Welcome to my new blog series – “Emily’s Think Tank”! This is motivated by my Super Charge Weekly Email Newsletter where I have been sharing insights based on the Super Charge Thought of the Week. I always start off by sharing a…

Super Charge Thought:

“If you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it.”

 – from Cool Runnings Movie

Action Step:

“How will I know I am enough Coach? When you cross the finish line, you will know.” You are always “enough” (or as we say in Jamaica “nuff nuff”). Your assignment, if you should choose to accept it, is to watch Cool Runnings with the goal of drawing parallels to entrepreneurship.

Emily’s Think Tank

Many times we may ask ourselves the same question – what makes us enough? Do we need to win Gold Medals or accomplish some specific measure of success to be considered “enough”. This is one of the lessons highlighted in the movie “Cool Runnings”, about the indomitable Jamaican Bobsled Team who dared to enter, compete, and capture the hearts of the world in the Calgary Olympic Games of 1988.

The Olympics usually inspire people to believe that we too can achieve the extraordinary. This August celebrates the 2020 Olympics with stellar Gold Medal Jamaicans in Track & Field, the 59th Anniversary of Jamaican Independence, and the 101st birthday of my Dad, John McHugh, a Jamaican champion athlete – all fueled by that same indomitable spirit. As one of the songs in the movie proclaims” “You have to rise above it – There is nothing you cannot achieve as long as you work hard and sacrifice. Cool Runnings – Peace be the journey!”

As the ultimate “under-dog”, the Jamaican bobsledders in the movie had almost everything going against them, but that did not stop them. Entrepreneurs face similar hurdles in starting and growing a business. Oftentimes entrepreneurs may start out as the proverbial under-dog, but with grit, tenacity, and focus, the tables can gradually turn.

“Cool Runnings” is one of my favorite movies for many reasons, it is inspired by a true story, it is connected to Jamaica, and it shows that with focus and determination, no obstacle, no matter how daunting, cannot be overcome. The refrain “Sanka – You Dead?” (You will have to watch the movie) – highlights the ability to bounce back despite endless setbacks.

Here are some Olympics parallels to entrepreneurship that were all demonstrated in “Cool Runnings”:

• Vision – Seeing something that others cannot or doing what has not been done before
• Diligence – Working astutely towards a goal and doing what it takes to get there
• Persistence – Especially in the face of almost unanimous opposition
• Belief in oneself – Pride, power, and standing up for oneself
• Define Success on your own terms – Crossing the finish line for the right reasons, not only for a medal
• Resilience – Holding on and not staying down

So how do we answer the question, how we will know we are enough? We are enough when we realize that being enough is not dependent on what we have, but what we become.

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