When Canadian, Karen Lee Gartner won Gold in the Women's downhill, it was infectious for the rest of us in the other ski disciplines. Twenty two years later, as an Olympic public speaker, I still remember how contagious another Olympic athlete's experience was.

If memory serves correctly, Karen's highest result in previous world class competition was a 5th in a world cup. The highest world cup result I had was also 5th at a Les Arc World Cup. 

And, yours truly used what I called, The Yahoo Theory.

"If that yahoo and do it, so can I."

The Olympics is an entirely new experience for most athletes. We are normally in our own world. Our circuit is different from all other sports, including the ski disciplines. We never cross paths with figure skaters, hockey players and curlers. 

Yet, at the Olympic Winter Games, the circle becomes very tight. 3,000 athletes converge into a tight knit community. We exchange stories and ideas. 

But, when a compatriot wins a gold medal, it becomes infectious for the rest of the athletes around him or her. 

NOW... when the media announces that an athlete has "No hope of winning a medal." This is pretty much not the case. Every athlete hopes they can win a medal. Look at the Australian short track speed skating gold medal winner in Salt Lake.

Steven Bradbury trained hard and made the Olympics. In the semi finals guys in front of him fell and he advanced to the finals. In the gold medal round, a handful of speed skaters fell in the last lap and voila... the unlikely hero takes home Gold.

Steven's preparation, persistence and being the right place, at the right time - paid off. No different than any athlete who is more than just an Olympian tourist (there are a few of those).

Enjoy the Olympics and make those Olympic Gold medal dreams an infectious part of your dreams and aspirations.

Movember. A great cause for men’s health. BUT, every time I try to grow a moustache I look like an Amish version of Wolverine. So, I flirted with my own theme. Put the “No” in November. Therefore, say ‘no’ to French Fries for the entire month. Scrreeeech. Then, Josh Kaufman showed up.

Now it’s ‘Yesvember.’

Saying ‘no’ to something is a pretty easy concept to wrap your mind around. Just pick something and don’t do it. Don’t eat it. Don’t say it. Don’t believe it. Don’t buy into it. So, no french fries.

But “Yes?” That’s a whole lot like commitment.

Mr. Kaufman’s TEDx talk refocuses the 10,000 hours rule made famous by Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers. Originally, research determined it takes 10,000 to be highly skilled and occupy the pinnacle of a specific vocation. But, as Kaufman explains, "like a giant game of telephone," the rule has morphed into a watered down version: “It takes 10,000 hours to be good at something.” Kaufman jumped on the TEDx soap box and explains how we are way off.

According to Kaufman, all you need are 20 hours to be acceptably good at anything. 20 hours of focused, targeted time and you're good. Not an expert, just good. Things like learning a language, playing an instrument, learning a new sport, learning a technical skill or selling a certain product or service. He argues the age-old learning curve of aptitude is very steep at the beginning. You start as grossly incompetent, then gain a great deal of ground in the first ten hours or so. Its not until the learning curve starts to plateau (flatten out), the gains become subsequently more difficult to get, and greatness comes thousands of hours later.

If you said yes to learn something this month, what would it be?

Lest you think this is a one-way 70 Second eBrief – here’s my offer to join you.

I pick learning Spanish. I’ve had the Pimsleur Spanish CDs for years. Time to stop procrastinating.

What do you choose?

Here’s how Kaufman suggests we approach our 20 hour challenge.

1. Deconstruct the skill. Target the parts of the skill that make it work. For learning Spanish, what are terms and constructs most likely needed in conversations?
2. Learn enough to self-correct. Being able to notice when you’re making a mistake and doing something a little different.
3. Remove practice barriers. Use a little bit of willpower to remove distractions while you practice.
4. Practice at least 20 hours. Get past the initial-frustration phase, into the quantifiable-gains phase.

Still not sure? Pick something that scares you. Parachuting doesn’t count. That just takes a few seconds.

