
I’ve recently been reading about Simon Wheatcroft, who made history when he crossed the finish line of the New York marathon in 2017
You see, Simon, from Doncaster, is completely blind and he became the first blind person to run a marathon with no one leading him around the course.
Just think about that for a moment. It’s extraordinary.
He was wearing some fairly clever tech (which he helped to develop) that included a GPS device that detects nearby people, curbs, cars and other obstacles, by sending out small vibrating pulses to his arm and chest pads.
His race wasn’t without a few hiccups. Twice the technology signalled that he was running in the wrong direction even though he wasn’t! The digital compass in his iPhone malfunctioned and he had several collisions with other runners.
But despite the glitches, he finished in a smidge over five hours.
I love that story.
What inspired me was Wheatcroft’s comments after the race. “We all tell our children to chase their dreams and that anything’s possible. If you’re going to tell someone else to chase their dreams, then you need to be willing to demonstrate it yourself. You also need to be willing to take some risks.“
I just thought that was a perfect analogy for the situation every business owner in the country is facing this morning. Including me and including you.
There are things we want to do. Often, what holds us back is fear. Fear of failure or of losing out.
Simon Wheatcroft has inspired me. I’m chasing my dreams – and I hope he can inspire you to chase yours.
Marc