On May 6th in 1954, at the Iffley Road Track in Oxford, England, medical student Roger Bannister became the first person in recorded history to run the mile in under four minutes. It had been thought to be physically impossible. But somehow Bannister took the limiters off and did it. And over the next years more and more runners broke the 4 minute mile mark all because one young man broke the barrier in his own mind.
This past week, in the Nevada desert the Hyperloop Propulsion Open Air Test was done. Hyperloop is the brainchild of Elon Musk and a group of engineers from Tesla and SpaceX. They published a speculative design document for a concept they called “The Hyperloop in 2013. The idea is to be able to travel on land and underwater in a vacuum tube at around 760 mph.
When this idea comes to fruition we will be able to travel on ground faster than if we were in a jet. Imagine traveling one day between these cities by Hyperloop.
L.A. to San Francisco in 35 minutes
Montreal to Toronto in 30 minutes
L.A. to Vegas in 20 minutes
Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 15 minutes
London to Paris in 15 minutes
Some say the idea is too grand and it can’t be done. But a handful of visionaries and engineers are proving them wrong. The test last week demonstrated a motor that accelerated from zero to 100 mph in just one second. The motor quickly moved to a speed of over 335 mph. This is just the beginning. It will happen and it will be done by men and women who have taking the limiters off. They are going places no one has ever imagined going before.
What about you? Is there an area of your life where you need to believe beyond conventional wisdom? Do you need to stretch a little? Why can’t it be done? Open your eyes and ears and heart today to the idea that you can live beyond the limiters that are arbitrarily set all around you. Roger Bannister and Elon Musk have done it. You can do it, too. Then you will be on your way to living a truly Big Life.