• Pick something where you can test yourself.
• Stretch your preconceived notions.
• Face your fears.

Here’s to an adventure in your capabilities in Yesvember – or, as they undoubtedly say in Spanish, Si-vember.

At lunch, he was preoccupied. Dan had to fire two people when he went back to the office. The details don’t matter as much as what inspired his next thought. On his way to be President of the company, he used the fear of being fired to get him on a better track. This example and others can be a way to scare yourself to get ahead.

The best time to fire someone? According to Dan, long enough after they get the kids in school and well before Thanksgiving and Christmas. In other words, right about now. Whenever October rolled around, Dan would imagine he was on the bubble for being fired.

“I’d picture the guy who'd replace me and the changes he would make. Then I’d make the course corrections instead. This fear forced me to up my game on the job. It seems like it worked, because I never got fired.”

Most believe, fear can be your single greatest enemy. Eleven years ago, a conversation with Bruce Jenner changed all that. Skip his reality show, tabloid and plastic surgery hijinks – or his propensity for a Brian Regan-esque “Me Monster” keynote where his opening video tees up "the world’s greatest athlete" and "the world's greatest father." In a one-on-one conversation, he said something that turned fear on its ear.

“Make fear your friend.”

We compared training notes (actually, he told me about his training and didn't seem curious about mine) and we each had stories (well I heard his - mine didn't make it into the conversation) how we (in his mind - he) used scare tactics to drive our (his) conditioning further ahead. (Hey, c'mon... Between the two of us we have one Olympic gold medal, an appearance on the Wheaties box and, hopefully, a healthy ego.)

There were times when 100 push-ups was the target. At 95 push-ups, a self inflicted mind game would surface. “Okay, if I don’t do 110 push ups I won’t get to the Winter Olympics.” Despite burning arms and shaky form, the mind pushed the body to go the extra distance. "107 - 108 -- 109 --- 110."

Other times I’d be cycling up a curved hill and eyeball the time. “If I don’t get to the top in 7 minutes, I won’t be marching in the Opening Ceremonies.” Fear of missing the dream would be enough to get past the pain of pushing harder.

The idea is NOT to put fear in your heart all the time, but it helps, now and then, to turn fear into results. Use fear as a tool. Not an anchor.

So… it’s October... and you haven’t been fired – YET.

What change or changes would your replacement make?

Execute those changes!

Go beyond keeping your job. Be the replacement your boss was looking for all along.

Scare yourself to get ahead.

(Bosses: Feel free to forward this 70 Second eBrief. You won't be accused of being subtle. ;-)

In the same way, "The rich get richer" -- "The smart get smarter." When someone has money, they can use it to make more money. People with smarts have the same advantage – but in this case you don’t necessarily need to be a brainiac to get ahead.

Our middle child, Alex, was recently asked to help a fellow student to prepare for a test. Alex has done well in class and she helps her fellow classmates frequently. By helping her friends, she doubly prepares herself for a good grade. Yet, if there was an ambitious C or B student who wanted to get more A’s, a little proactivity would go a long way. Put your metaphorical stethoscope up to a medical school approach to see how.

When learning procedures, medical students have a motto:

See One. Do One. Teach One.

This can be a tremendous tool, especially for those tasks that could be done more efficiently.

Let’s say you want to learn a time-saving way to send emails. Take a moment and think of an email you send on a repeated basis. For us, it’s a video-clip we personalize for prospects. The email takes ten minutes to do each time. It occurred to us, a template would speed up the process.

STEP 1 – See One. 
I went online and learned how others created a template in Mac Mail.

STEP 2 – Do One.
I fumbled through the process of creating a template. It wasn’t too difficult after I locked down the proper sequence.

STEP 3 – Teach One.
I sat down with my assistant Cara and taught her how to create a template too. For grins, Cara came back a week later. She taught me how she creates templates in an even more efficient manner.

