Michael & Liz are Bloggable

I think one thing I have learned in my 5 years of work out of college is that everyone has the exact same amount of time to devote to what they do. Everyone only has 2 arms, 2 legs and a brain that they are working with. No one is pulling out super human traits that magically gets them to accomplish something that other people cannot. This sounds so ridiculous, as the beginning of most of my blog posts do, but stick with me.

Liz and I have been to some pretty awesome events over the last month hosted by some very well known people. We went to the Biggest Loser 5K in Myrtle Beach, hosted by Bob Harper, and tonight we went to the Dave Ramsey Live Event at the RBC Center, hosted by Dave Ramsey of course. These two people are nationally known and are seen almost everywhere.

Seeing them in the flesh though really brought them down to size. You look at what Bob has accomplished. He's inspired millions across the country. He is the face of a franchise that has branched off into something like 20 other countries. The finales just don't lie. He has a way of getting 400 pound people down to 200 pounds. But watching the television show makes you think of him as something other than a human being. I never saw him as a magical fairy sprinkling dust on contestants to get them to lose weight. The concept of an actual person who sleeps 8 hours, and eats 3 meals a day just doesn't occur to you. The same goes for Dave Ramsey. The guy is amazing, but he's just a guy!

So what separates us Joes from these Unicorn-like-men? Passion? Motivation? They use their time to the fullest?  I may not be as educated or I may not be as strong or or or... There's a lot of things they are better at than I am, but there's also plenty of things that I am better at than them. Like them, I have two arms, two legs, and a brain. I have it in me to be just as productive as them.

Tomorrow, I am going to get up and run 20 miles. I may not have inspired millions with my stride and I may not have caused 4 million dollars to be paid off on a Friday by chugging some Gu Energy Gel, but it's that kind of effort that is required to be just as productive with my time. 3 straight hours of plugging away on the trail.

It doesn't have to be running though! Spending 3 hours teaching your child how to do long division or spending 3 hours editing pictures to create the highest quality photos is just as awesome. The point is, we all have it in us to be awesome just like Dave and Bob. 

Have you ever watched the show "Undercover Boss" on Sunday evenings. Liz and I leave the TV on while we fall asleep and the clips I've seen from the shows are hilarious. You can't help but notice how incredibly inept these CEO's are when put in positions that require them to organize inventory, make pots of coffee, or clean port-a-potties. You think of CEO's as these incredibly talented and skilled mythical men who are CEO for a reason. They must be amazing. They must have in-human abilities. They must be so talented, they can't get any higher in their field. Their inabilities in new roles on the show and difficulty accomplishing tasks outside their comfort zones highlight my point. They are human, not deities. They get their job done with the same amount of time and physical skill set as the rest of us. 

There are mornings when I'm sitting at work thinking, what can I get done today? I bet Dave has had a few of those same mornings. From that point on, it's all about effort and what skills you have learned that you can bring to that effort. The point is, we all have it in us. We can all take their same passionate motivation to accomplish more than what we may see as feasible. It's a choice we get to make every day, just like Dave and Bob.

"Five years from now you’ll be the same person you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet." -John Wooden