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    The Great Gordino Newsletter - Issue 288 - Wed 9th Feb 2005
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    Hi There,

    I hope you're having a good week.

    This weekend marks 2 years since I first started this newsletter,
    and I am also sneaking up on the 300th Issue.
    I wasn't sure what to do to mark those occasions, so if any of
    you have any ideas, email me!
    One thing I am doing, is moving some subscribers.
    The original auto responder now has the double opt-in feature
    so I am moving everyone back to it.

    If you get an email saying you need to confirm your
    subscription, it means I have put you on the old autoresponder,
    so please bear with me and click the link to stay on the list.
    Thanks!

    Ok, do what you love, and keep doing it!
    That's what I want to talk about today.

    Ellen MacArthur is a young British record breaker.
    At only 28, on Monday she broke the record for the non-stop
    solo navigation of the globe.
    It's an amazing achievement, at sea on her own for 71 days.

    Ironically enough, although we are an island nation, she was
    brought up in a land-locked county, and first fell in love with the
    sea on a family trip when she was 4.
    She saved her pocket money, and lunch money, and bought her
    first boat when she was 11.
    At 18, she wrote 2000 letters to companies asking if they would
    sponsor her, only getting 2 replies.

    Fast forward 10 years, and look where Ellen is now.
    I should say Dame Ellen, which is what she has now been
    awarded.
    I think being a Dame is the female equivalent of being Sir?
    Is that right?

    I must admit I'm not a sailing person.
    It just doesn't do it for me.
    It doesn't float my boat.
    (Geddit? Sailing not floating my boat? Hmm...)

    On plenty of occasions she was close to failing, having to climb
    the 100 foot mast in storms, and only averaging 20 minutes
    spells of sleep for over 70 days.

    How's that for an example of doing what you love, and sticking
    with it until you succeed?

    Also, the more you do something the easier it can get.
    I'm sure Ellen won't have to write 2000 letters the next time she
    wants sponsorship, but when she was writing the letters, did she
    write them one at a time, and give up after she was rejected?
    Of course not.

    Speaking of reaping the advantages of effort, I'm going to refer
    back to Sunday's Superbowl.
    Did the fact that the New England Patriots had experience of
    what it feels like to win help them?
    Yes, I think so.
    And then there's Terrell Owens.

    T.O. as he is known, plays for the Philadelphia Eagles.
    Towards the end of last year he broke his leg in a game, and it
    looked like the end of his season.
    He said that if the Eagles made it to the Superbowl, he'd be
    playing, which seemed optimistic.
    Sunday marked 7 weeks since he had the operation, with pins
    and screws in his leg, and sure enough, there he was out on the
    field.

    I don't really like his personality.
    He's a cocky one, that's for sure, although he does have the
    skill to back it up.
    What I do admire though, is his ability to make such a recovery.
    Intensive physio, and sleeping in an oxygen tent helped him.

    If I broke my leg and had an operation, I wouldnt be running
    anywhere 7 weeks later, that's for sure.
    Of course that's because my body is not at the peak of fitness,
    so it takes longer.
    The fact that T.O. is so fit made all the difference to his recovery.

    Impressive on both counts today.

    Ok, that's it for today, and here's the thought - do you do what
    you love, and do you benefit from continuing to do it?

    'Til Friday,
    Health and Happiness,
    Gordon
    email me at gordon@gordonbryan.com - you'll have to copy and paste
    thanks to the idiot online spammers!



    
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