The ‘video-clip email template’ we now send saves a half an hour per week. Add Cara in the equation and together we save four hours per month. Multiply that by another time saving tool and we can double our time saving productivity to 8 hours per month. What would 96 hours of time savings per year mean to you and your company?

If you see one, do one, teach one:

• you learn something valuable
• you benefit other people in your world
• you save time
• you improve productivity
• you become more amazing than you already are

For you, the secret behind this approach is proactivity. Pretend you’re a C student wanting to run with the Honor Roll crowd. Be proactive.

Choose something you want to learn. See one. Do one. Teach one. The upside will have you playing doctor anytime you like.

That didn’t sound right.

Okay... The upside will be a smarter, richer you! Booya. Drop the mic. Walk off the stage.

If you’re in the balance, considering commitment, STOP reading now. You’re not there yet. For the rest of you, let me lovingly grab your eyebrows – get so close you don’t know which eye to focus on... and say – “You are NOT committed yet. Not even close!”

"But... but…I walked down the aisle." - "I spent $10,000 on a marketing campaign." - "I said, Yes to the promotion." -  "I quit my job, got a business loan and ordered those shiny new cards."

Go ahead, argue, “I’m in the game. I am committed!” Don’t be delusional. You’re not remotely committed and won’t truly see this until you next-level yourself out of blissful ignorance.

You are not committed yet! No wedding band, comma on a check, my-word-is-my-bond or entrepreneurial leap into shark infested waters is real commitment. You won’t know the level of commitment necessary until you put yourself at a higher level.

Case in point. 1988. You quit your job. Become a Realtor. Move into a pathetic basement suite. Travel on a shoestring budget to ski races across Canada and the US. One would say, you are committed. You even win the National Championships. The person you see in the mirror is on track. Then you go to a “B” level international race in Sweden.

There, your thosearen’tpillows body-part is handed to you. In a field of aspiring international speed skiers, you place midfield. 55th. At this stage, there isn’t a chance in the Casa di Diablo you’ll ever make the Olympic team. You realize your commitment level needs to be raised. When you step it up; you eventually become ranked 10th in the world, break the national record five times and look upon 50,000 people waiting to see you race the gold medal round of the Olympic Winter Games.

You won’t be able to see the level of commitment necessary until your commitment is tested at a higher level. Examples include:

• Preeminent Trade shows.
• National association conventions.
• Personal coaching/counseling from the best, no BS, been-there-done-that professional you can find.
• Elite competitions where your aforementioned body part is on the line.
• Pretty much anything where you risk embarrassment or a contented ego.

Your first foray into that ‘Higher Level’ will not be comfortable. It will likely be categorically painful. But you deserve a new vista.

Gain a perspective of or from the outside, and you will gain clarity. The higher you go, the more insight you gain. Clarity makes your next steps more deliberate, definitive and profound.

Commitment clarity will be the greatest gift you can give your company, business or marriage. Ignorance may be bliss but you deserve more.

Step up to the next level!

They start with one question, “How will we stand out?” That query bagged close to five minutes on national TV, 200+ franchise leads, a 20x spike in their web traffic and ongoing residual PR. If you’re interested in growing your business fast, the CEO of WOW 1 Day Painting, Brian Scudamore, has a great approach.

No stranger to building franchises, Scudamore’s relatively new venture, WOW 1 Day Painting followed his philosophy of don’t-pay-for-advertising-if-you-don’t-have-to. With the help of his internal PR team, Scudamore followed their first question by five others.

Who’s our market? What media reaches that market? What specific programs do they have? How do we get them to profile us? How do we scale the PR for residual traffic?

