“I don’t have disillusion of grandeur — I have a recipe for grandeur.” -Edward Morra
Middle seat assignments on international flights aren’t always ideal, but mine was last night as the on-flight movie Limitless captured my attention for most of the journey (I watched it twice). Edward Morra, played by actor Bradley Cooper in the movie, encapsulates much of the emotion that I am still processing from my journey of completing Ironman France in his confident words above. There is a recipe for greatness, and that recipe lies in confidence and grows into limitless potential when we open our minds. We have a choice in life to decide if we believe that we are in fact capable for greatness, that anything is possible, and that our potential far exceeds anything that we have yet tapped into.
Later in the movie, Morra says something even more profound that resonates with my Ironman experience. He said: “There are moments in life, moments when you know you’ve crossed a bridge.” The 11:48.16 of my Ironman was exactly that. One entire full-day moment so profound that my life has been changed forever.
While I had many moments of “bridge crossing” during the race, one of the ones that most changed me was when I successfully climbed all the peaks of the Alps on the bike course, a course that I had severe doubts and significant fear about. Once I reached the pinnacle after hours of labor, muscle spasms, dehydration, heat exhaustion and absolute fatigue, I realized that anything is possible. I triumphed over the Alps, over elevation beyond anything I have ever done (see above elevation chart) and most importantly, over my own self-doubt.
Everything is possible when you open your mind and when you refuse to give in. That is my recipe, that is my creed, that is what has changed my life in just 11 hours and 48 minutes.