Speaking360º Free Content

What's your 140lb problem?

Sep 12, 2016
We were talking about the Paralympics today and a good friend told me a story today about Matt Stutzman, the ‘Armless Archer’ who broke the world record for distance accuracy. There was a program on the BBC about him last night apparently – I didn’t see it but it sounded incredible, so I googled him just now!

I could not believe what I was watching on YouTube! He has no arms but he shot an arrow at a target and broke a world record! It was his own world record, but before that it was held by an able bodied person!

As a Paralympian, he competes from 55 yards back from the target, but for his world record, he shot the bullseye (the CD sized centre of the target) from 310 yards back!!

I just watched him on YouTube pick his bow up with his foot, load it with an arrow with his other foot, lift it up to his shoulder to grasp the string, then ‘draw the bow back’ by pushing his leg forward, then loose the arrow! AMAZING!!

I have mentioned in a previous email about Nick Vujicic being our guest at a speaker training program Paul and I did with Les Brown – Nick did Q&A and took notes on his phone with his toe!! AMAZING!! And he did it at lightning speed. Personally, I think it is impossible to meet Nick and not be incredibly inspired.

I was particularly impressed with Matt’s bow and arrow prowess though, because I’ve tried it .. and it’s hard. (Not with my feet, I hasten to add)

It’s hard because you have to be strong before you can be accurate. I remember my Dad telling me about the English archers from yester-year. Pulling the string back on a medieval bow that would pierce the armour of the day was like lifting a 140 pound man .. with three fingers!

During the battle of Agincourt, the French faced around 90,000 arrows a minute flying at them from the English archers. That equated to around 6 or 7 arrows loosed per archer, per minute! Can you even imagine, in a battle situation, lifting a 140lb man off the floor 6 times a minute, every minute?

It was a law, my Dad told me, that every man had to practice with his bow, every day, from childhood. It is the only way you develop the strength and the intuitive aim to be able to fire a weapon like that in a deadly way.

What does it take for someone like Matt, a man with no arms, to set about learning how to fire a bow better than anyone else in the world? What does it take for someone like Nick, a man with no arms or legs, to learn how to text faster than a teenager? What does it take for one of those old English archers to draw that 140lb weight and fire the arrow in the blink of an eye and hit a target without even thinking?

You know where I’m going with this, don’t you?

There’s something you want .. and there’s someone you need to be to get it.

And you can be that someone!

Both Matt and Nick needed to work incredibly hard to achieve their respective levels of excellence. The English archers spent their young lives into adulthood to become proficient with a bow. I’m guessing that success for you will be somewhat easier by comparison :)

Your ‘140lb man’ is a hopeless challenge to anyone else, but not for you .. because this is something you really want! What are you waiting for? Go for it. Today.  Right Now. Sure, it'll be hard and it will take everything you've got .. but no doubt, it'll be worth it.
 
Until next time ..

Don't miss my new Speaking360º weekly newsletter! 

Communicating is not just about words. We need to think about our body language, tone, and pacing. How we feel impacts the way we speak. Struggling to find the right content makes us ineffective. Great speakers know that becoming an exceptional speaker isn't just an art - it's a process with many essential elements.

Every Sunday evening Roddy sends out his Speaking360º newsletter, an action packed and inspirational article filled with tip + tricks you can start to use right away!

 

We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.