This seems slightly more creepy than charitable, no?
Larry Winget has my number (despite the fact that I nearly wrote his name as Larry Wingnut). He's the abrasive, caustic and hilarious author of People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It! and he understands exactly why people don't live up to their potential. He's identified the ten ways people sabotage their success:
1. People are ignorant.
2. People are stupid.
3. People are lazy.
4. People don't give a ***.
5. People lack vision.
6. People have low expectations.
7. People don't recognize the consequences of their actions.
8. People have bad habits.
9. People have poor role models.
10. People have no plan.
I certainly am guilty of #3, #6, #8 and #10, particularly when it comes to running.
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you will remember that I've made several references to running (or lack thereof) throughout the past few weeks. I used to easily identify myself as a runner. I ran a half marathon in 2007 and finished it in 2 hours and 38 minutes. I trained for a full marathon in 2008, and ended up walking half of it because of a foot injury the day of the run. (This experience helped me to decide that the half marathon is my event). However, my running shoes have been gathering dust for some time and I have felt like the 26.2 keychain I carry is something of a lie. A friend recently told me how he needed a negative consequence (that is, a stick) rather than a postive motivator (that is, a carrot) to get him to do things, and so he began the crappy charity challenge.
In short, you choose a big goal for the year, and choose a charity you do not believe in to benefit if you miss your goal. So for me, I am setting myself the goal of running 500 miles in 2012 (and that's running, not walking or loping or ambling or shuffling), or else I will have to write a $350 check to my crappy charity.*
What does this all have to do with Larry Winget? I'm glad you asked.
Mr. Winget offers a great deal of no-nonsense advice about overcoming the obstacles you put in your way that keep you from the life you want to live. While I have not met Mr. Winget in person, I suspect that he would love to see me motivate myself, no matter how comically, to do the things that I really want to do in my life.
In honor of his honorary and straight-talking mensch-hood, Live Like a Mensch is offering its first ever giveaway!
The prize: People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It by Larry Winget (a retail value of $25).
Enter to win by posting a comment below. I will choose a winner via random drawing on Monday, January 9 and notify the big winner via email.
And since we're so close to New Years, why not motivate yourself to do great things in 2012 with a crappy charity challenge of your own? Post about your challenge (and mentioning the name of the charity is entirely up to you!) Larry would be proud of you.
Stop back periodically throughout 2012 to see how I'm doing on my crappy running/charity challenge. I'll be keeping a regular tally of miles run throughout the year.
*Since one woman's crappy charity is another person's great cause, I'm going to keep my charity secret. Needless to say, I would HATE to have this organization have a chunk of my money.
