A Single Push-Up

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

Walt Disney

My friend Lee has a unique fitness goal. Every day, he puts on his gym shorts with a plan to do a single push-up, because he knows that if he does one push-up, he will do another and another.

The last time I saw Lee, he had just participated in the Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, which is a marathon and a half run around Disney World. Lee and a friend jumped up on a platform partway through the second day to have their picture taken. When Lee jumped down, his shoelace caught on a nail, and he fell and nearly broke his arm.

He finished the marathon, then flew to Chicago to have dinner with me and attend a workshop the next day.

I said, “Uh, Lee, why don’t we pass on dinner so you can visit a doctor about your arm?” I had to talk him into it, as he wanted to honor his commitment to me.

So, I’ve been thinking. If we take one step a day toward our dreams, that’s 365 steps closer in one year. And if we take two, it’s 730 steps closer.

That seems like a good way to get to where we want to go. Wouldn’t you agree? I know Walt and Lee would.

-Hank

"A Single Push-Up," from The Saturday Morning Post, at hankfrazee.com