6 Olympians, a Paralympian, & an XBox’er: Advice to our younger selves, Part 2
6 Olympians, a Paralympian, & an XBox’er: Advice to our younger selves, Part 2
Last issue, inspired by the commencement speech I’m currently writing, I asked each of you to think about what you might tell your younger self.
Interestingly enough, more than 75% of the people who wrote back and offered their reflections were fellow Olympians and Paralympians. Maybe that’s because as athletes we are taught to look backward as well as forward: as much as we need to have our end-goal in mind, we’re constantly looking at ways to do things better and learn from our mistakes - we “watch the tape”. That’s a big part of the athlete mindset. Or, maybe, it’s because 75% of this list is athletes. Guess we’ll never know.
To pass on the inspiration/reflection, today I thought I’d share a few of these words of wisdom. All of these people have also gone on to have incredible careers in the professional world after their sport accomplishments. Some, like Sarah Hughes (2002 Olympic Gold Medalist, Figure Skating) filled me in on their experiences delivering commencement speeches to let me know how nice it was to use the speech to reflect on how they’d felt about their life experiences up to that point.
Others, like Olympian and fellow UF Gator alum Liston Bohcette (Olympian, bobsled), reminded me to be funny, be entertaining, and leave the graduates with just one word to remember.
Here’s what some of your fellow readers had to say:
“I would tell my younger self to consider your future self. Ask yourself: what would your 60 or 80 year old self tell you now? Then think about how you might shift your choices based on those answers.”
– John Register, Track & Field. 2-time Paralympian, Paralympic Silver Medalist. Professional Speaker.
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“Know that you are not defined by your job, your salary, the type of house you live in or clothes you wear, your perceived success or your failures. Understand that your relationships, your values, how you treat people, your work ethic, your kindness and empathy are all better indicators of your success.
Also: Keep in mind that life is not defined by those big moments you wait for (weddings, vacations, kids, etc.), but rather by the sum of simple day-to-day routines, interactions, and experiences with the world around you that can sometimes be mistaken for boring.”
– Molly Schaus, Ice Hockey. 2-time Olympic silver medalist and 4-time World Champion. Sport-for-Good Professional.
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“Go for it. Apply effort in the direction you want to go. Understand that things may not go as you hope. But strive mightily regardless.
And, at the end of the day, say to yourself: I did as well as I could today and I’m going to strive for better tomorrow.
Ultimately, it is about the process, not the outcome.”
– Ari Taub, Wrestling. Olympian, Commonwealth Games gold medalist, 2-time Maccabiah Games gold medalist. Lawyer.
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“If I could talk to 20 year old Sylvia, I would tell her, worry less and enjoy more. I worried too much about things that now seem so unimportant. And at the end, everything seems to work out, with or without worry.
“Second, as an elite athlete, I wanted to achieve perfection, which I know now is impossible. So I would tell my younger self to try to not want to control everything, be a little less intense and serious, and enjoy the ride more. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great ride, but I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I had not put so much pressure on myself and sometimes been so hard on myself.”
– Sylvia Poll Ahrens, Swimming. Olympic gold medalist, winning Costa Rica’s first-ever Olympic medal. Diplomat and United Nations Telecommunications Professional.
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“I would tell myself to be more open/vulnerable with my teammates about my struggles. I used to keep it all to myself. Eventually I realized that my teammates and coaches didn’t know how hard I was trying because I never talked about how difficult the training was for me. And because I never shared my fears about not making the team or not being good enough, others assumed that I didn’t harbor the same doubts they did. Once I started doing that, people started looking up to me a lot more (and liking me more, too).
I learned that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do as a leader is to admit that you struggle, too.”
– Caryn P. Davies, Rowing. Olympic Gold Medalist. Lawyer.
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Note from Steve: As a bonus, here’s an added thought from Robbie Bach. He’s not an Olympian but he is a super high achiever: the former President of Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft, he sat on the USOPC board of directors with me and is one of my favorite people I met over there. More relevant to me, though, he basically built the Xbox from the ground up when all of us said “why the hell is Microsoft getting into video games?!” in the early 2000’s. Here’s what he told me:
“To paraphrase Dwight Eisenhower: Planning is essential, but plans are mostly useless. I will add my own subtext: Look for the serendipity in life and the opportunities you don’t expect. That is where the real nuggets are.”
– Robbie Bach, Civic Leader and Video Game Genius.
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It’s a pretty humbling experience to watch your inbox fill up with thoughts and ideas about life from so many people you respect and admire. Thank you to everyone who responded and to all who continue to read.
It’s the responses that make this writing worth it.
- Steve
P.S. - care to read Part 1? Here you go.
