NWCDC 2018: It isn't Just About the Medals, it is About What it Takes to Get There

Las Vegas, NV (WorkersCompensation.com) - The first NWCDC presentation tugged at the heartstrings of a very full house. Kids’ Chance President and Paradigm’s Chief of Sales and Marketing Officer Kevin Turner introduced a young scholarship recipient from Ohio with a story that gripped that crowd involving her dad and a horrible car accident. She overcame this tragedy, and with the help of Kids Chance, received degrees in HR and communications.

Another woman also took the stage, who combatted a different kind of adversity, including ovarian cancer. Olympian and gold-medal winning gymnast Shannon Miller asked the standing-room only crowd who liked the Olympics and gymnastics. We responded with an overwhelming amount of gusto.

She went on to tell a story about an unwanted guest on her beam… a fly. “I didn’t train for a bug on the beam!” she said. But, she went on to complete her routine and the two remained unharmed.

In all seriousness, she offered a few words of advice, “If we listen to all the reasons why we shouldn’t succeed, then we likely never will.”

The gold metal mindset includes setting goals, being a part of a team, and committing yourself to excellence. The importance of follow through is so important in achieving any goal, she said. It’s all about the stuff you don’t get a gold medal for doing either. Whether it is a weekend workout, or grueling hours of a workday, or being a mom, it’s about the behind-the-scenes practices.

She talked about a devasting Olympics mistake as a young woman in Spain when she fell on her backside during a vault performance. “I went SPLAT,” she said. “And you all can relive it over and over again with the magic of YouTube,” she joked.

But next, was the balance beam. She focused on enjoying the moment, and the 90-second routine went by in a flash. One twist, two flips, and when she felt the floor, she knew she landed it. “I just wanted to live in that moment.”

If she is ever in doubt for setting long and short-term goals, she thinks about that moment that led to an Olympic medal. Teamwork helped her get there, and she will never forget it.

After she retired at the “ripe old age” of a teen from gymnastics, another challenge hit later. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. While her company she founded focuses on women’s health, and communicating about it, it hit her hard.

Miller found out she had a baseball-sized cyst on her left ovary, and heard words like “mass” and “malignancy.” She was immediately scheduled for surgery, while she thought about whether or not her son would have a mother. But, the prognosis was “good.” Or, what she decided was good news to her. While the cancer was rare, they caught it early. She was going to have to go through aggressive chemotherapy treatments.

But, while she sat and reconsidered her difficult choices, she had a gnawing fear that she couldn’t get through it. But once one of her medical providers walked into the room, she remembered that she is surrounded by not only a group of people, but a team. A different kind of team, but the support was the same.

“We are all a part of a bigger team,” she said. Teamwork is so important. It reminds you that you aren’t alone. “If I can help one woman focus on her health, with my story,” she said, that is a good thing. She recently celebrated seven years of being cancer free with her team.

When you tell yourself you can’t, you probably won’t. It is about that positive energy en route to getting to your goal. “A negative attitude is one of the worst things you can have in any situation,” she said. But the good news is, it is easy to get rid of. Let’s focus on solutions rather than problems.

She left us with advice to focus on a much-needed emphasis on ourselves. “What you do matters,” she said, whether it is the tough sports practice, the rough workday, an injury, or even the left foot in front of the right.

Think about the winning mindset. You can succeed, and you can help others attain their goals, Miller said. What kind of amazing things can we accomplish, if we took that gold medal-winning mindset to the table EVERYDAY?

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