Sunday at 1:30 am I became the oldest person to finish the Baja 500 off-road desert race in the Ironman (it means solo, no teammates riding) class. My son and I also became the first ever father-and-son to finish the race in that class. That will probably never happen again.
It was 541 miles (21 hours for me) of tough riding. Knee-deep silt, steep rocky uphills, dust so thick you can’t see, and pain and fatigue that gets worse by the hour. Half of the 340 race vehicles (trucks, buggies, UTVs, etc.) did not finish.
I’m a veteran of this kind of racing now. As I reflect back to just four years ago, it’s amazing how I could not have done it then. We all have things we think we can’t do. And maybe we are right, we can’t – until we make up our minds to. Once we make a firm decision, we find ourselves learning, trying, training, making mistakes we learn from, preparing, and getting better.
Keep at it like that, and one day you’re an expert at something you were one day a novice at.
People ask me about my business – “When you started, did you ever think it would come to all this?” The answer is no. I didn’t know I could, until I tried for 30 years, and got better and better all the time since I never quit.
It’s amazing what you can do, if you only make a firm decision.
What can you do? There’s only one way to find out.
Just filled with congratulations for you and Tanner on your accomplishments. You are so right about making the decision to accomplish something. Finding myself, curious enough, in just that position myself. It’s a personal goal, one that I professionally don’t need but it’s now a matter of it vs. me running the show. I have made up my mind to be the winner. Thank you for your inspiration. It literally cane at the right exact moment.
Congratulations, Larry, to you and Tanner. That is an amazing accomplishment. I just had an idea (light bulb went off!). You have my email if you’re interested in writing inspirational pieces for our Valley newsletter. Doesn’t have to be on a regular basis, I know you are quite busy! But an occasional column or thought-provoking paragraph or two.
thanks,
Patti
Congratulations Larry & Tanner! It’s exciting and inspirational to hear about your journey. Thank you for sharing.
Congratulations! You’re certainly a great example of determination and drive that ultimately leads to accomplishments. Looks like Tanner’s following in well! Congrats to both!
Congratulations! You are truly an inspirational person to work for. Keep up the great work.
Larry, Congrats to you and Tanner. That is amazing. I won Division One in a sailing race and my Dad won Division Two. This was back in the 80’s. Another father/son has not matched this accomplishment since. You must be so proud. Please post the link for your movie a couple years ago. I think it’s on You Tube. Thanks and congrats again!
What type of vehicle were you driving?
Congratulations to you and tanner. I followed your blog about it last year and am happy that you and Tanner achieved your goals!
Congratulations to you and Tanner. I followed your posts about it last year , and am happy that you both achieved your goal !
Congratulations Larry & Tanner! Hard work, dedication and preserverance paid off. That is inspiring!
Congratulations to you and Tanner. Well done!
You never cease to amaze me! Great job! Congratulations to you and Tanner.
Hello from Woods! Excited for your accomplishment!
Way to go! Both of you!
Congrats to you & Tanner , Your strong Constitution & reading Think Daily the last 7 weeks are what helped me to recover from a recent Heart Attack. You are truely an Inspiration. Thank _you
Great Job !