A news clip this week focused on a 36-year-old substitute teacher and High School Cross Country coach from Michigan, Nathan Martin, an American amateur, who won the 26.2-mile LA Marathon.

Martin said, “If you put in the work and you stay consistent, ultimately you can accomplish a lot of things, and it’s about that fight and what doors it opens up.”

The commentator said, “He wasn’t the fastest miler in his middle school, but he kept pushing, winning a little bit in high school, and he kept pushing, winning a little bit more at a small college, and he kept pushing, getting older and yet faster until winning the LA marathon. His Message to his students and to all of us: The work starts right now. You don’t focus on the mindset, you focus on the process.”

I found the story inspiring and an example of how any ordinary person can achieve their dreams. Martin’s success wasn’t about wealth, extraordinary talent, gifted genetics, or success on the shoulders of a famed mentor or corporation. It was about grit, determination, and never losing sight of the light. I don’t know if he had a strong support system, but I know he spent countless hours, days, weeks, months, and years putting on his running clothes, tying his shoes, grabbing his hat, and hitting the pavement, concrete, or gravel roads.

As he ran, I’ll bet his thoughts spun around the vision and feeling of being the first to break the finish line ribbon. As he said, he focused on the process: daily routine, discipline, the glory of mental time, the beauty of surroundings, the wonder of wildlife, preparing for the elements, and the caution and possibility of injury.

Maybe the stars lined up for him, or the good luck fairy landed on his shoulder, or maybe, just maybe, he earned the glory with belief in himself and gratitude for his health and for the people who came before him and showed him the way to move toward his goals.

Maybe he had hard times in life that gave him the I can attitude. He could have lost people in his life whom he ran for and thought about. Or, hopefully, he just loved running.

This week, I also met a woman who quilted and gave her beautiful creations to newborn babies in the hospital and to families dealing with illness—she called them prayer quilts. I heard of another woman who had lost her husband and let people live in her basement for no charge. She didn’t want to be alone, and they didn’t have a roof to sleep under.

So, I guess the message this week is inspiration. My heart feels full.

What (who) inspires you?