Life can hand us unexpected challenges. Sometimes, we can rise up to the challenge and sometimes it feels like the darkest hour has hit. If you know someone who has overcome their challenge, you know it takes courage to move forward. Courage despite what others think is best for you. The courage to do what you think is best for you and trust that you already know what you need to do. You already have it in you.

Listen to my friend Justin Hines as he encourages – Courage!

Share how you find courage!

“Life is like riding a bicycle – in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ~Albert Einstein

After not competing in a triathlon in 5 years, I did it. I signed up a week in half before the race for a mini triathlon without much training as the distances were do-able. (I do not recommend this for everyone.) I knew in my mind that I really needed to train for a Sprint Triathlon (750 m Swim, 20 km Bike, 5 km Run). Even with half the distance, I could hear my internal chatter battling back and forth having quite the conversation: “Are you crazy? You know you need to train. You have done this before, you can do it! For heaven sakes, it has been 5 years. You know what it takes.”

Have you realized that little voice speaks the loudest when you are challenging yourself? It does not matter if you are doing something for the first time or you are doing it for the twentieth time. The voice inside likes to put in its 2 cents. While I was racing, I realized that, yes I did do triathlons over 5 years ago and I still had the skills to do it again. Mind you, I needed definitely to sharpen those skills but nonetheless I already had them. You, too, have many skills you may not have used for months or years but you still own them. They are part of your blueprint. When there are challenges that come up in your life, you consciously or unconsciously retrieve those skills to apply to the situation that comes up.

As I was riding up the hill, I found myself thinking,”Wow, You did amazing job several years ago!” I think I appreciated it then but not as much as I do now. Climbing the hill became difficult and I quickly tried to find the right gear. When I found the right gear, I looked at the top of the hill and then focussed on 3-4 feet ahead of me. Every three to four feet, I got closer to the top. My positive self-talk was in the highest gear. My mind back pedalled to the past…Keep going you can do it! You never forget how to ride a bike! You can do it!


When I reached the top of the hill, I felt a surge of energy rush through me. I conquered it! I continued until I completed the race. If any of you have participated in an event or have been challenged by a situation that tests your mindset, you can appreciate what it takes to reach your end result.


ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATE – Acknowledge and appreciate where you are right now and realize that where you have been has made you who you are today. You are not defined by the past but many lessons where learned that you pull into your future. You have done some pretty incredible things that you may not have full acknowledged.


BREAK THE PATTERN – Break the pattern of the internal chatter and filter out the negative from the positive. Allow the positive to replay in your mind to make you strong. When you break the pattern, you can have better control of the thoughts you allow to enter your mind.


CONQUER THE TASK AT HAND – Conquer the task at hand by seeing your end result but also focussing on what is in front of you right now. Every task or project you work on, keeps you pedalling to your destination – your end result.


Your mind is  powerful. You can accomplish many things. Sharpen it as often as you can and you will pedal into greatness!


What skills have you sharpened to move forward?

To be WOWed or not to Be WOWed? is the question. When I was in Dallas at the eWomen Network conference, I had the pleasure of hearing Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, Inc. speak about the WOW experience. WOW is all about “Delivering Happiness”. He spoke about the family culture developed at Zappos. It was refreshing to hear about a place that encourages: employee engagement, embracing change, and open honest communication. You can find their core values http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values . Needless to say, I was very impressed and within 2 weeks I started to experience the WOW not by Zappos but by three different places. I should call Zappos just to feel the WOW effect. Better yet, let’s start creating our own WOWs. I want to share these WOW experiences with you and why they impressed me so.

El Ranchitos Restaurant- Dallas, Texas

One of the nights in Dallas, some girlfriends and I went to El Ranchitos to have the authentic mexican restaurant experience. The food was fantastic and the atmosphere was great.  Live Maraichi tunes in the background. Our waiter had a great sense of humor, big smile, and even brought us a dessert on the house as we could not leave without tasting the Banana Flan. It was yummy! Jokingly when we asked him to call for a ride, he pulled out his own car keys. We had a blast!

Lesson #1: WOW does not have to cost anything to give. Engage, smile and have fun!

Coeur d’alene Resort – Coeur d’alene, Idaho

From playing on the beach to walking the boardwalk of the Coeur d’alene Resort, you will soak up the sun and hospitality in Coeur d’alene, Idaho. My WOW experience came when Jason, a Sous chef, at the Coeur d’alene Resort stopped by our family huddle in the lobby to see what we  were up to. My son and my girlfriend’s daughter were trying to pull out some slivers on the bottom of their feet. Jason had security paged to bring the first aid kit. When security had not yet arrived, Jason had took it upon himself to go and get the tweezers and some bandages for our children’s sliver feet. WOW! He was the sous chef. He did not have to do what he did but he did it with great style and excuse the pun – taste!

By the way, security arrived, the slivers came out, and the fun continued!

Lesson #2: Go above and beyond your call of duty!

Apple Store – Southgate Mall – Edmonton Alberta

My iPod touch was not functioning properly so I decided to take it to the Apple Store to have someone take a look at it. It could not be repaired and it was past warranty. Good news was – they could get me a replacement in 3-5 days. Within 6 hours, I had another iPod touch in my hands. Thanks to Justin, a very personable and open employee at the Southgate Apple Store. He was very professional and tried to find a solution to my issue. I had to give him a high 5! I explained to Justin that I had just finished reading “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh and that the book talked about creating the WOW experience. Justin stated that they look for WOW moments too. WOW was all I could say! Full circle and Kudos!

Lesson #3: Over Deliver What You Promise and You Will Be Remembered!

We need to come up with ways we can make people say WOW! Businesses who focus on customer service can benefit from delivering the WOW! Each of us can contribute to this movement and make the world a happier place to be! Let me know how you practice the WOW!

Tony Hsieh signed my book with these words to live by, “Live in the WOW!”