No Human Is Limited: Lessons You Can Learn From Eliud Kipchoge

“I’m running to make history. I’m running to change a generation. I am running to tell people no human is limited. It’s not about money.”

These were the words of world marathoner Eliud Kipchoge, at a press conference in Vienna. Dubbed “INEOS 1:59”, the record holder seeks to break his record and finish the race in under two hours.

Kipchoge wants to inspire everyone to take the brakes off in their heads and believe the impossible is possible. He believes that #NoHumanIsLimited.

As the world focuses on him, there are numerous lessons to learn from Kipchoge:

1. Believe in yourself

He used to run daily to and from school which is how he nurtured his talent from an early age. But he didn’t stop there, even after finishing school and while working to help support his family, Eliud continued to run inspired by his now coach Patrick Sang.

Every two weeks he would get a training programme from Sang and use it to train. Eventually, he entered a race marking the beginning of his career as we know it today.

Had he not believed in his ability to run and taken action to improve, he probably wouldn’t be where he is right now.

You too need to believe that you can achieve your career goals; this is the first step in actually achieving them and succeeding. You cannot excel at something you don’t believe you can excel at.

“It is not important to be successful. What is most critical is how you prepare and plan to be successful. Believe in yourself and define faith- the belief without seeing- for yourself, not how your friends define it,” says Eliud.

2. Have passion

“If you do not love what you are doing, you better leave it. What you do for a living is a choice,” says the reigning Berlin marathon world record holder.

You need to love what you do to do it well. If you do not love your career, you will not be able to achieve the same amount of success as someone who enjoys their work.

3. It’s not always about the money

“You should have fun no matter what you are doing. Enjoy what you are doing and leave the money attitude. Those who concentrate on just making money have little money,” he advised.

You should not let how much money you want to earn affect your career decisions. Money doesn’t necessarily mean success and just because you earn a lot doesn’t mean you have a successful career.

When looking to be successful in your career, find ways to grow and build on your skills, the money will follow naturally.

4. Avoid excuses

“If you have failed, you have failed.”

Failure is part of growth and you need to be willing to accept it if you want to achieve any sort of success.

Instead of denying your failures, you need to embrace them and use them as learning opportunities. The more you learn the more you grow. The moment you decide to learn from your failures instead of completely ignoring them is the moment you start achieving something great.

Take, for an example, Eliud, his marathon career started when he lost out on the opportunity to go to the 2012 Olympics for 5000 meters by finishing seventh in the trials.

Had he not embraced his failure and used the frustrations to start something new, he would not be the Berlin marathon record holder.

5. Don’t be afraid of change

Eliud started out as a 5000 meters runner and even won a few medals. However, instead of staying in that lane and restricting himself he decided to take a risk and try marathon running which has brought him a lot more success.

Just because you are good at your current job doesn’t mean you should stay at it if you are not growing in any way. Don’t be afraid to take risks that could propel your career even further.

6. Learn to say no

“If you have a sharp knife, it will cut straight and clean. That is how I make my decisions. Self-discipline is not a one-night thing. Learn to say no to passions and impulses. Develop a straight life live life without complaining or bothering about what has happened,” he says.

With self-discipline, a lot can be achieved. Choose to focus on what you want to achieve and go for it.

Lastly,

“If you want to harvest money, you must plant the seeds of service,” he advises

It’s important to remember that even as he prepares to set a record tomorrow, he started 0practising three months ago. For him, this will be a culmination of all the hard work he has put in.

If you want to achieve success, you need to be willing to put in the hard work and make certain sacrifices.