"You're Here to Create"

“I feel like I was put on this planet to create and do new things, to be a pioneer.” — David Wise

As we begin a new year, I bet there’s something you’re working for that you’ve grinded and put in the time on for awhile now. You’re working over time to get there. Through family obligations, stressful job, a demanding boss and struggling to get to the gym, you're not giving up. Despite your busy schedule, sometimes, it feels like this special thing is all that matters in your universe.

As you forge forward, you encounter life’s age-old friend — adversity. Challenges start to hit. Multiple priorities arise. Sickness, break-ups, job stress and impediments seem to fly at your from every angle. Gets hard to even keep the days straight..

And then you remember — I have my dream, my goal and I gotta keep going. I may not take a straight line to get there. Heck- it may have more curves and bends than an Olympic slalom course! But I’m going to get there. I was born for this. I’m born to create and leave my mark on this thing — this one thing — that is going to speak to who I am and what I want to be.

That feeling of self-satisfaction has no monetary value. It knows no bounds. It’s the pinnacle of human achievement that isn’t just ephemeral— we can keep repeating it and reap its value as we challenge ourselves and continue to grow throughout our lifetime.

Create Your Moment

At last year's Winter Olympics there were incredible breakthroughs, lifetime achievements and lessons for all of us. I bring up the story of gold-medalist snowboarder, David Wise. For me, his story of daring Olympic boldness is one of my favorite sports lessons of the past decade. It’s a reminder to always trust our gut, and to keep going when we know we’re on the right track.

Wise, like most all Olympians, had been training for several years... for one moment. The opportunity, in just one minute of time, to execute the performance of his life. Wise won the gold medal at the Sochi Games in Russia in 2014. But he hungered for more. His event, the skiing halfpipe, had grown tremendously competitive in the ensuing four years. So, as a result, Wise’s routine became more sophisticated — and much more challenging.

As the event drew to its climax, Wise was one of the last skiers to attempt his third and final run. Wise had fallen on his previous two runs, attempting difficult tricks that he simply couldn’t land. The same tricks he’d repeated thousands of times over the previous four years. He knew that if he could successfully pull these off, he would win yet again. He believed. But it wasn’t working out.

In the midst of the biggest competition of his life, David Wise had to consider something that many of us find ourselves staring down in the course of our professional and entrepreneurial careers:

Should he stick to his guns, or should he try a less difficult path-- one of less resistance?

He had one run. One chance to win gold. The path of least resistance always offers a shortcut — an easy way out. But it wasn’t for him. As Wise recalls, his coaches said to him, ‘That’s not who you are; You’re here to create.’

Suddenly, after a few moments of deliberation, the choice became quite simple: Go for broke. Go for the whole darn thing.

“Wise realized that not attempting the run he came to Pyeongchang to land — a run he’d been thinking about for years, filled with tricks he’d fought so hard to learn — would be a bigger disappointment than not winning a medal. If he didn’t go for it, he would let himself down.” Source: ESPN.com

On his final run, Wise landed his incredibly difficult jumps, relying on the mental approach that made him a champion. Because that same approach manifested itself yet again, making him a two-time gold medalist and Olympic champion. Wise went into battle one last time with what got him there. There was no other way. To doubt was human, but to get what he wanted most he had to persevere and follow his gut.

Explore Your Talents — Keep Going

When everything seems to be going against us, we have to remind ourselves of our values — of all the hard work, discipline and focus that’s carried us into becoming the women and men we are. When we believe in something pure and true, and we’ve received signs along the way to continue on our course, we should always keep going.

David Wise was put here to create. He was put here to go big and rely on his faith and practice to win the day. 

You and I were put here to create, too. 

To be writers, artists, entrepreneurs, business owners, executives and masters of our craft. We’re creators meant to explore our talents, make sense of them, refine those into skills and take them into our field of competition to be the best we can be.

Along the way, as we grind and hunger for more, we’ll always encounter challenges and wonder whether we’re on the right path. When we’re doing what we love most and immersing ourselves in that moment, we tend to get signs along the way of reassurance. Mental images of “Keep Going”, “Keep Grinding” and “You were meant for this.”

Embrace the struggles. Embrace the difficult. Embrace the grit, sweat and fear. It’s all there for a reason. To shape and mold you. Don’t compromise for yourself and never compromise for anyone else. Stick to your plan and what’s gotten you to where you are. Before long, you’ll have attained what it is that you want. You will be a creator. That’s your destiny.

Create Your Best Life

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