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kaizen-continuous-improvement

Yesterday a fellow athlete and overall amazing person, Vaughn Ripley, introduced me to a new word, a new concept, one that I instinctively learned by racing Ironman – Kaisen. Kaisen is a philosophy about continuous improvement or self-changing for the best… Read More »Kaisen

Kaisen

    Love is in the details

    It’s a Happy Monday.  Admittedly at some point everyone has faced this day with dread.  Maybe the weekend sapped your energy, or your workload is chaotic and overwhelming the senses to paralysis. No matter the reason way, to make this… Read More »On Making Monday Happy

    On Making Monday Happy

      Ironman checklist

      Leaving tomorrow morning @ 4:15 a.m., and driving to Napa with a few tri friends. It’s the best of times, and the worst of times.  And that’s because there’s so much to do. The “check list” seems never ending, and… Read More »Ironman Check List

      Ironman Check List

        Ironman Austin

        Ironman Austin; Feed the Hunger; Succeed like an elite athleteJust getting back on track from racing Ironman Austin. Now I have to find another race to “Feed the Hunger”.

        Still, before taking on a new race, I wanted to share some reflections & tips for improvement.

        Tip #1

        Before putting on the wetsuit, don’t forget to tighten your tri shorts. That way, after the swim when the wetsuit is stripped off in front of hundreds of people, the shorts will stay on … yep, still feeling a bit mortified knowing a few lucky bystanders got to see all my glory.

        Tip #2

        If feeling down because you fell short of your goals, read something inspiring.  Case in point, on the flight home I read an article from USA Today about LeBron James; LeBron Still Unsettled, Back-to-back championships only make James hungrier to succeed.

        Well, that caught my eye.  Why was LeBron James hungry?  Wasn’t he content at being #1?  Apparently not.

        How does LeBron James feed his hunger for success?

        LeBron James; Feed the Hunger; Succeed like an elite athleteThat I maximize my potential –

        That I got everything out of my career, and I got everything out of my game that I could, and that I pushed the envelope….

        When people said I couldn’t get better, I continue to strive to get better.  If I do that, I can be very high.

        LeBron’s words resonated with me, not only as an athlete, but also as a business owner who’s aim is to inspire people and small/medium size companies to succeed by transforming their lives to Thrive With Purpose™.

        I understand the challenges of taking it to the next level.  For example, while training and racing Ironman (ok, while running) I’d ask, “Annemarie, how bad do you want to succeed?”  Usually, the question would get me to finish that training goal.  Still, it’s a mental challenge … day-by-day, minute-by-minutes, & at times second-by-second.

        Well, come to find out LeBron James also asked the same question after the Miami Heat lost the 2011 championship.  Looking for inspiration, he found the secret to success via an Eric Thomas’ speech.

        Feed the Hunger; Succeed like an elite athlete.
        Here are 5 TipsRead More »Feed the Hunger; Succeed like an elite athlete

        Feed the Hunger; Succeed like an elite athlete

          Ironman Austin training is hot underway, literally.  To help prepare for the hot & humid weather, I just road 50 miles in 100 degrees.

          Hell, it was hell.

          Cycling safely in the heat
          Womenscycling.com

          Ten miles in and the tortuous heat had nearly every part of my body crying.  To make matters worse I forgot sunscreen, lip block, only filled one of two water bottles, and craziest of all – I forgot a sports bra.  What was I thinking???  Go braless or wear a sexy black lace bra.  I choose the bra.  Don’t know why.  It didn’t even have support to hold my drivers’ license in place.  Oh, but I looked good.

          The road produced clear reminders of life’s frailtyRead More »Hot Weather. Cool Minds.

          Hot Weather. Cool Minds.

            Introspection

            Tuesday was a great day.  I committed to racing Ironman Austin, and then met with a business leader to discuss the CSR process.

            This morning at 5 a.m., a mental battle began – I didn’t want to get out of bed to train.  During the mental volley I realized committing to Ironman is similar to business leaders committing to CSR.  The heart is in the right place but the mind questions its lIntrospectionogic.Read More »Introspection

            Introspection