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Courtesy of a tweet by Gini Dietrich, CEO of Arment Dietrich, I was directed to Speed, In The Right Direction, a post about lessons to be learned from Apollo Ohno, America's most decorated winter Olympian.  Ohno had a hugely successful Olympic experience in Turin, and then hit the celebrity circuit.  Blogger Randy Hall picks up the story:

The story was about how Ohno was invited to all of the A-list parties and hottest events, and the velvet ropes were quickly dropped for him at even the most exclusive Hollywood clubs. He had essentially arrived. He was recruited for, and won, Dancing With the Stars and made numerous television appearances that continued to add to his fame and stature among the elite. And then he pushed it all away and decided to compete again.

Ohno recommitted himself to the sport he loved and moved from the red carpet to the training room. He dropped 20 pounds of weight and endured three work outs a day combined with a strict nutritional program that left him able to lift weights twice as heavy as when he began his training program. It's so easy for us to look at people like Ohno and say that they are different, special somehow, and that things come easier for them because they are gifted in some way. Ohno is the first to admit in interviews that the first workout of the day is difficult to begin and that finishing the third is even more so. Look closer at any of the athletes and you will see that they are just people. But they are people who made a choice to be more.

In an interview with the Seattle Times Ohno said, 'When I'm done skating, I guarantee you that I will not look back and remember standing on the podium. 'I'm going to remember these days — being with the team. Training alone, in my basement. Training when everybody else is sleeping. Doing things that nobody else is doing. Digging down. Seeing what kind of character I truly have.'

I love that line--"seeing what kind of character I truly have."  It occurs to me that as I look over my desk and decide what to do for my clients and how to do it, what to search for that will help them solve their problems and make their life easier, I have a choice to make.  We all do.  Service is a choice.  It's hard work and we can never take time away from our training regimen. 

So, what kind of choices do we make?  What kind of character do we truly have?

 

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