Bolt it!

Do you remember the summer olympics of 2004? They were in Athens, Greece. Did you watch the 200m heats? They featured tremendous athletes including Bernard Williams, Justin Gatlin, Shawn Crawford, and an 18 year old named Usain Bolt. For those of us who remember, the first three men i mentioned won their heats, ran in the finals and won gold, silver, and bronze respectively, while the latter and maybe more popular name today - Usain Bolt, did not qualify!

Currently your eyes may be wide with disbelief; as you ponder, "how could the fastest man in the world not qualify in a race, when quite frankly, the man was born to run?" But it is the reality of life sometimes (actually, most of the time): we are passionate about something and we work hard and give it our all, only to fail and taste disappointment and the self titled label of  "UNQUALIFIED". Usually, the name pierces our identity and it is repeated so much in our conscious that we become it. But for some, maybe just a few, a special person comes along with a word of encouragement, some guidance, and/or a bit of support to change the course of our lives. Because we look up to this all-wise and all knowing mentor, coach, sansei or guru, we hang off of their every word. 

For Usain Bolt, this person was found in his coach Glen Mills. It was him who was with Bolt when he lost and it would be him who was with Bolt when he won. It was him pushing him, pulling him, and yelling at him to give more effort. it was him coaching him to be a better man and athlete. it was him who told him to "stop running for people and start doing it for you, the same people that's calling you a failure now in 2004, will be the same people calling you G.O.A.T. in the future." Mills was right. His words helped change Bolt's perspective of the race and even of himself; shifting his label from "Unqualified" to "Greatest of All Time.”

Twelve years and 9 olympic gold medals later, we are calling Usain Bolt, what he began calling himself after his loss in 2004, "The GREATEST OF ALL TIME."  I believe that what his coach told him was beneficial. I believe that what we tell young people every day is highly impactful. I believe what we tell each other and most importantly ourselves everyday, has a huge impact on our identity and outlook on life.  That is the main reason why I do what I do. I believe that if we  Do you remember the Summer Olympics of 2004? They were in Athens, Greece. Did you watch the 200m heats? They featured tremendous athletes including Bernard Williams, Justin Gatlin, Shawn Crawford, and a young 18 year old named Usain Bolt. For those of us who remember, the first three men won their heats, ran in the finals and won gold, silver, and bronze respectively, while the latter (and more popular name today) Usain Bolt, did not even qualify for the final! 

Currently your eyes may be wide with disbelief; as you ponder, "how could the fastest man in the world not qualify in a race, when quite frankly, the man was born to run?" But it is the reality of life sometimes (actually, most of the time): we are passionate about something and we work hard and give it our all, only to fail, taste disappointment and label ourselves as: "UNQUALIFIED". Usually, the name pierces our identity and is repeated so much in our conscious that we become it. But for some, maybe just a few, a special person comes along with a word of encouragement, some guidance, and a bit of support to change the course of our lives. Because we look up to this all-wise and all knowing mentor, coach, sansei or guru, we hang off of their every word.  For Usain Bolt, this person was found in his coach Glen Mills. It was him who was with Bolt when he lost and it would be him who was with Bolt when he won. It was him pushing, pulling, and yelling at him to give more effort. He coached him to be a better man and athlete. It was him who told Bolt to "stop running for people and start doing it for you, the same people that's calling you a failure now in 2004, will be the same people calling you G.O.A.T. in the future." Mills was right. His words helped change Bolt's perspective of the race and even of himself; shifting his label from "Unqualified" to "Greatest of All Time." Twelve years and 9 Olympic gold medals later, we are calling Usain Bolt, what he began calling himself after his loss in 2004, "The GREATEST OF ALL TIME."

I believe that what his coach told him was beneficial. I believe that what we tell young people every day is highly impactful. I believe what we tell each other and most importantly ourselves everyday, has a huge impact on our identity and outlook on life.  That is the main reason why I do what I do. I love seeing others succeed. Nothing gives me more joy and excitement than to hear another's testimony of triumph and accomplishment, I figure that if I can use the gifts that I have to be a mentor, accountability partner, vision coach, etc, then I'll get to witness those triumphs more and more and be over joyed and excited ALL THE TIME!!   What is it that you want to achieve or overcome? Do you have a plan to get it? Find a mentor or coach and BOLT IT!