Indelible Adventures: Strictly business!

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As a writer I publish multiple times per week, and realize that there are many different channels to distribute my work, however I must admit that I was a little taken back by a couple of the comments directed at my story from last week entitled “Sweet conversations” in which I described my daughters success and our conversation around finding out about being chosen for the U18 women’s Canadian soccer team.

I certainly wasn’t expecting the wonderful congratulations and heartfelt outpouring of support from so many people for Sami’s amazing accomplishment. Thank you!

Not surprisingly with the good comes the not so good, in that, when I published my story on a well known social media channel focused on the business world there were a couple of detractors, in that they didn’t think that this was the type of content should be publishing via this channel and made it clear that this belonged on Facebook.

After my initial consternation had subsided I reflected on both the story and the comments and came to an interesting conclusion in that I perhaps should of added greater context to draw the parallels from the making of a national team as an elite athlete to that of the business world.

My first instinct was to not publish my blog link to this particular social media channel, but then it felt like the pendulum had swung too far the other way…  And what about the 7500 people who read my post via this channel…with the majority celebrating Sami's amazing accomplishment and the special bond that I have with my daughter.

As I reflected on the situation it struck me that Sami was doing exactly what I’ve been preaching to her and Zach their entire lives, and that is to follow your heart and to pursue the things that they're passionate about.

In my mind this story captures, what in many ways I believe the corporate world has lost - and that's the ability to connect the dots and see past the narrow and often myopic view of what constitutes as being "business" related.  Unfortunately many of us see business merely as a series of transactions for monetary gain?

We seem to have missed the fact that life is an opportunity for us to share our joy, to touch the lives of others, to celebrate amazing accomplishments and to connect on a personal level. I would contend that these things are universal and that life shouldn't be so strictly siloed into either business or personal domains per see, because whether we like it or not there will always be dependencies within each that cross the boundaries and blur the lines.

A couple of my readers suggested that we take advantage of her selection on the national team by seeking corporate sponsorships to future support her soccer career. Clearly that wasn’t my motivation for posting the story – it was driven by sheer pride and the fact that she will be representing her country internationally in a sport that she loves so dearly.

Clearly there is a fine line, but I do want to highlight that there isn't a lot of difference between an elite athlete and a high flying executive other than the arena that they perform in is slightly different.

Both require four key ingredients to becoming elite - irrespective of whether its athletics, business, music or any genre or field for that matter:

Passion - Burning desire and love for what you do;

Focus - An incredibly strong and consistent work ethic;

Perseverance - A dogged and stubborn persistence to be the best;

Self belief - To constantly believe in yourself and strive for excellence everyday

For most of us we will never reach the heights of this small and select few, but when you witness it first hand its incredible to behold, and you definitely know it when you see it.

Indulge me for just a moment, and let's play it forward four years from now, and Sami is on the Canadian senior women's team, a scholarship-ed (I may have just made that word up) athlete to a prestigious US university and about to represent Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Would I be any less proud? Would I want to share this great news and the joyful exchange between Sami and me - of course I will, because is an exceptional gift, not only for me but for all those around us irrespective of whether they are personal friends or business colleagues.

Everyone loves a good news story...and I especially love telling one!

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“Hanoi Posting” A series of fictional micro-stories by Terence Wallis

Come visit "Hanoi Posting" at its new home! New episodes are being added this week...

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This week I've finally gotten around to curating my photos from my trip to Copenhagen earlier this summer.

Enjoy!

The changing of the guard at the Royal Palace

Inside the Royal Palace - this antique mirror reminded me of a fairy tale
"mirror, mirror on the wall..."

The Kings money counting table etched in marble - dating
from the 14th century

One of the hundreds of gorgeous chandeliers in the Royal Palace

Up close and personal with the Danish Royal crowns

Nyhavn - Copenhagen's famous waterfront district.

The shipping navigation lights at the docks in Nyhavn

Affordable housing just outside the Copenhagen city center

I'm still struggling to understand what this monument is for, it seems like the sailors ship was sinking...
and so less of a triumph and more of a disaster type affair??? :-)