Be the first

Did you enjoy the Olympics as much as I did?

What can I say, I get obsessed. From swimming to soccer to gymnastics, I love watching  what is a unique, often once in a lifetime experience for many of these athletes. (Unless of course you are Michael Phelps).

Below I share a very special video, but before we get there, I wanted to share the top 4  lessons I learned this Olympic season. (I mean how can you not glean a few insightful lessons from the Olympics?)

1. The faster you can shake off disappointment, the quicker you make space for something wonderful to happen. When Michael Phelps lost his first race, it was my understanding he had a little temper tantrum in the locker room. He then pulled it together, put it behind him and focused on how he wanted to the rest of the games to go. And I would say, they went pretty damn well considering he is the most decorated Olympian ever.

After Jordan Weiber, the pint size female gymnast, did not qualify to compete in the all-around finals, she cried. On camera. In front of millions of people. Then 2 days later, she stood with her fellow teammates and rocked her routines, bringing home Gold for the first time for American team gymnastics since 1996.

I’m not saying don’t get pissed, don’t be disappointed or supremely bummed out. I am saying, have your pity party. Make it a big huge bash and then fairly quickly, kick all the lingering guests out. The faster you can shift your focus to what IS possible and what CAN HAPPEN, the faster you make way for it to come through. That’s my kind of party!

2. Having a team and reaching out for support can make or break your success while bringing in a boat load more fulfillment and joy.

Look at Team USA Women’s Soccer, Misty May and Kerri Walsh, The Fierce Five women’s gymnastics team, the women’s swimming 4 x 100 medley relay, the women’s 4 x 100 track relay. USA brought home GOLD in all these team events. To witness the team work, support and dedication to each other was outstanding.  (And yes, I know there were men’s teams who won as well:)

I too have to get better at reaching out for support. I have to remind myself to not be such a loner feeling like I have to take on the world alone. There is so much to be said about having others to lean on and it also feels damn good to be the person doing the supporting. Give and take, people. There is no I in team.

3. Be the first.

Usain Bolt became the first man to successfully defend both 100 and 200 sprint titles in an Olympic Games. Oscar Pistorius was the first person to compete in the Olympic Games with Flex-foot carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs. And the best, Sarah Attar was the first Saudi Arabian woman ever to be allowed by her country to run in the Olympics. (That one makes me cry.)

The Olympics is all about breaking records-personal, country and world.  Once ONE PERSON breaks a record, it means they have raised the bar for everyone else. They open they way for others to rise up and maybe even rise above.

The same goes for you. And I don’t just mean being the first to do something that no one else has done. Maybe it is time to beat one of your OWN personal RECORDS. To rise up or above your own standards, to stretch outside your own comfort zone.

Doing something for first time is scary. It requires intense focus and dedication. It requires unwavering commitment and vision. It requires that you become the trailblazer of your own life. Most people aren’t interested in taking on that kind of challenge. I say, why not? It could just lead you to GOLD.

4. And lastly, male swimmers are hot.  Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. 

And now, on to me sharing my own version of something I have never done before. It’s my brand new promo video.  Come check it out. With a new homepage.