

Set lofty goals. Work towards them. Remember, success must be earned. You can do it!

TODAY’S WORKOUT:

Bench Press- Lock-out 4 sets

Curls- 3 sets

Scull crushers- 3 sets

Pullups- 3 sets

Dips- 3 sets

Abs