It's a story about someone with no reason to succeed. Every day the opportunity to quit. Two options accept what life had given, or choose something better.
The choice of demanding more had nothing to do with demanding more from the world, they didn't ask for a thing, demanding more from themselves. Resistance either benevolent, or malevolent, was at first something to overcome, then as time progressed they realized the resistance was only within themselves. They tap into the power of the human mind, the source to make impossible nothing more than a word.
Through out the story they fail over and over. Abused, broken, learning disabilities, the subject of prejudice, but one thing remains. Their mind, and the willingness to do whatever it took to succeed.
The story lists amazing accomplishments, but they're meaningless to them, only stepping stones towards their true potential.
Life is often ugly, backed into a corner of their own creation. But one thing remains, the will to keep going.
At parts it's self serving, with a fair amount of ego, but the message isn't lost. They're not special, just a people, who want to know how far the road goes.
The message speaks to those that don't care for easy. The proud "knuckle draggers." Willing to get up one more time. No matter the challenge, there are always those who are willing to stand and be counted. Late nights, and early mornings, missed dinners, and movies never seen. Alone on a run, or on the bike, in the water or in the gym they seek pain, that is their church, that is the alter at which they kneel. Set after set, mile after mile they discover what many already know. A hard lesson forged in the fire in their hearts. The one truth they all learn, there is no finish line.