I was watching a downhill mountain biking race today and the last rider to go (Aaron Gwin from the US) was in first place by about a second. The course was tough, big rocks, roots, ruts and more, which made it hard to be fast. Right out of the shoot Gwin pedaled really hard and broke the chain on his bike. Essentially, he had only gravity to power him downhill. And to keep up enough speed on the “flatter” sections where he could not pedal he would have to go all-out on the steepest part of the course. What seemed like an impossible task turned into one of the greatest wins of all time. By pushing to the limits Gwin was able to keep up enough speed and cross the finish line in first place. Amazing to say the least.

For sure this dude was hard core THPL. Against all odds he won, he did not allow, a huge setback to take him off his game - in fact – the setback made him; focus more, perform at an even higher level, and keep the winning mindset “front and center”.

The question for each of us to ponder is – in a similar circumstance, what would we have done? Given up….or pushed harder? Taken the big risk – or go home. Bring the winning mindset or accept second place. I suggest that we each look deep inside to think about our “broken chain” opportunity – when we had it what did we do? And, regardless of what we did or did not do – are we ready to go for the win next time. I suggest we should be ready – plan for your broken chain, put that winning mindset on, and go for it. Go big or go home indeed…….

Loving life, when I go BIG