On September 11, 2011, I rode my handcycle out of Lake Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota.
My cousin Mark, a new friend named Michael, and I pulled out of the parking lot onto HWY 2 toward Bemidji. The 1500-mile journey was underway.
After a few minutes, Michael stopped and said, “Time to celebrate!” Since we were barely started, that seemed like an odd thing to say.
“What are we celebrating?”
“You just completed 15 miles. That’s 1% of your goal.”
1%. Whoopee.
At the time I thought Michael’s 1% marker was silly, but in the following weeks I can’t count how many times I silently celebrated the passage of 15 miles. Or 30, or 45, because a 45-mile day represented 3% of the goal. And that, as they say, ain’t nothing.
And if you keep at it, day after day, eventually those 1’s and 2’s and 3’s add up.
Maybe you’re working toward a goal and progress feels impossibly slow. I hope this encourages you to remain faithful. You’ll get there. Day by day, small bits at a time.
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I’m thinking about this because the HOPE & FREEDOM CHALLENGE just passed 3,000 miles, which doesn’t seem like much of a bite out of our big goal of 50,000 miles. But 6% ain’t nothing, and we’ll keep at it.
Because the kids are watching.
Because every mile matters.
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