Bringing Paralympic Passion into Your Work
By Renée Eaton
A couple weeks ago we discussed the lessons the 2010 Olympic Games could teach us about leadership in the workplace. Often less followed, but no less exciting; we have just finished the 10th Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver that ran from March 12-21. Canada placed third with nineteen medals.
These athletes from around the world participated in many of the same sports we watched in the Olympic Games, but with slight modifications. Biathletes used headsets to hear when the laser on their rifle is close to the target and special sleds in the place of skis; hockey players flew from one end of the rink to the other on sledges instead of skates; curlers used wheelchairs. But despite these modifications, the excitement was the same.
So what can we learn from these athletes? Drive. Passion.
Imagine the skill it takes to hit a tiny target after racing 12.5 KM, but you can neither see the target nor use your legs to reach it?
These athletes show us what true passion is. It is not giving up even when life throws obstacles in your way. Do you bring this type of passion to your work? Think of what you could accomplish if you had the drive to overcome whatever obstacles got in your way when working on projects.
The Paralympic Games show us what true passion is. The motto of alpine skier, Viviane Forest, is "Always try to reach for the moon because even if you miss, you will reach the stars." Passion isn't always about being perfect; it is about giving all we can and believing in our abilities. If you bring this mindset to your company each and every day, the results will show.
Take Hakan Axelsson. This 52 year old is rare, even by Paralympic standards. Not only is he visually impaired, but he also has an amputation. He is the only athlete to have a double disability. Yet does this stop him from competing in cross country skiing? A sport he loves? No. He told CTV that, "It is life."
When you can work with passion each day, it will stop being work at all. It will simply be something you love doing.
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Renée Eaton is a Communications Specialist, researcher and writer for BizXcel Inc. and editor for Generating Greatness.
