A Tale of Two Treadmills

One of my typical gym treks last week gave me a perspective I hadn’t quite realized before.

Being a Monday, and all the gym-goers anxious to sweat out their weekend sins, it was packed. Iron dumbbells were clanging. Stationary bikes were whirring. And nearly all the treadmills were put through the paces.

I found one empty treadmill between two other souls. I climbed on and went from walking to jogging to somewhat running. Somewhat.

The first person I noticed was to my left. A very athletic college student — perhaps he ran track. But as I was starting to breathe hard at my moderate speed, he was running full force and barely breathing. He was the epitome of health. I glanced at his speed, felt inspired, and turned mine up a bit.

Then immediately turned it back down when no one was looking.

To my right was the complete opposite. A man that was climbing above fifty in age and had to have weighed three-fifty. His tread wasn’t moving much at all. In fact, he was walking. But while it had the pace of a Sunday stroll, every breath sounded as though it might be his last. Every step was a struggle.

There I was. Two different souls on either side of me. Both plugging away trying to improve their lives. But for total different reasons. With every step, the college student probably had the goal of becoming team captain, starting at the next game, or perhaps attracting a new girl.

Which is a world different than the man to my right. With every step, he was hoping to be able to live longer, see his grandchildren and shed some stubborn pounds.

That’s the point. Every day, everywhere you look, people are doing something to improve their lives and make themselves, their families and their lifestyles more complete.

But behind each struggle to improve. Behind every improved person is a story. A reason. A goal. Something that drives them. And that's the first thing you need before you can even hope to change your life. Because without that image or reminder constantly nagging you, it makes every step far more difficult.

Perhaps nobody demonstrates this better than Zig Ziglar.

Once www.improveyourself.com is launched, you'll discover numerous reasons to pursue your dreams, whatever they may be.