Ever heard of the story behind the 4 minutes mile? It goes somewhat like this…
For thousands of years, people held the belief that it was impossible for a human to run the mile in less than 4 minutes. The ancient Greeks even had lions chase the runners, but it was still ‘impossible’.
But in 1954, Roger Banister broke this imposing belief barrier. The significance of the achievement is what it did for others. In the whole history of the human race, no one had ever been able to break a 4-minute mile, yet after Roger (3:59:4) within one year, 37 other runners also broke it. And the year after that, 300 other runners did the same thing. And now it has turned out to be a standard for all professional middle distance runners. His experience provided them with a strong sense of certainty that they too could ‘do the impossible.’ Currently the record is owned by Hicham El Guerrouj a.k.a. “King of the Mile” from Morocco with his time 3:43:13 minutes.
Leaders often excite followers by not only identifying opportunities but also breaking barriers and highlighting possibilities.
Courtesy: RealAcad
