Here is the passage I read from James Allen’s book Byways of Blessedness:

Life is full of beginnings. They are presented every day and every hour to every person. Most beginnings are small, and appear trivial and insignificant, but in reality they are the most important things in life.

See how in the material world everything proceeds from small beginnings. The mightiest river is at first a rivulet over which the grasshopper could leap; the great flood commences with a few drops of rain; the sturdy oak, which has endured the storms of a thousand winters, was once an acorn; and the smoldering match, carelessly dropped, may be the means of devastating a whole town by fire.

Consider, also, how in the spiritual world the greatest things proceed from smallest beginnings. A light fancy may be the inception of a wonderful invention or an immortal work of art; a spoken sentence may turn the tide of history; a pure thought entertained may lead to the exercise of a world-wide regenerative power; and a momentary animal impulse may lead to the darkest crime.

Have you yet discovered the vast importance of beginnings? Do you really know what is involved in a beginning? Do you know the number of beginnings you are continuously making, and realize their full import? …

A beginning is a cause, and as such it must be followed by an effect, or a train of effects, and the effect will always be of the same nature as the cause. The nature of an initial impulse will always determine the body of its results.

When I first started training for my marathon, I was able to actually see my improvement. On my first day I walked for about 20 minutes and then I broke into a slow run. After literally 2 minutes I was breathing really hard, my heart was pounding and I just stopped. I just couldn’t run anymore than 2 minutes!?! I decided that I would increase my running time by 1 minute per day. Each day I would run for 1 more minute than I ran the day before. I kept track of it in a little notebook. Within two weeks I was able to run for 20 or 25 minutes straight! So I went from 2 minutes to 25 minutes – that was huge, exciting, and visible progress!

Of course, a few weeks later I ran too fast and hurt my knee… so…

One of the things that has helped me tremendously is a book called ChiRunning. The truth is I am not a runner, and I never have been, so when I started running my knees began to hurt. I was introduced to this book ChiRunning, which helps people run with the proper form with less effort and injury-free. When I heard that I was sold! I have been studying and applying the simple principles in the book and they have made a tremendous difference in my running. It’s mostly common sense, but as we all know, using common sense is actually uncommon.

Because of my marathon training I’m becoming aware of so many new perspectives on goal achieving. I’ve studied goal achieving A LOT, and in my business I work with business owners and salespeople to help them increase their business and earn more money by tapping into their hidden, unused mental muscles. It’s like turning on a dormant power generator. Seeing improved results can take some time in the business world, though, because there are so many variables. But when it comes to running or other physical activities, the results are able to be seen much more quickly.

I like the idea of running, if you can do it injury-free, because it keeps the body in good shape and, in a way, it balances your diet because you begin to WANT to eat the right things. Your body just CALLS for what it needs.

For me, running also helps balance out my other hobby which is playing chess. I don’t usually get a good cardio workout or strength training when I’m playing chess.