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Welcome to the Storybook

Each week, I share… ✍️

• a definition 🤓

• a quick story 📖

• a mindset shift 🤯

• an opportunity list 💡

…to keep you going, personally and professionally. 🚀

Simone Biles is one of the most gifted athletes on the planet.

She withdrew from the Olympic games 3 years ago due to mental health concerns.

She performs some of the most complex and intricate spins, flips, and routines of any gymnast and if her mindset is not 100%, she could risk catastrophic injury.

Because of this mental fortitude, she begrudgingly made the decision to withdraw.

It was heartbreaking for sure, but this was not a moment of weakness.

Instead it was a moment of strength, and ultimately, was in alignment with what was best for her and her team at the time…

…and sometimes that means making the difficult choice to take a step back.

Would she be able to endure the backlash from pulling herself from those games?

Would she have the ability to endure challenging times of frustration or lack of confidence over the course of 36 months to get back to peak performance?

That all remained to be seen, and in the end, she didn’t quit.

She simply got back to work, refocused, pivoted, and learned in order to come back stronger and better, both physically and mentally.

She built her ENDURANCE back up to be ready for Paris in 2024.

And now…with her floor exercise that sealed the gold medal for the US women’s team this week, she became the most decorated US gymnast in Olympic history with 8 total medals, 5 of them being gold.

No one will remember her pulling out of the games in Tokyo, and everyone will remember her for being the greatest of all time.

She had the ENDURANCE to not only remain in top physical shape required to compete in world gymnastics, but also had the mental ENDURANCE to power through some very challenging times on her way back to the top.

It’s quite remarkable and something we can all be inspired by.

🤯 THE MINDSET SHIFT 🤯

ENDURANCE doesn’t happen overnight.

It takes an incredible amount of effort, consistency, and patience.

And it can be taken away MUCH quicker than it is gained.

When I trained for my half marathons, it would take me 3 months to build up my ENDURANCE for race pace and distance.

If I were to take just one week off from training it would feel like I had just lost a month of progress.

Take a moment to think about your life’s dreams or something that seems out of reach…

…and the ENDURANCE it’ll require to get there.

Sacrifices, changes, and challenges will all be present along the way.

You will be required to do things you’re not comfortable with or confident in doing.

When those times come, you have two options…

1. Give up

2. Endure

Giving up is the easy choice, but having the ENDURANCE to power through those times is far more fulfilling once you get to the other side of that difficult thing.

Start preparing for your bright future and dreams by developing ENDURANCE for the long haul.

You can do this by taking care of your physical health, and working on your mental health every day.

By learning, growing, and honing in on your skillset or craft.

It won’t be easy.

You’ll have to work for it.

You’ll have to really want it.

So, when things get tough.

When you want to give up.

When you want to go home.

…you’ll have the ENDURANCE to power through towards your success.

💡 AN OPPORTUNITY LIST 💡

a short list of ideas, learnings, recommendations, or happenings for the week

1. Engage in activities that challenge your limits, such as public speaking, taking on new responsibilities at work, or pushing through difficult situations.

2. Pick three I AM statements from this 👉 LIST and repeat them to yourself out loud every morning. This corny stuff works.

3. Only two weeks away from 👉 The JUMP Workshop Event on Thursday, August 15th. Early bird tickets have expired, but use this promo code: OPPOFLOW25 to knock $25 off. If you’re in PHX, come join us!

Opportunity is Everywhere.

Cheers, Steven

Watch Episode #62 from the SuccessFlow Podcast.