| The postman hand delivered my box of memories, Legacybox.com converted 12 horse show videos to one flash drive. My dad’s early embrace of technology made the flash drive possible. While I was showing, I did not have the vision to see how these videos would continue to teach me valuable lessons. 1. Winning Really is a Whim In a Constitutional Law class that I took, I remember learning the phrase, “law is what the judge ate for breakfast”. That saying stayed with me. In watching these classes decades later I could see that when you get to a certain level, a handful were all worthy of the blue ribbon. It then became a matter of what the judge or judges ate for breakfast that morning. I don’t know if it would have been helpful to realize that when I was competing. I was laser focused on being the best and sure that there was only one best. An actor I interviewed in my “famous people” series told his virtual audience that when an actor auditioned, the directors had a specific look in mind, what they ate for breakfast. |
| 2. Being Competitive is Key In watching my two horses compete in different shows and in different decades, I was struck by one consistent thought. Regardless of whether I won or came in 4th, I was competitive. I didn’t get that at the time. I thought it was a zero sum game. You either won or were zero. As I watch decades later, I am struck by the fact that good ride or bad ride, I looked like I belonged. Whether it is a job interview, a prospect presentation or a keynote – do you look like you belong? I coached a CEO a few years back who was going to speak to an audience of 4,000. In practice we crafted our own teleprompter with the goal that he would look like he had done this before. During a dry run, an AV person said to him, “I can tell you have done this before”. |
| 3. The Things that Stay with You I still have boxes and boxes of ribbons and trophies. If you have been to my office you will see a small smattering. At the time I thought I was competing for that ribbon and the victory ride. With just a few exceptions, the wins are not what I remember. I remember my mom fussing with more safety pins than imaginable. I remember my dad’s cheer that sounded like an injured dog barking. I remember waiting for the gates to open so I could enter the ring first. I believe there is no such thing as a little thing or a big thing: everything has the potential to be big. Know in your heart and in your mind that you want to experience everything because you just don’t know where and what the lasting lessons will be for you. |
