Champions Don’t Do It Because They Have To

If you’ve been watching the 2010 Winter Olympics, you’ve seen champions in action.  One champion who stands out for me is Shaun White.  Knowing that my coolness factor pales in comparison to that of Shaun White only elevates my appreciation for his bravado. For those who don’t know, Shaun White is the two-time U.S. Olympic Gold medalist in the snowboarding halfpipe event. I watched him earn his second Gold last night and was amused by his preparation before his last run.

In snowboarding, competitors get two attempts to score on their runs down the halfpipe. Their scores for both attempts aren’t accumulated to a grand total, but rather, only one of their scores—their highest score—counts. Shaun was the last competitor to go for both rounds. In his first attempt, he set the high score. No one else got close. So when it was time for his second attempt, he had already won the Gold. There was no need for him to do anything else. Gold was secure. What was amusing was overhearing his conversation with his coaches. He expressed in his excitement that he didn’t think he could run. His coach asked him what he wanted to do on his run and White said, “I don’t know. Go right down the middle.”

But of course, that’s not what Shaun did. He went all out—not for Gold, not for reward, not for promotion. He went all out because that’s just who he is. Champions relish a whole lot more in who they are, not in what they do. Put a set of skates on Shaun and he’ll go all out. Put him on the front lines and he’ll charge forward. Put him in any situation and he’ll go extreme, every time.

Shaun brings the same championship attitude to every area of his life. He and his brother, Jesse, have been in business together since 2002 when Shaun was 15 years old pursuing their passion of designing clothing.  They recently pitched a girls’ line and were met with some resistance—despite the success they’ve seen with their designs for the male population. There was doubt as to whether or not they could handle designs for the ladies.  But their passion, creativity and preparation won the Creative Director of Burton’s (the world’s leading snowboard maker) over in a big way.

What is the key to Shaun’s extraordinary success?

Shaun White knows what he loves to do.  He is clear about what lights him up and where his strengths lie, and he pursues them with unbridled passion and courage.

He is committed to giving his all, without fear of the risks.  In Shaun’s case, he not only faces financial risks but risk of physical injury every time he engages in a sport because he is pushing the boundaries of what he has done before and what has been done period.  He is not focused on the risks, but the fulfillment of reaching new heights—literally.

Shaun is playing full out in life and, because of that, he is setting new standards and challenging others to do the same.

Do your pursuits align with who you are?  What is holding you back from being a champion in your life and achieving extraordinary results that light you up?  We can all learn from champions like Shaun White.  Imagine what the world would look like if we all pursued our own passions fully without being held back by fear.  Inspiring!

Tags: champion, passion, Shaun White, Winter Olympics

Passion & Perspective Trumps Proficiency

Sometimes the Super Bowl match-ups aren’t very compelling. But for me, Super Bowl XLIV (Colts versus Saints) was worth the watch. Why, because the off-the-field stories are so inspiring – especially for the Saints. This team rallied behind a community in turmoil – New Orleans in post Hurricane Katrina – and the community in turmoil rallied behind the team. The team and the community needed each other in order to heal. Drew Brees, the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, was presented as the face of healing for New Orleans. A Super Bowl victory would mean the world to Brees and to New Orleans.

As I watched Brees in his Super Bowl pre-game and post-game interviews, I observed his category 5 heart, his mission-minded mentality, and his passion for victory. You see Brees’ passion in his eyes and in his voice. He seems to have a strong and enduring will that has been born out of setbacks such as his potential career-ending injury while with the San Diego Chargers. How closely those attributes resemble the community of New Orleans.

When Brees reflects on his journey to Super Bowl XLIV, he talks a lot about perspective and how perspective has helped him find peace and develop strength. After seeing the devastation in New Orleans firsthand, there wasn’t much more that could rile Brees. His new perspective would help him fight through adversity and his passion would inspire others to do the same. And his passion and perspective helped him and his team defeat a very proficient Peyton Manning and Colts team.

This is a common observation in leaders. Leaders with passion and perspective outperform leaders who rely on proficiency alone. Influential and inspiring leaders just seem to outperform skill-set leaders – acknowledging the obvious point that these attributes aren’t mutually exclusive. What we can learn from Drew Brees is that passion and perspective matters in our leadership, in our performance and in the results.

Congratulations Who Dat nation!

Tags: bowl, brees, drew, football, hurricane, illustration, Leadership, manning, new, Orleans, passion, perspective, peyton, saints, super