What he said was not only unforgettable, but for me, it was also life changing!
Just before the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, NY, I attended an Olympic Symposium at Skidmore College. The keynote speaker was Sir Roger Bannister. He has been knighted twice — once as a runner and the second time as a neurologist.
Roger Bannister is best known as the first person ever to run a mile in under four minutes. This legendary record was set on May 6, 1954.
After his prepared remarks, he took questions. Dr. George Horn, my colleague from Montclair State, asked Bannister how he trained to break the four-minute barrier.
What Bannister said changed everything I thought I knew about training and human potential.
Bannister said that he was a medical student at the time. Medical schools don’t have track teams. Medical students go to school all day and study all night. In other words, medical students don’t have time to train for world records.
Bannister said that he cut a different class every day and went to the track where he met his college track coach.
Then he said it . . .
“I only trained 40-45 minutes a day.”
HE ONLY TRAINED 40-45 MINUTES A DAY!
Many athletes spend that much time just warming up. Bannister invested that time and it turned into a world record — the four-minute mile. No one ever did it before. No one ever thought that it was possible.
Bannister proved to all of us that . . .
IT’S NOT HOW MUCH TIME YOU PUT IN,
IT’S WHAT YOU PUT INTO THE TIME.
Most people think that if “some is good, more will be better.” Why train just two hours when four or six hours is possible?” They’re thinking quantity not quality.
Start thinking quality first and quantity second.
Forty-five minutes of quality beats four hours of quantity.
Bannister proved it.
PRACTICE DOES NOT MAKE PERFECT.
PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT.
PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.
Perfect practice = being totally into it physically, mentally, and emotionally.
For Bannister, LESS was MORE.
For his 40-45 minute training sessions, Bannister was totally INTO IT physically, mentally, and emotionally.
For his 40-45 minute training sessions, Bannister did not hold back, HE WENT ALL OUT.
Call Success Hotline at 973.743.4690 and leave your thoughts about this message.
GAO,
Rob Gilbert
P.S. Ever notice how much you get accomplished the day before you go on vacation?
