Penny Casselman [00:00:00]:
I am your Olympic coach today, and I hope that through our discussion, you are gonna walk away standing taller, aiming for the top spot on the podium, and are excited about the growth and the opportunity that you have before you. Because we are all individuals. We all bring special and unique gifts to the table. And my friend, the only person you should ever compare yourself to is who you were yesterday. Welcome to the Pivot with Passion podcast. Hi. I'm Penny Casselman. I believe everyone is deserving of a phenomenal life.
Penny Casselman [00:00:54]:
Regardless of where you came from, life is what you make of it. And when you learn to pivot with passion, your world explodes with opportunities. Go grab your favorite beverage and let's shake things up as we explore how to pivot with passion. Hello, and welcome to the Olympic version of Pivot with Passion. I'm thrilled that you stuck your landing. You pushed play today for yourself, and you are ready to show up and make the world take notice. My friend, I am caught up and swept up in Olympic fever, and it dawned on me the world is wrapped up and focused on the Olympics. And so wherever it is you are listening from, thanks for taking a few minutes to join me this week for showing up for yourself, and I hope that your country is showing up and giving you lots of pride in what a human being, when they're focused and dedicated, can do when called upon.
Penny Casselman [00:02:09]:
So think of me today as your coach because today I wanna talk about scoring. Right? That's the big thing in the Olympics is what was your score? What was your time? What was your distance? What was your height? Very tangible things that can be measured. It's the only way that any athlete knows if they've won a gold. This is absolutely nothing that is subjective. It is completely objective. And, yes, there are judges in numerous sports that have to, as a human, take into account what the athlete does and give it a value. However, the Olympics have it down. Right? They know how to take the averages and throw about the top, the lowest, so that at least in that moment, everyone is judged objectively.
Penny Casselman [00:03:07]:
So with that, I have a question. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being complete and utter despair and ten has you standing 1st place on the Olympic podium. Where do you score your life today? Now if you missed last week's episode, you might wanna hop back because by me posing this question, your brain has to answer. And if you're not sure what I'm talking about, give it a listen. But my friend, where do you score your life? I'm using life in the broadest sense because we could break your life down into 5 segments, 7 segments, 12 different segments. But for the sake of discussion on this episode, let's just take life at a top level. If you scored yourself 3 or below, I just want to acknowledge you. I want to honor you for being completely vulnerable with yourself and know that if this is a score that is continuous for you, please please reach out for some help.
Penny Casselman [00:04:26]:
I don't want anyone to feel 3 or below that level of despair in their life. There are people who can help you dig out of that and set you on a good path forward. Now if you happen to score yourself 4 or higher, again, congratulations on being honest with yourself for taking a beat and soaking all the different aspects in and calling yourself out on where you see yourself. Because today I wanna talk about how we can start to focus on the opportunity in front of us to improve our life rather than focus on whatever number you just scored yourself as an obstacle. Because I guarantee every single Olympian that you watch on television wants to know how and where they can improve. Even if they show up and happen to get a perfect score or set a world record, they are constantly searching for ways to improve their self and their performance to help keep them top in their game. And like the Olympians that we see on television, who, by the way, are marvels, marvels. I cannot even wrap my brain around the training, the dedication, the substance that these athletes are made of.
Penny Casselman [00:06:05]:
But the one thing that it has always instilled in me when I watch the Olympics is look at what is possible. When you are dedicated to your craft, when you are focused, when you ask for help, and when you have a goal and don't waiver. And here's the nuance that we share with Olympians. Olympians are always comparing their performance to their last performance. And that's a lesson we can all take with us as we move forward and reach for our Olympic life. It's time for a clarity cocktail. This will probably come as no surprise, but today's clarity cocktail is from none other than Simone Biles. And her quote is this, I was built this way for a reason, so I'm going to use it.
Penny Casselman [00:07:12]:
Boom. There it is. Now of course when I'm fascinated with athletes or artists or musicians, Sometimes I just like to know some basic information. Say, if I met them on the street, would we look each other in the eye? Would I have to look up? I stand 5 feet 8, and Simone, in case you did not know, is 4 foot 8. I don't know when I was 4 feet 8. I can almost guarantee it was in grade school. What grade, I'm not sure, but it blew my mind. She is this power ball of gymnastics excellence that I marvel at, and maybe you do the same thing.
Penny Casselman [00:08:04]:
But I love her quote because she embraces her 4 foot 8 inch frame by saying, I was built this way for a reason, so I'm going to use it. How often do we potentially berate ourselves for something we have no control over? I've always heard from women is if you were born with curly hair, you wish you had straight. If you have straight hair, you wish it were curly. Well, genetics served up what it served up. And rather than fight it, I have finally gotten to a point where I embrace my very baby fine hair because there is nothing I can do about it. And so I'm gonna use it to the best of my ability. But think about maybe you're really good at numbers. Maybe you're really good at creativity.
