Blog

The 2014 Winter Olympics have just gotten underway. The world is watching, celebrating and coming together in a wave of emotions. Woven in, also side stories and controversies on an international stage because this is a platform. It is a global showcase that we get drawn into for a period of time. For me, it is a special time because it brings back a wave of memories for when I worked on the 2010 Olympic Bid Committee and worked with a small team of dedicated people to get the Olympics to Vancouver. I still remember sitting with John Furlong, during the Bid, while we were driving to a community and he asked me what I wanted to experience if we were successful to get the Games. I told John that I wanted to do something to unite Canadians across this country and around the world. Something that we would raise our hands to and celebrate. On the last day of the 2010 Winter Olympics, my dream was realized as we all high five’d, hugged and danced in the streets. We were all Canadians and embraced the moment. All the while, I had a silly grin on my face because no one knew of the difficult journey we endured to get the rights to host the Games.

While the Olympics are on a world stage, there is a story to share about how it can impact us as individuals. While working on the Bid Committee, we worked very hard. We were at a difficult pace of 8:00am to 10:00pm most days and when the IOC visited, it was 4:00am to midnight every day. At the end of it all, we were exhausted but excited about what we had just accomplished. On July 2, 2003, we gathered at GM Place (now Rogers Arena) to wait for the announcement. It was a very early morning with the time delay for the announcement and we had 16,000 excited people there. It was a sea of red and white. Maple leaf flags everywhere! We waited, held our breath, and prepared for the announcement. Whether we win or lose, we were going to bawl our eyes out…and we did. We gathered together as one and when they finally announced ‘The city of…..Vancouver”, the stadium erupted and we cried and celebrated. I still recall being with the Bid team and we hugged, tears streaming down our face realizing the magnitude of what we just pulled off.

Amidst the confetti and fireworks, I recall on two separate occasions in the stadium that there were two Olympic gold medalists who I had made friends with, saw me and hugged me and with tears in their eyes, they said that this is exactly how they felt when they stood on the podium and received their gold medals. They said that I had just received my gold medal moment in life and to make sure I appreciate and hold on to this.

This experience is always with me and is a strong memory of the efforts we made to get the Games and that we succeeded. The realization was that we as individuals also have our own gold medal moments; however, we never really appreciate or consider them as such. We are so focused on the next step that we just keep moving and not take the time to truly understand what we have done. Take university graduation, there are times when students will say that they are not going to graduation. Sure it is a personal choice; however, understand that no one gave you that degree. You earned it! You are no different than the athletes who train and sacrifice. Sure it is not on a world stage and you have a nation watching but it is an important milestone in life. I have been fortunate to have many gold medal moments in life and that is only because I have taken the time to appreciate what I have done and the effort put forward. The book I am writing is my next ‘gold medal’ moment and it is coming to a realization soon.

Embrace your journey, look for those gold medal moments in your life and celebrate your accomplishments. I wish I could walk around and place medals around your neck for all the things you have done that you might not have realized how big they are. I am your fan and supporter and I applaud you. Gold medal moments are there for you to celebrate.