According to PR director AK Virani, the amount of research you do is directly proportionate to the quality of PR you get out. With this approach Brian Scudamore's team went to work with the following formula:

1. Define your Audience. In WOW 1 Day Painting’s case, they wanted to hit potential franchisees.
2. Research a Media Match. After significant groundwork, the team decided CNBC targeted their specific market of business people.
3. Research Specific Avenues. More diligent research revealed a program called Power Pitch. A mini-version of the entrepreneurial hit, Shark Tank.
4. Be Creative to Get Their Attention. After downloading the forms and finding out the Producer’s name, they assumed 1,000 other businesses were hitting on Power Pitch as well. According to Virani, “If you find that right person who you really believe will cover your story, then do what ever you can to get their attention.” They sent the producer a “1 day painting goody box.” It has brushes, coffee mugs, t-shirts and painting trays. The producer loved it, called back the next day and asked, “When can we get you on a plane?” The creativity didn’t stop there. Scudamore first produced a short promo video for the program to use and then flew to CNBC’s headquarters in New Jersey (armed with sound bites and a well honed pitch). You guessed it. More research was necessary.
5. Scale Your PR Coup to Your Network. The research mantra extended beyond the one-time airplay. Scudamore’s team then targeted what they called, “residual traffic.” They reached out through social media, business contacts on LinkedIn, focused YouTube channels and their own company blog. Yahoo.com and NY Times online both picked up the story and posted through their small business blogs.

The reason you’re reading this story is a LinkedIn message we received directly from Brian Scudamore. It was intriguing. The CNBC video was compelling. And now 25,000 of you are reading about it.

How will you stand out?

You may create priceless PR from that one simple question.

You have a gift. Your job is to share it.

Your gift was born the day you took your first breath.

Others may recognize it in you, before you begin to honor it.

Yet, you know when your gift tapped your shoulder.

It nudged you into the light. You saw further. You felt free.

You have a gift. Your job is to share it.

The day she was born you naturally started looking for it.

When his smile touched your soul, his gift smiled too.

Help find the place where her gift can stretch out.

Be a wall and his gift will wither in the shade. Celebrate it instead.

You have a gift. Your job is to share it.

In the world of gifts, the word “should” has no place.

The most venomous word to your gift is “can’t.”

Your gift never goes away. It may collect cobwebs.

It may calcify or rust. But it never dies. Ever.

You have a gift. Your job is to share it.

Your gift never arrives. It’s forever setting out, seeking, blooming, curious, magnetic.

When it can’t breathe, it waits. When it can’t see, it calls out.

If you knew how long you had left to live, your gift would greet you every morning.

When you forget you’re mortal, your gift hides under the covers with you.

You have a gift. Your job is to share it.

The signs tell you to avoid it. The posters warn waiting passengers not to become “a statistic.” The big yellow line and the massive piece of screeching metal coming at you at 40 miles-per-hour is a pretty obvious clue. Still, it’s irresistible to want to peek over the edge.

We had some young friends stay with us on a recent New York trip. On the subway platform, the older folks were inclined to stay back, the younger ones wanted to peek over the edge. This catalyzed a thought worth exploring.

Think back to when you were young. The chances you took were not intended to be anything more than satisfying your inquisitive nature. Isn’t that what inspires a rebel – good-ol' curiosity?

“What would it be like?” you thought. Then you did it. The opportunity to experience something new out weighed any threat of consequence.

Those of us with all sorts of self-imposed responsibility, we play it safe. The possible consequences – no matter what level of imagination it takes to conjure up – supersede the magnetic draw of curiosity.

How strong is your curiosity muscle?

Does it look like an anemic chicken wing or is it ripped like an infomercial pitchman holding a dumbbell and your attention?

Risk is a seductive siren. "Just come a little closer. Take a look." The consequences are somewhere between enormous and fictitious.

It helps to have a guide to take you to safe passage. Whether it's a motivational keynote speaker, self-help book or a hand extended in your direction - mitigating the risk with someone who has edge-peeked in the past will surely help.

You know what risk you can feel comfortable but don’t let that stop you from peeking over the edge the next time you get a chance.

The life you want depends on it.

What it is about those who live by the, “People are entitled to my opinion, whether they want it or not” motto? Unsolicited Advisers might work for some people, but they drive yours truly absolutely bonkers. There’s a technique you can use to avoid Unsolicited Advisers driving anyone cukoo. It’s called Gestalt Feedback.

