Do you recognize the name Dr. Bannister? (No, I’m not talking about our own favorite distributor of chocolate — Dr. Ron Banister, the anesthesiologist.) The person I am talking about, Dr. Roger Bannister, is also a physician. You can also refer to him as Sir Roger Bannister.

If you are not familiar with Sir Roger Bannister, he is the first person to run a mile under four minutes. It was accomplished on May 6, 1954. (This was a long time ago — I know that because it is the year that I was born.)

According to Wikipedia, when the announcer calling the race declared, "The time was three..." the cheers of the crowd drowned-out the time of the run, which was 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. Before that day, it was widely believed a mile could not be run in under 4 minutes. You might be interested in knowing Dr. Bannister went on to become a distinguished neurologist and professor at the University of Oxford, retiring in 1993. An accomplished man, to say the least.

It is easy to fall prey to what the late Zig Ziglar called “stinkin’ thinkin’” wherein I think something cannot be done. I do not like it when I think that way and try to avoid it, preferring to believe that things can be done and then working hard to achieve that goal. Management guru Peter Drucker’s comment comes to mind, “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.”

Take for example, the vision of Texas Tech Physicians… it is to be a top-tier medical practice nationally recognized in quality, patient care, satisfaction and value.

Do you think we can do it? I do. Remember, before Dr. Bannister ran the mile in under 4 minutes, it was thought to be humanly impossible.