I dedicate my post this week to a lady who lived her life in a way that many can only dream of. Sarah Burke, you are an icon, a hero, an inspiration, and a class act.
When my flame is finally extinguished and my time on this great Earth is up, I hope people say but half the things about me that everyone says of you. You inspire me to take off the safety harness and just leap ...
Like many Americans, I became very fearful of flying after 9/11. I actually found myself hyperventilating upon takeoff, and had visuals of everything that could potentially go wrong with the flight.
I reached my low point during one trip where I came dangerously close to getting off the plane. I was taking an Olympic torch to a young girl, Ashley O’Rear, who was dying of cancer and was not going to live to carry the flame for the 2002 Olympics.
Thinking of this little girl kept me on the plane that day, but the experience of visiting her kept me on the plane for every trip after that. The time I spent with Ashley was an enormous inspiration, and I would have really missed out on something special if I’d never met her.
This knowledge made me realize how many other life experiences I’d miss out on if I didn’t go out there and grab every opportunity. Now when people ask me if I’m nervous about traveling overseas or skydiving or visiting disrupted areas in Africa, I simply tell them that I have a lot more to gain by going.
Remember that “the brave do not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.” (Author unknown)
Today, your challenge is to ask yourself if you want to lead a life with no change and no excitement, or do you want to take the chance to find some excitement and exhilaration and really live?
Do you want to look back on your life and have regrets for not living to your full potential? Ask yourself if it’s really better to live a safe, lackluster life or if you want to walk away with something to show for your time on this earth.
********** Motivational Weight Management Tip **********
I’ve had the great honor of working with some of the Biggest Loser contestants and it has inspired me to leave motivational diet, health, and wellness tips at the end of all of my blogs. These tools have been driven from actual advice I’ve shared.
This week's tip:
“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” ~ Author unknown. The ball is in YOUR court. Are you going to decide to take the swing or not even hold up the racquet? Why not at least give it a chance? You will be surprised with how much you can achieve just by giving an effort.
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At the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, Nikki Stone became America’s first-ever Olympic Champion in the sport of aerial skiing. What made this performance so unbelievable, was the fact that less than two years earlier, a chronic spinal injury prevented her from standing, much less walking or skiing off an aerial jump.
Nikki’s achievements have carried far beyond the slopes as she now works as an accomplished motivational speaker for national and international corporations and motivational coach for a new national Biggest Loser program.
Nikki has also recently released the inspirational bestseller When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick Their Necks Out (with contributors Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, Tommy Hilfiger, and more).
For more information, please visit www.WhenTurtlesFly.com and www.NikkiStone.com.
Edited by Jody Smith