From the OTL Archives (September 2004)

I get to wear two national hats - the Australian Akubra (where I was born) and the Canadian toque (where I now live). Being able to shift allegiance at will can be useful, depending on whether I’m boasting about how cold the winter is (now I’m Canadian…) or how big the crocodiles are (… and now I’m Australian). Watching these Olympics, my allegiance was to the green and gold over the maple leaf. Australians win gold medals, whereas the Canadians once got so excited about winning a bronze medal that they made a movie about it!

But truly, my heart isn’t really in the “we won more than you did” boast. What was most compelling for me was the sense of the journey each of these athletes had undertaken to be at the Olympics. They’d made a commitment few of us can claim: to live their lives at Olympian standards.

First, the lonely years of dedicated training. There’s always the temptation to ease off, lower your standards, take the easier route. And they constantly said no to that temptation.

And then, in their Olympic event, to go absolutely full out. I heard more than one competitor say, “When I get to the end of my event, I want to be totally drained.” What a powerful vision - to have had the discipline and wisdom to manage yourself so that, as you cross the finish line, you have exhausted your physical and mental strength. Success measured not by being first, but by being fully committed.

So what does it take to live your life at Olympian standards?

I think it raises three key challenges.

Are you in the right race?

Are you doing Great Work - living a life that is the fullest expression of your skills and passion? Do you feel that combination of excitement and terror that tells you that this is the “bigger game” to which you are called? Or are you running someone else’s race, striving to achieve someone else’s goals, living someone else’s life?

Are you underestimating what you can do?

Know that pretty much everyone - and I include you in this - has a conservative opinion about your potential. How often does the voice in your head say, “but you can’t do that”?

Have you got the support you need?

So many of us carry the burden and belief that we have to do it all ourselves. Is this what you think “being responsible” means? The resilience you need to undertake this journey is fuelled both by inner and outer resources. I was struck by the number of competitors who said, “I am not a one person team. There are many people who have supported me behind the scenes.”

Do you have the courage and wisdom to run full out?

What will it take for you to be fully committed to the life you want to lead, both in thought and action?