What is Right, is Not Always Popular

He was ten meters from an easy win, and he gave it away on purpose. That’s not a motivational poster line, it’s a true story from a 2012 cross country race that still stops me in my tracks. Spanish runner Iván Anaya watches Olympic medalist Abel Mutai misjudge the finish line and slow down early. Anaya catches him, then makes a choice most people would never expect: he guides Mutai forward so the rightful winner crosses first. 

 If you want a five-minute daily encouragement boost, and a concrete reminder to do what’s right today, this is for you. 

Subscribe to Starting Right with Danny Mac, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review so more people can find these quick morning episodes. What would you have done at that finish line?

Transcript

A Five Minute Morning Start

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Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mack. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let me help you start your day right.

An Unexpected Story Of Integrity

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Well, good morning everyone, and welcome to another day. It is so good to have you with us today. Hey, I am always excited when I can come across a story of someone who does something unexpected, and when they do that, they make such a positive impact on the people far beyond themselves. We'll have a story like that for you today.

The Race Finish That Shocked Everyone

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This is the story of a Spanish athlete by the name of Ivan Anaya, who on December 2nd, 2012 was in a cross country race against multiple world class athletes. In that group was the bronze medalist in the 3,000 meter steeplechase from the London Olympics, a fellow by the name of Abel Mutai from Kenya. Mutai was leading the race as they came towards the finish line. In fact, he was a significant distance ahead of Anaya who was running in second. But Mutai, as he got towards the finish line, misjudged where that finish line was, and he actually stopped running about ten meters before the finish line. Anaya recognized what had happened and quickly caught up with him, but instead of exploiting Mutai's mistake, he stayed behind him and using hand gestures guided the Kinyon to cross the finish line ahead of him first. Later on he said I didn't deserve to win it. I did what I had to do. He was the rightful winner. He created a gap that I couldn't have closed if he hadn't made a mistake, and as soon as I saw he was stopping, I knew I wasn't going to pass

Why Character Beats Taking Advantage

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him. And I as coach wasn't all that proud of him, in fact he was quite disappointed that he didn't take advantage of the situation. The coach said it was a very good gesture of honesty. A gesture of that kind isn't made anymore, or rather of the kind that has never been made, a gesture that I myself wouldn't have made. I certainly would have taken advantage of it to win. But Anaya had a different approach. For him that day it was all about doing what's right. It was about character. It was about making sure that the proper thing happened. Later in another interview he spoke about it again. He did say I think I have earned more of a name by having done what I did than if I had won. And that is very important, because today with the way things are in circles, in soccer, in society, in politics, where it seems anything goes, a gesture of honesty goes down well. Here's a man who decided he was going to do what is right. There's been what's called a crisis of character in our society. It seems that there are many people that believe that good character simply means you don't get caught doing the bad things. If you get caught doing the bad things, then you have bad character, but as long as you can get away with it, well, then you're okay.

Philippians On Thoughts And Practice

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Paul doesn't talk to us that way. In Philippians chapter 4, verses 8 and 9, Paul says this Dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise, and then keep putting them into practice. And all the things you've learned and received from me, everything you heard from me and saw me doing, and then the God of peace will be with you. Paul saying that these are the things to think about, and then not only think about them, but to put them into practice. Paul's saying it's what's inside of us. It's those things deep down that were going to come out and allow us to do and be people of character.

What Real Character Looks Like

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People whose word is true and honest, and we stand by what we say. We take responsibility for what we do. We live as people of character. So let's make a difference by being people of character. People who stand by our word, people who speak truth and honesty. When others deal with us, they know that our word is our bond, that we are who we say we are, that we are genuine and real. And in doing that, we can make a difference in our world. When we do what's right, it's often totally unexpected. And when it's unexpected, it impacts people even more. So think on the things that Paul has listed and live the life that Paul has declared we can have in Jesus Christ and make a difference in your world today because you can make a difference.

Make A Difference Today

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Have a great day, my friends. We'll talk tomorrow. Thank you for listening today. And I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mack.