Strategise to achieve success

IT IS never too late to start running. Or to learn knitting. Or to start a business.

If there's a will, there's a way. You can do anything at whatever age.

The most important thing is having the intention and then putting it into action. Get up and put on those running shoes or sign up for a course or set up a stall.

However, you should also have a plan. Strategise. Intention combined with strong will and a comprehensive plan will surely lead to success. Consider the story we published yesterday about 60-year-old Lee Kim Hing, who completed a 12km run in 48:43 minutes.

Lee, who ran in 'The Run', a charity half marathon event organised by Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam, came out tops in the veteran's category where he was competing against runners more than a decade younger than him.

Lee said his success was partly due to maintaining a consistent speed, adding: "At the start, I did not really run that quick. When it got to the halfway mark, only then I decided to speed up and take over the rest of the runners."

Winners strategise. Lee did not just run blindly but he had a plan.

Although he is aware of the fact that at his age, it is not easy to maintain a certain of level of stamina, he was also confident of his abilities. So, if a man in his sixties can win against his younger competitors, what about the rest of us?

The lesson that can be learnt from Lee's success is that in order to be good at something or to break your own record or to achieve new goals, is to strategise.

Lee said "you can train yourself to run five kilometres" but at constant speed. The main thing is consistency. Do not try to go too fast. Running a marathon is not like trying to compete in a 100-metre sprint.

Also, it should not be about competing with other people, but about overcoming your own inertia.