Penny Casselman [00:09:04]:
But perhaps the job that you have doesn't use those strengths. The key here is to still appreciate that you bring those to the table. And if you're in a numbers job, but you have strong creativity, well, you were born with creativity. How can you use it to help you flourish in your numbers job and vice versa? If you're creative for a living, but you also have this really strong numbers side to your brain, you were built that way for a reason and how can you use one to support the other? Now another fantastic example of this is the pommel horse guy, Steve Ndorsik. And I apologize if I got his last name wrong, but he's the Clark Kent on the men's team, if you've been following the Olympics. He does one apparatus. That's it. That is the entire reason he was placed on the Olympic team was for his strength on the pommel horse.
Penny Casselman [00:10:15]:
Now I can only imagine that Kidd may have thought, I never will make the Olympic team. I couldn't do it because I'm only good at one thing. Where Steve held fast to his dream and knew that he was gonna pour every ounce of his effort into that pommel horse. And I just watched a quick interview with him where he said, I wanted to be the nerdy athlete, and we both know he is a huge meme right now on the Internet with what he has been able to accomplish. And so I wanna challenge you this week. If you find yourself struggling with something that is beyond your control, a natural gift that you were given and you can't quite figure out what to do, remember Steve and remember Symone, and hold fast to her quote. I was built this way for a reason, so I'm going to use it. Go out there, embrace what you have been given, and find a way to use it to your advantage and claim your Olympic life.
Penny Casselman [00:11:34]:
And now back to the episode. Cheers. Circling back to this idea of scoring your life on a regular basis as a check-in to hold yourself accountable and keep moving you forward just like they do in the Olympics. So I'm curious, what score did you give yourself at the top of the episode? Obviously, I can't hear what you're saying, but since we are all talking about the Olympics, I guarantee you, Simone Biles did not start off learning a somersault and then immediately go into vaulting. It was a progression. I'm sure that Simone made ample mistakes in learning each apparatus as she evolved her gymnastics prowess. There are three things that you need to embrace in order to help you realize your Olympic level life. And the first one is using scoring just like in the Olympics on a regular basis so that you can see and mark your improvement.
Penny Casselman [00:12:46]:
So what did you give yourself at the top of the episode? Let's just say, for the sake of this exercise, you gave yourself a 6. 1st, congratulations for being honest and accepting of where you see yourself today. And this scoring, I would invite you to do it at a minimum every month because a lot can happen in 30 days. Ask an athlete, there's a lot that can happen in 5 seconds. So every month maybe the last day of the month, the 1st day of the month, check-in with yourself. Where are you scoring your life? That's step number 1. Step number 2 is to really take a moment and self reflect. And in doing this, I want you to say to yourself, okay.
Penny Casselman [00:13:37]:
I scored myself a 6. What does a 7 look like? What has to happen in order for me to elevate my life from a 6 to a 7? What do I need to believe about myself? Who do I need to become? What actions do I need to take? And what clearer vision do I need to paint in order to instill the change I want to see? Maybe you journal about it. Maybe you type it out. Make a note on your phone. Tell a friend. Do this with a friend. It is amazing, the teamwork again. Look at the Olympics.
Penny Casselman [00:14:20]:
Teams are everything. They're supportive. They lift you up. And maybe sharing your score with a friend and talking and holding each other accountable in its review will help you move one step closer to your dreams. And then the third thing after you've scored, after you've done self reflection is honor the gap. Realize that where you scored yourself and where you're headed, there is growth in between those 2. There is opportunity to become a better version of yourself, for you to make a bigger impact in the world, for you to stand a little taller, reach out a hand, help another person. The possibilities here are endless.
Penny Casselman [00:15:09]:
Wherever it is that you scourge yourself, know that there is opportunity waiting for you to grab it and grow. I am your Olympic coach today, and I hope that through our discussion, you are gonna walk away standing taller, aiming for the top spot on the podium, and are excited about the growth and the opportunity that you have before you. Because we are all individuals. We all bring special and unique gifts to the table. And my friend, the only person you should ever compare yourself to is who you were yesterday. Because I guarantee that is the same approach that every athlete at the Olympic takes. When I watch the games on television, countries are always congratulating the winners and congratulating the competition regardless of the country that they came from because they know a rising tide lifts all ships. And without healthy competition, we can't become better ourselves.
Penny Casselman [00:16:30]:
I hope that today you took some nugget of inspiration that you are going to carry with you throughout the next week. I haven't mentioned this in a little while, but you can get your own red marker by simply leaving a review for this podcast. The link is always in the show notes. Hop over to your platform of choice, rate the show, leave a review, and I will personally send you your own red marker in the mail regardless of where you live. Think of it as my way of awarding you a gold medal because that's what a red marker symbolizes. You are taking charge of your life. You are not settling for fine. You are ready to move forward and make things happen in your life.
Penny Casselman [00:17:30]:
Now go stand on top of that podium, hold that vision, and I cannot wait to talk to you next week. Friend, thanks for listening to this episode of Pivot with Passion. If you've been feeling stuck, exhausted, or frustrated, this is your permission slip to go grab a red marker and claim the life you desire and deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, and then hop over to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts. Because my goal is to put a red marker in everyone's hand, and I need your help to spread the word and make that happen. Until the next episode, go grab a red marker, get excited for your future, and make your first move to pivot with passion.
