48 State Virtual Hike: The Missing Element in "Going the Extra Mile!" 10/9/14

Virtual Hike

Today's leg starts near Orofino. Idaho. I parachuted into town with Google Street View and landed in front of the Krystal Cafe and the "Hotel." The hotel has been renovated. I can smell the bacon cooking in the morning.

I spent some time wandering around town with street view looking at the old and not so new. It is all well-kept.

Unfortunately, the main business is a correctional institution which gives the town a Stephen King feeling.

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Reviewing my Action Plan

I was reviewing my action plan this morning and realized that for the last 16 days I've walked almost exactly the number of miles in the plan. I was feeling good until --

An inner voice said, "You could have done more!"

I asked, "Who are you?"

The voice replied, "You should have walked the extra mile!"

Then I knew who was talking. Napoleon Hill, one of my dead mentors.

He said, "Gary, you know I said if I had to pick one thing for success, it would be "Going the Extra Mile!"

"Mr. Hill, I listened, I really did. Why don't we take this on a walk? It was 4:47 am, the time I always leave the door for my 5.1 mile morning walk.

We were quiet for about a half mile. I didn't have an answer for Mr. Hill.

Mr. Charles Wilson Hoyt joined the conversation. "Hold on there Mr. Hill. When we talked, you always said, 'Go the Extra Mile' and I agreed.

"It is management's job to define the extra mile. I taught sales houses to give their sales reps a list of specific activities to perform. By doing the activities as asked, they were walking the miles necessary for success. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Later, Sir Winston Churchill will say, 'Duty then is the sublimest word in the English Language. You can never do more, you must never do less.'"

"Mr. Hill, Mr, Hoyt, it's good to see you. You both worked for me when we were alive and I listened to both of you.

"When someone worked for me, they met their fortune teller during the first week. The fortune teller gave the worker a 'pink sheet' with their personal road map to success.

"By defining their personal miles, my workers never had to question if they were doing enough. They never had to question if I was satisfied with their work."

My mother's father, Tom Colby joined the group.

"I was fourteen when I met all of you. Mr. Hill, you gave me the draft copy of 'Laws of Success.' I even added 'The Seeds of Prosperity' to your book.

"Mr. Hoyt, you taught me how to give my sales reps specific tasks to complete during the day.

"Mr. Carnegie, you taught me the 'Gospel of Wealth' with your actions.

"Thanks to all your advice, Sales Team One was successful."

We all felt something was still missing!

I was about 3 miles into my walk and saw some ROTC cadets sitting on the wall. They looked deader than my mentors.

I asked the group if they were ROTC cadets and they nodded. I told them how the "o'dark thirty" runs were some of the best times in my life. I entertained them with stories from when I went through Airborne.

Tom's partner, Rebecca entered my mind. Before she spoke, she said, "Tom, remember we used to teach the Song of Enthusiasm to Sales Team One?"

Rebecca spoke through me and I don't recall a word she said. All I know is that after she spoke I was running down the road with a group of loudly singing ROTC cadets.

You can see all the dead mentors over their heads. This was NOT photoshopped!