Hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast, Monday morning moments with John O'Leary.

We record these so you and I can begin our days and our weeks in awe and on fire with a burst of

inspiration. Who better to kick us off this week than our old buddy Confucius. So here we go.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. So now a question for you. Did you finish strong?

Did you finish strong? Whether you reviewed this question through the lens of how we conclude

each of our days or how we cross the finish line at the end of our lives. Finishing strong should be something for which we all strive.

And one of the greatest examples that I know of what it looks like to finish strong

is British runner Derek Redmond.

That's a name you probably remember.

In the 1992 Olympic Games, Derek expected to win gold in the 400 meter.

In the first round of the qualification, he posted the fastest time.

In the quarterfinals, he won the heat.

That's a good sign.

And in the semifinals, the Olympic Stadium filled to witness the men's 400 meter,

when the pistols sounded, Derek raced to an early

lead remained out in front with 65,000 cheering from the stands. No one louder, though, than his dad.

But then it happened. With a pop in Derek's right hamstring, his beautiful running cadence transformed into a contorted

man grabbing his leg, bouncing on one foot, hobbling forward, and ultimately falling onto

the track.

Knowing that a similar injury during the Olympics four years earlier had ended Derek's race,

his father's heart, as you might imagine,

sank.

...