There is a peer-to-peer entrepreneurs' forum we call Veritas. Veritas is the Latin word for truth. We’ve been meeting monthly for over eleven years. The health of our forum relies almost completely on a method of interaction called Gestalt Feedback. This type of feedback is not advisory, but in the form of communication based on personal experience.

For example, one of our ten members could bring up a topic on strengthening client relationships when loyalty seems to be fickle. There’s a protocol designee ready with red and yellow ‘gestalt infraction’ cards. If someone says, “You should institute an incentive program,” they get a red card for flat out ‘advice.’ If that person said, “There are people in situations like yours who put an incentive program in place,” then a yellow card is raised. But, if the person were to follow the gestalt feedback formula, they would say, “We had a disintegrating loyalty issue with the ABC Brick Company so we started an incentive program where the more business we got, the more service credits they received. It increased our retention by 22%.”

You instantly notice the life-sucking effect of Unsolicited Advisors when they start telling you what you should do with your life. Motivational? NOT!

It’s a slow bleed when you hear thinly veiled advice disguised as feedback. Motivating? Not so much!

You can instantly feel the power of gestalt feedback when someone has heard what you said and provides their experience. Chances are you'll hear from them a solution that worked.

The next time you meet at work or in a mastermind setting, explain what gestalt feedback is. Then ask for agreement on this personal experience over advice mode of exchanging information between members.

Like riding a bike for the first time, it may take a few rotations to get the hang of it.

Once it starts to click, you won’t miss unsolicited advice nor that feeling of going bonkers in an absolute way.

It's lame to encourage someone with, “Follow your dreams.” Either that someone is aware of this tired cliché or they have no idea of what the dream is. Moreover, your motivational advice will likely fall on deaf ears.

Why is that?

Dreams aren’t nearly an effective motivator as regrets are.

Dreams are best guesses. Regrets are clear, poignant and powerful.

Lance Armstrong has all sorts of opinions being flung at him right now. Some believe his only motivation for coming clean is for better sponsorship at professional triathlon competitions. In other circles, he has pundits questioning his decision from a legal standpoint. They’re posting he will invite more legal implications than if he had kept his mouth shut. Yet, people close to Armstrong state he has repeatedly expressed his regret for denials and attacks on his accusers. With his estimated net worth in excess of $100 million, it’s questionable more money or less litigation are his primary concerns.

The sting of regret is a powerful motivator.

Think to a time when you made a very poor decision or hurt someone else. Think of the regret you felt. That feeling may never be erased. Yet, what forward thinking decision did you make? Chances are, you made a course correction and did what you could to never make that mistake again.

Lying to an Australian customs official about being on the Canadian national wrestling team at Brisbane’s Commonwealth Games is a 30 year-old regret. He saw the special visa, asked if I’d competed and I responded, “Yes.” But this fib about being an athlete sat like a lump of garage station sushi in the pit of my stomach. It drove me to never take credit for a story that I didn’t earn… ever again.

Skipping the chance to compete internationally in Luge is another regret from my past. Watching luge buddies marching in the opening ceremonies threw piano sized remorse on my back. The weight of not committing the way these friends did inspired a four-year journey to compete in Olympic Speed Skiing.

I regret not listening to my first fiancé when she wanted to postpone the wedding because she was “Still in love with (her) old boyfriend.” Yet, after that first failed marriage, the lessons about what to do next time down the aisle involved ‘no regrets.’

So, if you’re tired of hearing ‘Follow your dreams’ or have no clue what ‘your dreams’ might be, give yourself a break.

Instead, look ten, thirty, sixty years down the road. What regrets do you never, ever want to feel?

You’ll find a lot more clarity in what to avoid rather than what you think you want.

If you know exactly what you want - lucky you. But don’t just follow your dreams.

Avoid regrets.