Don’t worry, I haven’t given up Magic and turned to sport. I know athletes around the globe are breathing a sigh of relief at that news. I am going to the Olympics this year, but I decided against years of a brutal training regime and decided to buy a ticket instead.
I do have a new appreciation for the athletes though. I was at a conference on Monday where Ben Hunt-Davis (the 6’8″ giant in the picture) gave a talk about his gold medal route. He and his team, in the coxed 8 man rowing, went from 8th in the world to Olympic Gold in the space of 2 years. They did it by ripping up the rule book, trying and failing as often as they could, and asking “Does it make the boat go faster?” about every choice and interaction any of them made in those 2 years before the Sydney 2000 games.
He tells a great story and it has inspired me in several different ways. I have already made a couple of really tough decisions since I came back from the conference. Things that were in place and happening on auto pilot but if I stood back and asked “Does it make the boat go faster?” actually needed to not happen. OK, so I don’t row a boat, but I hope you get the point. I’ve gained some clarity over where I want to go, how to get there and how not to get distracted along the way!