I in Team

Growing up I think just about every coach or mentor I had at least one time during the journey stated "There is no I in Team." To tell you the truth as a young immature athlete or growing business professional I never really gave credit or thought to that statement. At the end of the day I think I was selfish enough to believe that the world revolved around myself and only myself. That the only way to get stuff accomplished was to throw everything onto my shoulders and push forward. Of course there were major accomplishments along the way but now looking back on it I failed a lot also. What I can also look back upon is that with each accomplishment I unconsciously at the time had a team in place and when I failed it was typically because I was to stubborn to reach out and ask for help when needed. Instead of asking a team member for assistance I would pile on the tasks and become over crowded with deadlines and tasks steering me away from success.

Any one that knows me knows that running and triathlon are my hobbies and passions in life. The time management, personal goal setting, commitment to excellence and extremely deep soul searching that happens during these events constantly drives me to do better. Most people would also look at these activities as an individual sport and while I agree slightly I believe it takes a team to accomplish your dreams. I know that when every Ironman race roles around I need my family to support me number one, I need the help of a coach to help set a plan in place, I need friends who are better than me to push me outside my comfort zone, I need a sports medicine staff to keep me healthy and most importantly I need my chosen circle of support to constantly give me the energy and motivation to succeed.

The picture above is from my daughters rock star cross country team who this weekend will be competing at the youth cross country national championships. It would be easy for these young girls to get caught up in the fact that running is a very individual sport however they understand the need for the team. They know that every runner counts towards success. Before their last regional race this awesome group of girls developed some team chants to try and get in the minds of the other runners. To show that other runners need to watch out for our team and not just individual runners.

So before you take on the next task at work, plan for your next race or just simply develop goals for 2015. I suggest you look around you and see what team members you have in place. A healthy team atmosphere can help you reach the peak of success faster than if you try and do everything yourself. It is also healthy from time to time to reward you team with gratitude letting them know how important they are to your success.

On a side note thanks to everyone who had donated to my Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Ironman Lake Placid project. No donation is to little and I would be grateful for every penny donated. You can click on the link at the top banner and it will take you directly to my page.

Make It Count!!!!