“You’re Kickin’ A**!”

I sure needed to hear that… what about you?

On Saturday, I participated in my second team triathlon, riding in the bike portion of the race. It was a pretty comical event on multiple counts, starting with the fact that the members of our team met for the first time that day. Two of us were brought together by a mutual friend; the third guy was brought in by a friend of this friend… and none of us had a clue what he looked like. Twenty minutes before the race began, we were looking for a lost swimmer… so you can imagine our relief when we found him!

Here’s another layer to the comedy: I don’t own a road bike — just a mountain bike. If you’re not familiar with the difference, think of a mountain bike as a Ford F-150 4×4 and a road bike as a Corvette. Or as our swimmer said, “It’s like you’re trying to build a house with a rubber hammer.” Get the picture? Oh, and my mountain bike isn’t even a “nice” mountain bike. It’s a $200 Schwinn from Target. But that wasn’t going to stop me!

Our “rag tag” team had no hopes of winning, but we were there to give it our best and have a fun day. That much was in our control, and off we went! In the end, we finished 12th out of 16 teams competing, and while I was far from the fastest cyclist in the field, I wasn’t the slowest, either. More importantly, I was faster than the millions of guys in my age group who wouldn’t even dare to compete in such an event. And that brings me to you and my message for this week…

Just a few minutes into the race, a guy — who looked like a serious triathlete to me — passed me with ease, but not before saying, “Hey man, you’re doing a great job! Keep it up!” Classy, and encouraging.

A little ways down the road, I passed this same guy while he had stopped to make some minor adjustment on his equipment. Of course once he got back on his bike, he passed me again, and again said, “Still looking good! You can do it!” On this particular hill, I needed to hear it.

He wasn’t the only one to “applaud” me during the race. Another one said, “Way to go on that mountain bike! I couldn’t do it!” And the one that inspired today’s newsletter:

“You’re kickin’ ass on that mountain bike, man!”

Each time someone complimented me, it made me feel good, and do you know what else it did? It made me push a little harder and go a little faster.

So today, I want to tell you, “YOU’re kicking’ ass, man!” (And woman!)

I can say that with confidence and sincerity because you’re reading this post. What I mean by that is, I know that you’re looking for ways to improve yourself and/or your business. You wouldn’t read this blog — or any similar resources — if you weren’t. You’re not being complacent. You’re not just accepting the status quo.

In addition, you’re doing something that many people only dream of (it’s true). You’ve worked harder than anyone knows to get to where you are, and you’re working harder than anyone knows to keep moving forward.

We’re all on a mountain bike in one way or another — there’s always some deficiency that we have to push against. Whether it’s external or internal, we’re never operating under “ideal” circumstances.

I hope you have other people in your life and work who applaud you. But whether you do or don’t, today I want to applaud you just for being YOU and doing what you do.

“You’re looking good! You’re doing a great job! Keep it up!”

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