“The fact of being an underdog changes people in ways that we often fail to appreciate. It opens doors and creates opportunities and enlightens and permits things that might otherwise have seemed unthinkable. -Malcolm Gladwell Seabiscuit is mainly remembered as an...

“When you know your WHY, you can endure any HOW.” -Viktor Frankl During COVID, I went through a 2-month period of poor me. The pity party was focused on what had been taken away from me and what I couldn’t do any longer. I really started to stress financially. You...

“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice and is never the result of selfishness.” -Napoleon Hill Only two US speed skaters were guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team for the Beijing Olympics in 2022. In the 500-meter race, Brittany Bowe won, but she...

"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else."  -Booker T. Washington The 2018 Boston Marathon was Desi Linden’s 6th attempt at winning it. She had been haunted for years by the memory of the 2011 race where she lost by 2 seconds. The 2018 race started about...

“Connecting is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them.”- John Maxwell After a 36-year drought, the Richmond Football Club finally won the Australian Football League (AFL) again in 2017. The team credited...

“Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.” - William A. Ward This is a parable about a farmer who owned an old mule that fell into the farmer’s well. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule and did not...

“Done is better than perfect. Show up messy. Show up imperfect. But just keep showing up.” — Jenna Kutcher Summary: Confidence isn’t built by flawless execution—it’s built by courageous presence. Showing up, even messy or unsure, is a powerful act of belief....

“Will power is to the mind like a strong blind man who carries on his shoulders a lame man who can see.” -Arthur Schopenhauer Erik Weihenmayer, a true example of determination and resilience, etched his name into history on May 25, 2001, when he defied all odds and...

If you play a team sport, make sure you’re paying attention to the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team right now. Not just when they score — but when they’re on the bench. ENERGY IS CONTAGIOUS. Watch their sideline. Every shift.Every whistle.Every blocked shot.Every goal. The...

Meet Sammy Smith — maybe the most impressive 20‑year‑old in sports right now. She played in the 2022 U‑17 Women’s World Cup, started for Stanford in the NCAA title game, and this month… she’s representing Team USA in cross‑country skiing at the Winter Olympics. Soccer...

1️⃣ Stay Connected When You’re Down UNC trailed the entire game… until the final 0.4 seconds. Most teams crack under that kind of frustration. UNC didn’t. They tightened their huddle, trusted each other, and kept communicating through the storm. Championship teams...

Every once in a while, college football delivers a story so improbable, so cinematic, that it feels like it was written for the big screen. Mendoza’s rise from a dismissed walk-on hopeful to the quarterback who led Indiana University—yes, Indiana—to a national...

“If you have no confidence in self, you’re twice defeated in the race of life.”-Marcus Garvey Every athlete goes through some sort of hardship or trial at some point in their career. Some crumble under the pressure and quit. Others decide to find it within themselves...

“Focus on what you can do rather than stress about what you have no control over.” -Catherine DeVrye Back in the late 1870s, there was a man who had heard about people attempting to swim across the English Channel but failing. He decided he wanted to be the first...

I’ve discovered that numerous peak performers use the skill of mental rehearsal of visualization. They mentally run through important events before they happen.” -Charles Garfield Laura Wilkinson, an Olympic diver for the United States had just qualified for the 2000...

Confidence grows when athletes focus on what they can control. Research and experience show a strong link between staying anchored in the controllables and feeling more confident, resilient, and emotionally steady. Inside your Me Circle are things like effort, focus,...

"Where some see barriers, others see opportunities." -Unknown This is a tale about these two shoe salesmen who travel to a third world country in search of new business opportunities. One man calls his wife after he lands, telling her, “Honey, I’m coming back home....

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” -Michael Jordan Swen Nater was an All-American JUCO basketball player. He transferred to UCLA to play even though UCLA already had Bill Walton in his position. Both playing the position of...

“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” -Unknown Once there was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of...

“It takes years to make an overnight success.” -Eddie Cantor The journey of the bamboo tree is a fascinating one. Once planted, it needs to be watered, nurtured, and fertilized every day. But nothing happens in its first year. You do the same thing the next year, and...