A million words.

I knew this day would come.  With some apprehension, I knew that to be true to my word and my dedication to helping others - I would have to post this.  So, here it is!

A lot of you that I’ve spoken with that have been motivated by my blog for or are looking for motivation, have said to me at some point - “I’d like to do it, but _______”.

I know that I’ve told you that anything is possible, and have recounted some of my path and challenges that I have overcome, but I realize that sometimes without a visual it’s hard to believe… because no matter what I say, your situation is different, and until you can step back and look at a large portion of the journey, its hard to realize how much things can really change.

We all certainly have our own challenges,  whether it be a lack of support, an unhappy home, work, weight, or medical issues – Making these types of changes in our lives require us to overcome obstacles.  I’ve spoken a lot in the past about the incremental, “small victories” that eventually lead us to greatness, and I’m hoping this post will exemplify for you the BIG accomplishment that is a result of a lot of little accomplishments along the way.

This post today is a short one…  I won’t rehash the start of my own journey (you can go back through the archive if you wish), but I will instead let the photo speak for itself today.Â

There is a common saying that a picture is worth 1000 words…  As I thought through how I wanted to present this to you, I wondered to myself – if a picture is worth 1000 words, is 2 pictures worth a million (1000×1000).  Personally in this case I think so, but I’d love to hear what you think.  Below is a side-by-side of me 18 months apart.  What’s interesting is that what I have done is anything but unachievable… If I had the motivation and drive that many of you have, I could have been able to do it in much less time.  What I do want to emphasize is that the photo today doesn’t explicitly capture a big part of what has changed in my life – my mental state, the relationships with friends and family I now am so lucky to have, and the true inner happiness I feel every day.  The change you see on the outside is without question a reflection of the scale of change across all aspects of my life.  If I were to explain it all – It would take a million words…

• On the left – An unhappy me in January 2009 that had let myself go, let myself down in a big way and could barely run 2 miles.
• On the right – Me completing my first Ironman 18 months later…  goose-bumps on my skin and a permagrin on my face as my friends and family cheered me on.