What Makes a Champion

What makes a champion? (275 words)

By Bob ‘Idea Man’ Hooey

Is it winning against all odds?
Is it continuing when others have told you to quit?
Is it doing your best and giving it your all?
Is it pushing past your comfort zone into the darkness to learn your limits?

Ask 20 year old, legally blind, Iditarod musher Rachael Scdoris from Bend Oregon who competed in the 2005 race. For those who may not know, this is a 1,100 mile journey through darkness from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. Only the hardy or the fool hearty attempt it.Only the toughest competitors make any headway, some finish and only one wins.

Rachael and hersled team made 700 grueling miles on this trek before concern for her dogs forced her to withdraw. (They had contracted some kind of viral infection and weren't eating.) Rachael is already planning her 2006 race. That is determination and that is being a champion.

When asked why she did this, she was characteristically open. In Rachael’s own words, "I refuse to sit back and let life quietly slip past me." She continued in her autobiography, "I want to live and experience everything I possibly can. I know there are dangers out there. I accept them. No, I embrace them. Dangers present us with fear... and fear is my fuel. If I did not meet the dangers of this world head on and come to grips with my fear, I would be cheating myself."

That is the heart of a champion!

What dangers and fears do you face in your life, your career or in building your business?
What plans have you made to confront them and to tackle them head on?

Bob ‘Idea Man’ Hooey is a creative, productivity and leadership strategist who regularly writes for North American Consumer and Trade Journals, on-line magazines and company intranets. He works with Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies. He is the prolific author of multiple business and leadership books and the 48th person in the history of Toastmasters International to earn their coveted professional level Accredited Speaker designation.

Articles may be copied or used for non-profit purposes, without the consent of the author, subject to the following being included: © Copyright 2015 Bob ‘Idea Man’ Hooey All rights Reserved. Used with permission of the author.