Two things happened at the Olympics over the last two days that really show the spirit of the Olympics and make me proud of our Canada Team.
The first was when Russia’s Anton Gafarov crashed and broke a ski during a semifinal heat in the men’s cross-country sprint. He tried to continue skiing on but was unable to stay on his feet. He took another tumble and broke the ski further. He got up but the ski was completely broken off. That is when Justin Wadsworth, the head coach of the Canadian cross-country team, ran out onto the track, carry a spare ski and quickly changes Gafarov’s ski allowing him to finish his race in front of his home crowd.
The second was yesterday when Canadian speed skater Gilmore Junio gave up his spot in the 1000 m race to Denny Morrison who fell during his Canadian Team Trials. Junio said “that to have Morrison compete would be in the best interest of the team.” Today Denny Morrison won the sliver medal for his team.
Both case show the power of when people look at the bigger picture and step aside from their individual needs.
When I coach business owners one barriers I find is getting them to look at their competition as potential partners and/or support. When we peel away our own limiting views and start opening up to others in our markets it amazing what type of partnerships can be formed to create something better than what you can do on your own.
Helping a “competitor” solve a problem isn’t going to damage your business. In fact it might make you standout instead. A long time ago I was given the advice to network with at least two groups, 1 made up of your peers and the other of potential customers.
I love what I’ve learned from my peers and the help I’ve been offered.
I love to see entrepreneurs follow their passions, serve more people and create the lifestyle of their dreams.
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YES, YES, YES…
Connecting Your Blog to such a big symbol as the Olympics – Brilliant.
Connecting these events to a solid business principle – Genius.
As Wallace Wattles reminds us in The Science Of Getting Rich success in the area of money requires us to stay in the ‘creative’ mind – not the ‘competitive’ mind.
Without the co-operation of others there is, in my opinion, no business. At best there is self-employment.
Love how you illustrate this critical point.
THANK You, Thank YOU, THANK YOU
What beautiful stories you shared! Your point is well taken about helping and going the extra mile for someone else. A must to apply to business as well as our personal life. You have every right to be proud of your Canadian Olympians.
Pat – Thank you for your comments. It is about going the extra mile, of helping people because it is just the right thing to do.
Beautiful & giving spirit. Nothing like the Canadian spirit…! I know, these are my people… 🙂
Norma – Absolutely Proud of the Canadian Spirit.
Thanks for sharing the pride.
Thanks for sharing! I’m so very proud of the Canadian team during this year’s Olympics!
Marielle – Isn’t it great? Wonderful to see their success and their sportsmanship
Thanks for commenting.
Thanks for the great post and example of teamwork and cooperation in business. Indeed, when we do something helpful/nice for someone else; even a competitor, it definitely comes back to us tenfold. The analogy with business is a good one. Thanks for the update on the Olympics too!
Tandy – It is surprising how many I meet how don’t realize this. They want to hide everything instead of open themselves up and their business up to the possibilities.
Thank you for stopping by.
What a beautiful spirit and a good lesson to learn. Thank you for sharing with us.
Carele – Thank you for stopping by and commenting. It is a beautiful spirit no matter the country.
Hi Heather,
Thanks for sharing this some sound advice and nice to see the spirit of the Olympics in action.
Beth 🙂
Beth – Isn’t it nice to see this is action, the human side of care for each other.
Thanks for stopping by.
As we watch the Olympics what I notice and feel is the respect each athlete has for others. Where they come from, or if competitors gets lost in the bonding and community formed. Great to have you point these special moments out.
Rosyln – Well said. The best is to see them celebrate each other’s accomplishments and combine that with pride for their own and their own country. It a unique combination.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Heather,
That’s awesome that Canada is alive and kickin in the winter olympics! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Nate. Sometimes Canadian have a hard time showing our pride for our country. It is fun to see it come out in the Olympics. Given the amount of snow that we get Winter Olympics are our games.
This is a great post and definitely makes you think. Great perspectiive
Veronica – thanks for your comments and stopping by.
i love the idea you express here and it can be used as a metaphor for so many other things!
Jessica – It definitely can be used as a metaphor for so many things. Helping a neighbour or stranger because it is the right thing to do.
Thanks for commenting.
As the Olympics have more professional athletes participating and all the politicizing it’s wonderful that there truly is some unselfishness. What a great example! Proud for Canada. There is so much competition in the business world, even the small fries, you sometimes just want to hang it up. Thanks for sharing what a lovely story. There is hope.
Diana – there is hope, finding a community of people who believe in the same things and gain support from them can be inspiring. I think we all need this type of inspiration once in a while and the Olympics are opportunity to see it.
Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations Canada! The Olympics are so amazing and inspirational! It takes a lot of determination and hard work and I just love watching! 🙂
Kungphoo – I love watching them too. Very inspiring to see people so committed and so proud to be representing their countries.
Thanks for commenting.
Whenever a person or organization is able to get out of its own way (and get beyond its own ego in the case of an individual) and look at its greater best interest, good things happen. That’s what you rightly identified that your Canadian sportsmen did. Bravo!
Sharon – Well said and so true!
Thanks for commenting.
This was an awesome! Go Team Canada! My husband just moved up here from the US with me (we lived down there for our entire marriage). He said one thing that really impressed him up here (more specifically speaking about the High River Alberta Floods, but also our community as a whole) is that we truly bond together and have a sense of community. That’s why I’m proud to be Canadian!!
Christie – I’m a proud Canadian too!
I lived abroad for a few years and one thing that made me decide to stay in Canada was the sense of community and the Canadian spirit. We often don’t recognize it but it there.
Thanks for sharing.
I agree. When we start seeing that we can help each other and become less competitive we can open ourselves up to learning and growing far beyond what we can do alone. Big strides can be made in your personal development as well as your business. Lending a helping hand comes back to us if we do it from the heart.
Meryl – absolutely. It amazing what a community of like-minded business owners can achieve together.
Thank you for commenting.
Wow! I love your perspective and totally agree! We can get so caught up in the day to day and our limiting thoughts and beliefs that we can easily forget about the bigger picture. Thank you for a great post!
Caroline – thanks for commenting – it so easy to get caught up in the details and forget what we are trying to accomplish and how we relate to the rest of the world.