A quick report on International Make-It-Happen Day
The 2/19/02 Letter offered free call-in coaching and accountability throughout the course of the day last Tuesday, 2/26.

I'm still receiving follow-up contacts from some participants, but so far, everyone said it helped them clarify their goals for the day and get and stay in action.  Congratulations to all of you for choosing this way of taking charge of your day!

If you couldn't make it and want to be on the early notification list for next time, send me an e-mail at coach@stevereiter.com.  Please, don't reply to the newsletter.

Or, if you wish take that giant step forward right now, you may choose to set up a complimentary session.  By the end of an hour, you'll have greater clarity and direction, and I'm sure you'll find it both exciting and valuable.

Thanks to all those who participated.  You made my day!

Endurance

The point is not to do remarkable things, but to do ordinary things with the conviction of their immense importance.

                                         -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
 

Whether you think that you can or that you can't, you are usually right.
                                         -- Henry Ford
 

Dear Friend,

For some time, I've been wanting to write an article about commitment, and also about stamina, pluck, determination, and just plain pure grit.  My desire to write on this subject was inspired by the 1914 expedition led by British polar explorer Ernest Shackleton in his attempt to be the first to trek across Antarctica on foot.

The Abbreviated  Story

• Funding is raised.
   
• They sail, but their ship, The Endurance, soon gets stuck in a floating ice sheet.
   
• Months later, The Endurance is crushed by the ice, and they pull their lifeboats toward the open sea.  Temperatures of 15° below zero with 80 mph winds are not uncommon. 
   
• Finally, a channel opens in the ice, and they make it to "nearby" Elephant Island, the first time they have been on dry land in 16 months.
   
• Shackleton leaves most of his crew and heads to sea in a lifeboat. Their destination: South Georgia Island — 800 perilous miles away. On the 17-day voyage, 50-foot waves and gale-force winds hammer the boat.
   
• They make a seemingly impossible trek (22 miles over snow fields, glaciers, and mountains in 36 hours) across the island to the whaling stations on the other side.
   
• Shackleton makes four attempts to get back to Elephant Island, where 22 of his men were living packed under the two remaining lifeboats.
   
• 4½ months after he left, Shackleton reaches Elephant Island.
   
• Astoundingly, all 28 men on The Endurance survived!

Whew: The Long Story
This entire tale was documented by the ship photographer, Frank Hurley, whose photographs are the focus of a current exhibit at Kodak in Rochester, NY. 

Kodak also created a compelling web site that tells the tale of the expedition and Hurley's commitment to creating a photographic record of the staggering beauty and the challenges overcome by the crew. 

You can see it at:
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/corp/features/endurance/index.shtml
(Thanks to Madeleine Homan and Linda Miller of Coaching.Com for bringing it to my attention.)
 

Success is a journey, not a destination.
                                                        -- Ben Sweetland

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.
                                                        -- Beverly Sills
 

The Trap --  Also know as "Who am I to complain?"
On first blush, it seems like any issue I might raise about my own commitments are just so piddling in comparison to that faced by Shackleton and his crew as to appear nearly irrelevant. 

For example, I struggle, as do many of you, with getting consistent exercise.  And I wonder, "Golly, if those guys on the expedition could survive for 22 months without the equipment we now take for granted (like Gore-Tex and Global Positioning Systems), why can't I even work exercise into my life so that it stays there for good?"

And then, of course, there are all the many people who are challenged just to survive right now.  How can I, in good conscience, invest energy in my own well-being at the same time that others are suffering?

Permission granted
Then I realize that, though I'm not an adventurer or explorer, and though I'm not one of the suffering, the challenges I face and the commitments I make to myself are vitally important.  They are important to me, but they are also important to my family, friends, community, and, ultimately, the world.  Naturally, the same is true for you.

The challenge is to stay in the process
When it's not about survival, it is easier to put aside our commitments, our goals, and our dreams.  It is vital that they be brought back into the foreground, so we can consider once again whether they make sense for us.  And if they do, we get to decide anew what we're going to do about them.

And it's about forgiveness
The precursor to starting again is often forgiving myself for not having had the stamina, pluck, determination, and just plain pure grit to make it happen already.

If this strikes a chord with you... call me.
 

 Steve

Reader Contributions

No reader contributions were received since the prior newsletter.  Find Previous Articles and Reader Contributions on my web site at archives. 

I welcome your comments, stories, quotes, reflections, and suggestions for future topics and enhancements.  Let me know whether I may post your contribution, and how you wish to be identified as the contributor.

I help business people and other dynamic folks stay on track to success.

Are you ready?  Call me at 315-472-0504 or toll-free at 1-888-832-8421 for a complimentary coaching session.  In one hour or less, you'll obtain greater clarity, deepen your understanding of your situation, and have initial steps in front of you.  And it's fun, to boot!  No obligation, no commitment, of course.  Nothing to lose... everything to gain. 

Or send an e-mail to: coach@stevereiter.com, or visit my web site at 
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The Reiter Coaching Letter is published by Steve Reiter on the first and third Tuesday of each month.  The purpose is to challenge you and support you in creating success and fulfillment throughout your life.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all content is written and edited by Steve Reiter, MS, PCC.  You are welcome to republish any or all parts of this newsletter; I ask only that you honor the copyright by including full acknowledgment, which includes the words "Copyright 2002, Reiter Coaching. All rights reserved." and a listing of my contact information (name, e-mail, web site).

The Reiter Coaching Letter
Copyright (c) 2002, Reiter Coaching. All rights reserved.
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