It was 4am on January 6th, 2014. On this day, Chicago was hit by what was called the “Polar Vortex” where northern cities across the United States were hitting record low temperatures. It was a reported −16 °F (−27 °C) with a wind chill causing it to be −40 °F, so cold that Celsius and Fahrenheit measurements are actually the same. Like many people across the country, just one week earlier I had set big goals for the New Year.  

It was the summer of 2012 and a professional athletic trainer named Rob was hired to train the USA basketball team that would be playing in the Olympics in London. He had the opportunity to work with some of the best names in basketball – Lebron James, Carmello Anthony, Kevin Durant and the legendary Kobe Bryant.

The moviegoers all agreed – the popcorn smelled delicious!

158 participants had been invited to attend a post-lunch matinee at a local movie theater and give their rating of it on a 5-star scale. To help make the movie more enjoyable, psychologist Brian Wansick gave them all free popcorn!

The clock was ticking down as the UCLA Bruins were about to defeat the Seattle University Redhawks in the round of 16 game of the 1964 NCAA basketball tournament. The Bruins came into the game undefeated and were up 95-90. The win was all but assured, yet legendary coach John Wooden was not happy.

The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s serves as one of the most historic movements in the United States of America. African Americans, who had never been treated as equals in the entire history of the American South, finally said “enough”.

It was time to stop being treated as second-class citizens. It was time to stop being abused for the sake of their color, and it was time to make a stand against the oppression they had faced for centuries. And the catalyst of the entire movement was one simple seamstress who would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. 

In 2009, a man named Joe DeSena founded a company called "Spartan Race". Spartan Race is an obstacle course that is typically run in trails where runners must climb up ropes, crawl under barbed wire, and scale over walls. Since then, the Spartan Race has grown rapidly; expanding into 17 countries and having over 1 million race participants in 2014.

But before DeSena created one of the top races in a fast growing sport, he sustained a hip injury and was told that he would never be able to run again. Being a tough competitor, DeSena sought to prove those doctors wrong...by running 14 Ironman Triathlons! 

The coaching staff of a high school cross-country running team recently got together for dinner after winning its second state championship in two years.  

"I don't get it," said one of the coaches. "Why are we so successful? We don't work any harder than any other teams. And what we do is just so simple. Why does it work?"

He was referring to the strategy of the program: Run best at the end.  

They are two men at the very top of their professions. One is the head of the one of the largest technology companies in the world and is personally valued at over $33 billion dollars. The other is the President of the United States of America. And they have one very unique thing in common – they wear the exact same thing every day. 

Breaking a promise to our friends, to our family, or to our boss seems almost unfathomable. We will go to almost heroic lengths to not let them down. We want them to know that they can trust us. That we can deliver for them. That when we say something, we are going to do it.

But when it comes to a promise to ourselves...that’s a different story. We promise ourselves that this time we’re going to make it to the gym 4 times a week, cut back on spending, and eat healthier. But for some reason if we don’t keep that promise, we’re not too upset about it.

“This time is going to be different.”

Those are the first words we tell ourselves when we set a goal and plan to change our behavior. It does not matter if that behavior change was to quit smoking, lose weight or start exercising. Despite our past failures, we believe that it’s going to be different.

For most of us, “this time” is rarely ever different. We set up an unrealistic plan to achieve our goal and get burned out within the first couple of weeks. But for a rare few, “this time” really is different!